Cameron Carpentier

Lake Norman High School, Mooresville, NC Class of 2016

Cross Country: 2012-2015

                                 Track and Field, Indoor, Pole Vault: 2014 & 2015 & 2016

                                 Outdoor, Pole Vault: 2014 & 2016 (missed the end of Indoor 2015 and Outdoor 2015 due                                   to a severed ACL, right knee)

                                 Pole Vault Team Captain, Indoor and Outdoor: 2014/15, 2015/16

                                 PR:  12-0

High Point University, High Point, NC Class of 2020

         Track and Field, Walk-on, Pole Vault

 

Why pole vault?  Pole vaulting is extremely fun; it makes you feel free in a way.

 

When did you begin Pole Vault?  I began pole vaulting my sophomore year of high school track toward the end of the indoor season. My mom and Mr. Sheehan were the distance coaches, and Coach Sheehan took me to Vault House one day over Christmas Break.  I was hooked, but we didn't have a PV coach at Lake Norman, so there was not much I could do to improve, and I went to Vault House a lot that spring. Luckily for me, Coach Rick became our volunteer PV Coach that year during the outdoor season, and that's when everything changed for me.

What is your biggest mental challenge in Pole Vault? My biggest mental challenge is getting over the fear of messing everything up.

 

Best memory since you began Pole Vaulting?  My best memory of pole vaulting is when Coach took me and a few others to Akron, Ohio to jump in a competition. I met and got to know Shawn Barber, Sam Kendricks and so many other inspiring vaulters. Also, when Milesplit-NCRunners named our high school PV team #1 in the state across  all divisions this spring, that was cool.   

My worst memory is when I tore my ACL in Akron, Ohio, at that same meet the following year; I had to have surgery and the rehab time seemed forever.  

 

Who is your hero?  I would say my hero is my mom because she goes through a lot and fights hard to still come out on top. When I see what she has gone through (like putting off hip replacement for three years so she could stay in coaching as long as possible, finally having it and a year later she ran a 10k), I think to myself that my life really isn't that tough.