Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Only a select few athletes can say they capped off their collegiate careers exactly the way they had hoped or envisioned. Count 2023 Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Catherine (Street) Bridge among them.
As a senior competing at the 2012 NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships, on the campus of Claremont College, Catherine captured her second national pole vault title in just a five-month span.
She was the only competitor to clear the bar at 13 feet, 9¼ inches, an effort that not only won her the national crown, but also set a national-championship meet record. The previous record was set a year earlier by defending outdoor champion Abby Schaffer of Moravian College, who wound up finishing second that season behind Catherine.
Not to be rushed on her way to greatness, Catherine patiently bided her time. She passed on every height until the bar was set at 13-1½ and just four of 22 competitors remained in contention. She missed just twice on her way clearing to 13-9¼, both misses coming at 13-5¼.
Schaffer, the Division III record holder, missed all three of her attempts at 13-9¼ to finish as the national runner-up. With Schaffer out of the way, Catherine sought to clear another national-record height of 14 feet, but missed on all three tries.
By the time Catherine had concluded her Linfield career track and field career, she had become a seven-time NCAA All-American, four-time Northwest Conference champion, two-time national champion, not to mention being an indoor and outdoor national record holder. Other notable accolades included being a two-time NCAA runner-up, 2012 USTFCCCA National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year, and 2012 West Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.
Given all that she would accomplish, it’s perhaps shocking Catherine was lightly recruited, despite placing second at the Class 5A state championship meet as a senior with a vault of 11-6. That summer, her talent and dedication to the sport quickly became apparent and she soon was clearing more than 14 inches higher.
Coming out of Wilsonville High School, only Eastern Washington University offered Catherine a scholarship. She instead committed to attending Linfield because it was closer to home and she was interested in the nursing program.
Catherine spent her first two years as a part of Linfield’s McMinnville Campus. Matriculating to Linfield’s Nursing Campus in Northwest Portland for her junior and senior years meant that she would need to train on her own and join the full team only on weekends to compete in meets.
Her favorite memories, she says, are from “competing and traveling with the team. Going to Olive Garden with Travis Olson every nationals meet. Watching Garry (Killgore) and Travis tape the pole bag to the side of the team van and then praying it wouldn’t fall off the whole ride there.”
Although pole vault was her main focus, Catherine was asked to compete on the relays her senior season.
“I loved feeling like a part of the team. The 4x100 relay I was on even set the school record at the conference meet that year. I was terrible at starts and wasn’t there to practice handoffs, so I was put as the anchor. It was the most fun I have ever had running.”
She says that there’s no doubt her Linfield experience made her a stronger person. “I went through a lot of difficult times and mental battles while at Linfield. I worked through a lot of personal problems while on the track. I learned that God doesn’t make mistakes and He has a plan for your life even if you can’t see it just yet.”
Today, Catherine can be found coaching young pole vaulters at West Salem High School. Her goal in coaching, she says, is not to just teach kids the technique of the pole vault, but to help them grow into mentally tough, kind and passionate athletes.
Catherine and her husband, Andrew Bridge, met on the track when he was throwing javelin for Southeastern Louisiana University and she was training for the pole vault as a post-collegiate athlete. These days, she works at Salem Hospital as nurse as part of the Mother/Baby unit. Together Catherine and Andrew are raising two daughters, Reagan (4) and Madison (1).
