Weber State University Athletics
Hall of Fame - Paula Pettingill John
3/10/2015 7:10:00 PM | Wildcat Club
Paula Pettingill John
Women's Track and Field (1984-89)
Inducted January 2000
Paula Pettingill John pursued an unlikely path to Weber State but it led to a remarkable destination. In her final track and field meet, Paula's destiny was to become the first woman in the history of WSU athletics to win a national championship.
Paula Pettingill graduated from high school in Burley, Idaho. She signed to compete in track and field at Weber State. Paula had won only one state championship in the high jump, as a sophomore. He chief rival, Lisa Bernhagen, from Sun Valley, Idaho, was the national high school record-holder in the event and competed in the same division as Paula.
Soon after joining the Wildcats, Paula married Cameron John, and they had a baby girl. Pettingill-John dropped out of school to help put her husband through school, but eventually decided to return to WSU to finish her education and resume her jumping career.
At her first meet back, just a few months after becoming a mother, she jumped 4-feet, 11-inches. She was partly heartbroken and partly disgusted with her performance. It was at that moment that a transformation took place, and Pettingill-John developed a burning desire to succeed. She became dedicated to working in the weight room, and was an example to her teammates.
By the following January, Pettingill-John had improved her personal high jump mark to 5-10, which qualified her for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She finished seventh, and earned her first All-America certificate.
The hard work continued. By February 1989, Paula's career was heading toward its climax. With the aid of a pair of WSU football players as spotters, Pettingill-John squatted 300 pounds, and impressive effort for the 120-pound athlete.
In her final college competition, at the NCAA Indor Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, Pettingill-John performed flawlessly. She cleared the opening height of 5-8. The field included her high school nemesis, Lisa Bernhagen, competing for Stanford, but also Idaho State's Amber Welty, the reigning NCAA indoor champion. Paula had never beaten these two jumpers.
At the second height of 5-10, Pettingill-John cleared the mark, but Welty failed at that height along with half the field. The bar was raised to 6-feet, and Paula again had a first-jump clearance. Two others cleared on their second and third tries.
At 6-2, all three women missed on their three attempts.
Paula Pettingill-John, who had only won one state championship and never won a conference title, was the NCAA high jump champion.
Pettingill-John was a three-time All-Big Sky Conference performer, and also was a three-time member of the Big Sky's Academic All-Conference Team. She is Weber State's record holder in the high jump at 6-0, which was second on the Big Sky all-time indoor list.