Having a chance to compete for the national championship in your final meet is widely regarded as a crowning achievement in an individual sport like track and field. Jeffrey Waugh was more than up to the challenge as a senior, overcoming a leg injury to place sixth in the pole vault (15 feet, 1 inch) at the NCAA Div. III Championships.

Waugh was joined at the national meet by Jamie Long, who earned All-America status in the long jump, placing eighth. The College of Wooster standout duo made program history as their All-America honors marked the first time two men earned the status in the same season.

Waugh was a two-time national qualifier and two-time North Coast Athletic Conference champion in the pole vault. Qualification for nationals was different at the time than it is at present. During Waugh's career, student-athletes who hit certain time, height, or distance standards automatically earned a spot at nationals. He qualified for the first time with a clearance of 15 feet, 1 inch in the pole vault at Muskingum College's late-April meet as a junior.

At the conference level, Waugh vaulted his way to a new NCAC record at the conference's indoor championships as a senior. He cleared 15 feet for his second straight conference crown. As a junior, Waugh's clearance of 14 feet, 6 inches won the pole vault. In all, he earned four all-conference honors. Waugh graduated second in program history in the outdoor pole vault at 15 feet, 3 inches.

"Jeff persevered through his injury and put in the necessary work and rehab, which helped him with handling the high level of competition at the conference and national meet," said Craig Penney, Wooster's head coach at the time. "Working through an injury and competing at a high level tells you a lot about the character of an individual."

Waugh joined the swimming and diving team as a diver as a sophomore. Full results from NCAC swimming and diving championships are not available in the College's archives from years Waugh was on the diving team. In dual meet action, he scored 197.1 points on the one-meter board and 222.3 points on the three-meter board to win both events in the opening meet of his junior season.

Waugh grew up in Kent, Ohio, and pursued his love for outdoor activities after graduation. The English major was into skiing, scuba diving, mountain climbing, and mountain biking. He tragically passed away in 1994 at the age of 27 from an avalanche while skiing in Utah. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Shelly, and her three children.