Morgante, 14, wins national pole vault championship
GROVE CITY — She had the background. She’s gotten the coaching.
Now Aleah Morgante has a national championship.
Aleah, 14, will be a freshman at Grove City High School this fall. She recently returned from Eugene, Ore., where she won the pole vault title in her age group at the USATF Junior Olympic National Championships.
The daughter of former longtime Slippery Rock University pole vault coach C.J. Morgante, Aleah had a personal-record vault of 10 feet, 8 inches in her first attempt at the national competition. Her previous best was 10-6.
“Once I did that, I figured I’d at least be in the top three,” Aleah said. “Just see where it’d go from there.”
Aleah spent seven years with the Butler Gymnastics Club, competing as high as Level 7. She left gymnastics when school sports demanded more of her time. She plays soccer at Grove City as well as competing in the pole vault.
Her father has been her primary coach for years. He coached at SRU from 1997 through 2017 before becoming the pole vault coach at Grove City High School.
“Ever since she was a baby and I carried her in my arms, Aleah's been hanging out with me,” Morgante said. “just being around all of those pole vaulters at SRU through the years, I know she learned a lot.”
Aleah said she’s been a pole vaulter “as long as I can remember. My dad got me started in it.“
She competed at the USATF Nationals last year and placed seventh, thus becoming an All-American. The event is hosted by the University of Oregon.
“Our goal this year was to, first, enjoy the opportunity of competing at such a venue,” her father said. “Secondly, she wanted to become an All-American again and third, place somewhere in the top five.
“She exceeded all of that. Her seventh grade year, Aleah started to blossom. This year, she simply excelled.”
Aleah topped a field of 25 pole vaulters in winning the national championship.
“My time in gymnastics has really helped me,” Aleah said of her pole vaulting success. “It taught me body awareness and got me used to being upside down.”
She competes for the Swift Arrow Track Club — based at SRU — during the summer. Aleah has also practiced at the Vault Shack in Wilmington and practices the pole vault two or three days a week.
Her next goal is to break the Grove City High School pole vault record as a freshman.
“The record is 11-1 and it’s stood for eight years,” Aleah said. “I’m confident I can break that next year. As far as long-term goals, I just don’t know yet.”
Neither does her father.
“Aleah is a natural athlete and very competitive,” he said. “But she’s still a kid. She just turned 14. We don’t know where this is gonna go.
“Coaching her all these years has been challenging. There’s a fine line between daughter and coach, on both sides. I guess you could say it’s twice as challenging, coaching your own daughter, but twice as rewarding.”
