From pole vault to hurdles, versatility is Munro’s hallmark
MIDDLETOWN » Daniel Munro’s infatuation with the pole vault began in the fourth or fifth grade. He can’t remember the exact year but he can recall the circumstances in vivid detail.
It was during spring break, and Munro and his sister, Aurora, where too young to be left home alone. So they would tag along with their father, Penncrest boys track coach George Munro, to workouts while school was out.
“One day, I was hanging out over at the pole vault because my dad was coaching there and I was like, ‘Hey, can I try this?’” Daniel Munro said. “We had this little nine-foot, 90-pound pole in the shed. It’s like the trainer pole, so my dad put me on that. Then we would come back every Saturday and Sunday and practice the pole vault a little bit. I was a little kid, like nine or 10.
“Eventually I started going to the GA All-Comers meets, and in the fifth and sixth grades I actually competed for the first time. I think I was around 7-6 or 8 feet. I think I jumped eight feet one time when I was 10 years old.”
But the younger Munro had to wait until high school to develop into the full-fledged pole vaulter and hurdler he has become. At the time, middle school track did not have the pole vault. Neither did the AAU circuit.
Even when given the chance, though, he did not immediately gravitate to the pole vault in high school.
“I knew he could pole vault so I asked him if he could just practice it for 15 minutes to give us some points, and he was willing to do that and he wound up winning the (Central League) title his freshman year,” George Munro said. “He likes competing. He likes winning. The following year he was all in.”
Munro would win two more league outdoor titles in the pole vault, as well as a pair of Delco crowns and a district championship in the event as a senior this season. He also blossomed into one of the top hurdlers in the state.
Munro finished second in the pole vault at the PIAA Class 3A championships with a personal-best and school-record vault of 15 feet, 6 inches. He also took third in the 110-meter high hurdles at states to become the first county athlete to medal in both events at the state meet since two-time Athlete of the Year Chris Williams of Strath Haven in 2012.
That made Munro, who will continue his track career at California University of Pennsylvania, an easy choice as the Daily Times Athlete of the Year.
Joining Munro on the AllDelco team are Eric Willis of Academy Park; Chester’s Walton Garnett; Kouassi Toukou of Delco Christian; Haverford High’s Ethan Fingerhut, Patrick Lawson, Quentin Ryan and Michael Powell; Haverford School’s Joshua Allen and Patrick Donaher; Bryce Cooper, Mekhi Rodgers, Neo Vossschulte and Michael Woolery of Episcopal Academy; and Tyler Klambara and Robby Longo from Springfield.
Munro, Willis, Garnett, Donaher, Cooper and Woolery are repeat selections. Woolery is a sophomore. Garnett, Lawson, Ryan, Toukou and Klambara are juniors. The rest are seniors. The All-Delco team was selected by the Daily Times sports staff after consultation with county coaches.
George Munro called his son one of the best athletes he’s ever coached. That’s not just the boasting of a proud father.
“I’ve had to think who
I’ve had who was better,” George Munro said. “We had Jerry Thompson (fifth in pole vault at states in 2008, district champ). Kristoph Becker (the 2005 NCAA Division III champ in the javelin and third in decathlon in 2006). Elijah Trusty did everything for us (as a senior in 2008). Daniel’s right up there.”
While the pole vault and hurdles were his specialty, Munro competed in just about any event. He also ran the 100, 200, 400 and 800 and competed in the long jump during the outdoor season. He even threw the shot put during the indoor season.
It’s the kind of versatility you see in the decathlon, a grueling 10-event competition that consists of the 100, 400, 110 hurdles, 1,500, pole vault, high jump, long jump, javelin, shot put and discus. The decathlon is not for the faint of heart. He has competed in the decathlon twice, according to pa.milesplit.com, finishing ninth in the decathlon at the AAU Junior Olympics last year and 12th in 2019.
“That’s how he got recruited,” George Munro said. “(California assistant coach) Brady Wert met him his ninth-grade year. We were at states. We had the (Patrick) Theveny, (Andrew) Woolery, (Jalen) Chin team at cross country states. (Wert) had recruited Nick Reyes and Alicia Collier the year before. He started keeping tabs on him, asked him how he scored. He kept getting better at it and working on his weaknesses.”
Munro’s strengths in the decathlon are in the hurdles, pole vault and sprints. It’s the other field events that need work.
“My high jump and shot put are my lowest scoring events by far,” Daniel Munro said. “I think I score maybe 300 points in each, and the javelin. I’m really bad in the javelin. I think my discus PR is farther than my javelin PR, which is not supposed to happen.”
Actually, Munro’s top throws in the javelin and discus are the same, according to pa.milesplit. com. He threw 115-1 ½ in both events at the AAU Junior Olympics last summer in Humble, Texas, but he’s determined to improve in those events. And while his strengths are in the pole vault and hurdles he views himself as more than just a vaulter and hurdler.
“I definitely consider myself a decathlete,” Munro said.