Chartiers Valley’s Domi Crowley vaulting to new heights

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, January 26, 2025 | 11:01 AM

For someone who spends a lot of time in the air, Chartiers Valley senior pole vaulter Domi Crowley is very grounded.

That’s because the humbling nature of his sport and the training involved.

Crowley is training in a Monroeville warehouse with Danny Smith, one of several coaches he seeks guidance from to better himself.

“A lot of other vaulters are posting their work on social media, saying, ‘Look what I did,’” Crowley said. “But I’m at this warehouse and no one knows where I am. I’m doing all I can to focus because I want to win.”

In early January, Crowley vaulted 14 feet at the Penn West Edinboro indoor meet, which placed him fifth in the state and qualifies him for the PA State Indoor Track Championship on March 2 at the Penn State indoor track complex. The mark to clear was 13 feet, 9 inches.

“He’s absolutely incredible to watch,” said Chartiers Valley coach Lori Poe. “He is such a disciplined athlete and has become a student of the sport.”

The top 20 vaulters qualify for the state meet. Although he sits in fifth place, Crowley could see other vaulters best his mark, which could drop him down to the fringes of qualification.

“Let’s say that he only hit the 13-9 mark,” said Poe. “If he would end up tied with 10 other vaulters at that mark and 20 other vaulters bested that mark, then he and those 10 others don’t make the cut. The parameters are so tight, it’s difficult to make the cut.”

To make sure he doesn’t slide down the ranks, Crowley would have to vault at least one more time to try to better his 14-foot mark. But he’s confident that he’ll make the cut.

“I know some of the local vaulters personally that compete in these meets,” Crowley said. “There are only a few that are jumping as high as 14 feet, so I’m confident that my mark will hold. If it doesn’t, I’ll vault again, and I know I can go higher.”

It’s not easy for vaulters to train during the winter months for indoor track because the weather’s not good and there aren’t many resources.

“Not everyone has a pole vault pit in their backyard,” Poe said. “That’s why he and a lot of vaulters have to be creative with their training, and anything they need to do on their own they go outside of high school practice.”

Crowley will work in some running and weight training with the high school team and works on his aerial contorting in the school’s swimming pool.

If he needs more work, he’ll do something similar to the training with Smith in that Monroeville warehouse.

“We’re treating it like Rocky IV,” said Crowley. “There’s an actual pit in the place, and me and coach feel like everyone is our enemy. We’re scrounging around working, and I’ll sometimes run sprints out in the snow. My cards have been dealt. I’m just trying to do something with them.”

In addition to Smith, Crowley seeks tutelage from high school coach Joseph Findley, who has been coaching pole vault since 1978, as well as area coaches Bob Reynolds, Bradi Rhoades of the Vault Shack and Tim Tray at Vault Athletics.

“Not every coach has all the answers sometimes,” Crowley said. “If I think something isn’t working or I feel down in the dumps about how my vaults are going, I go get the advice I seek. Sometimes you need to be humbled, be told what’s wrong with how you’re vaulting. I look at my vaulting as an experiment. There’s always room for improvement.”

Crowley is looking to beat his performances in the WPIAL and state championships last year in outdoor track.

He set the school record in the WPIAL championships last year by clearing 14-3.

“No one knows this, but I went into the WPIALs with two sprained ankles,” Crowley said. “I had just cleared 13-9 and qualified for states and was looking for a top-two finish. On my next vault, I hit 14-3. It was a surreal experience.”

Crowley ended up not finishing in the top two. He had two misses while the two vaulters ahead of him didn’t miss.

At states, he started the day in 18th place and worked his way up to 10th.

“I was jumping as well as I did at WPIALs, hitting everything the first try, but when it came to clearing 14 feet, I failed,” Crowley said.

“Even though he didn’t finish as well as he had hoped, he still had great performances in the postseason,” Poe said. “That’s stoked the fire for him to be even better this year.”

Crowley has come a long way from when he topped out at 11-6 his sophomore year. His sights are set on finishing No. 1 in the outdoor vault. One thing he has going for him is that he has vaulted on longer poles and has the confidence to break his current school record.

“I think I’m capable of jumping 16 feet, 4¼ inches for outdoor, which I call the golden bar for high school,” Crowley said. “Indoor, I feel like 15 feet is definitely reasonable.”

Crowley will continue to find ways of perfecting his craft and use the indoor season as a warmup for the outdoor season.

“I treat every one of these indoor meets and every one of my training sessions like a championship meet,” he said. “There’s no third or second place this season. It’s my senior year. I’m in it to win.”

Tags: Chartiers Valley