Port St. Joe pole vaulter Walker signs with Mississippi State

As a middle school athlete Megan Walker once observed a pole vault practice and told Port St. Joe High School track assistant Coach Keith Chiles if she might give the sport a try.

On Wednesday afternoon, surrounded by family and friends, Walker vaulted right into the Southeastern Conference.

Walker signed a letter of intent with Mississippi State on the first day of the national signing period for college track and field, which coincides with football.

“It was a hard decision,” said Walker, who entertained offers from a number of schools, narrowing her choices to the University of North Florida, Eastern Michigan and Mississippi State. “It was very stressful. North Florida really recruited me hard early, but everything they had was just a little bit better at Mississippi State.

“The (Mississippi State) coach was awesome. They are in the SEC, which means I’ll be competing against the top competition. They have a good physical therapy-kinesiology program. They pretty much had everything I wanted.”

Walker’s progress from intrigued onlooker to prodigy has been steady since middle school.

She was an AAU Junior Olympic national age group champion in 2007, finished second nationally in her age group the following year and fourth the year after that.

She won the state AAU Junior Olympic title this past summer, finishing ninth at nationals. It was her second-straight state AAU title.

At the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A state track and field meet Walker has finished second, fourth and second, respectively, the past three years.

“She is going after a state title this year,” said Chiles, who specializes in coaching the pole vaulters at Port St. Joe High School.

During that span, Walker has advanced from nudging past 7-feet on her initial attempts in middle school to bumping up against the bar at 13-feet – and easily clearing 12-6 – this summer while preparing for the Florida AAU meet.

“They are getting one of the best jumpers in the country,” Chiles said of the Lady Bulldogs. “She should be at 13-feet and nationally ranked this year.

“She works very hard and shows great sportsmanship. She shows up at every meet and competes.”

As Walker noted, the University of North Florida, known for having a strong jumping program according to Chiles, recruited Walker early on. She was leaning toward the school before Chiles performed an intensive search to ensure she’d have the right coaching fit in college.

“Megan’s aspiration is to go to the next level, beyond college,” Chiles said. “She would one day like to jump in the Olympics.”

Chiles was familiar with Steve Thomas, who had been a coach at Florida when a previous Port St. Joe vaulting standout, Lacey Johnson, was being recruited. Johnson – coincidentally – ended up choosing Mississippi State but Chiles was impressed with Thomas.

When his coaching search found that Thomas was the jump coach at Mississippi State, the decision seemed ordained, despite visits to Eastern Michigan – “I don’t do snow well,” Walker said – and North Florida.

“I knew this is the guy who can carry Megan to the next level,” Chiles said.