G-E-T’s Smock places third in state pole vault

On a day that marked the end of an era in more ways than one for the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau track and field program, senior Sawyer Smock made a bit of school history with his performance in the pole vault.

Smock crossed the bar at 14 feet and became the first Red Hawk pole vaulter to ever reach the podium at the state meet, placing third overall in the Division 2 boys’ pole vault competition at the 2025 WIAA State Track & Field Championships last weekend on the campus of UW–La Crosse.

The poetic finish to his high school career almost didn’t come to fruition after a couple of misfires with the bar at 13 feet. Smock knocked the bar off in his first two attempts at that height and was left with just one more chance. If he failed to clear the bar, his hopes of a podium finish in his one and only state appearance would be dashed.

In that final attempt at 13 feet, Smock grazed the bar while vaulting over. As he landed on the mat, he yelled up at the rattling bar to stay on, and it acquiesced. Smock remained alive in the field and managed to clear the bar on his first try at both 13 feet, 6 inches and 14 feet.

Though he was unable to keep it going at 14 feet, 3 inches — Ashland junior Gage Mika (14-9) and Winneconne junior Trey Zemke (14-6) ultimately finished first and second, respectively — Smock was able to hang his head high when all was said and done.

“I’m so happy that I got to come. We had a little bit of a headwind, so that was a little challenging,” Smock said. “But battling through and getting 14 was amazing. I’m just so glad to be here to get the experience.”

In addition to Saturday being Smock’s finale as a Red Hawk, this weekend also marked the end for Jim Burt, who is retiring after nearly 30 years as G-E-T’s vaults coach.

Burt praised Smock for all the work he put into getting better on his own, including taking part in a UW–Stout pole vault club that required him to make the hour-and-a-half drive to Menomonie each Saturday.

Burt said he’ll miss having the chance to coach the newest crop of Red Hawk pole vaulters like he has for nearly three decades, noting that it was just as rewarding to see the athletes get over the bar for the first time at six feet as it was to see things like Smock setting the school record at 14 feet, 6 inches at this year’s regionals.

However, he conceded that it was particularly special to wrap up his coaching career on the state stage by seeing Smock make the podium.

“We’re down here and this is a great way for me to end my coaching career,” Burt said. “My son started in ’96 when they brought (pole vaulting) back and I started kind of in that area. Then my younger son, he jumped after that and, I don’t know, I just stayed there. You always get such great young athletes and it’s hard to pick a time to leave.”

G-E-T sophomore Mikah Vail did not quite have his best during Friday’s D2 boys’ 200-meter dash prelims, but he gained state experience and extra motivation as he moves ahead toward the final two years of his high school career.

Vail posted a time of 22.30 seconds to finish 11th overall in the prelims and miss out on advancing to the finals by one tenth of a second. Milwaukee Academy of Science senior Cameron Gray won Saturday’s final with a time of 21.32 seconds.

“Of course, he wanted to make it to the finals,” said G-E-T co-head coach Paula Gold. “But the efforts that he put in and then what he had to say at the end was, ‘hey, I’ve got room to grow. I can be better.’”

“I think for Mikah, it’s that he deserves to be here,” added G-E-T co-head coach Ryan Mendez, who coaches the sprints. “He’s put in a lot of that work already and he has to just believe that he has that opportunity to stand atop the podium or stand on the podium in general. I think that’s the biggest takeaway for him.”