by Scott Sacry
Former Hamilton standout Taylor Searle was the best pole vaulter in the state of Montana during his junior year in 2023. Last May, Searle cleared 15 feet to claim a second straight pole vault state title, having also won the state title in 2022.
Fast forward one year.
Searle and his family moved to Arizona, and Searle has the third highest vault for a high schooler in the United States. This spring, Searle cleared 17 feet 6 inches in a meet in Arizona. By comparison, the Montana high school state record for the pole vault is 16-4, and this spring, University of Montana’s Zane Johnson took second at the 2024 Big Sky Conference outdoor championship with a vault of just over 17 feet.
Needless to say, Searle is flying through rare air.
Before moving to Arizona last summer, Searle spent his first three years of high school in Hamilton. Both Searle and his family felt it was important to experience the atmosphere of a bigger high school, having experienced a smaller high school in Hamilton.
“It was definitely a different experience,” said Searle. “We had about 300 kids in each grade this year. I had a great experience. I jumped right into football and training for pole vault, so I was able to meet a lot of great people.”
Searle completed his senior year at the America Leadership Academy Queen Creek, which is in the Greater Phoenix area. Last fall, Searle excelled as a receiver on the ALA Queen Creek football team, much like he did in Hamilton where Searle was all-state in 2022.
But Searle’s true love and passion is pole vault.
“I was able to schedule my classes for the first half of the day,” said Searle, “then I trained for pole vault for two hours, then I went to football practice. It was a grind for sure, but I loved it and you can see the results.”
Searle feels his improvement this year is due to a number of factors.
“For one thing, I grew two inches and got faster this year,” said Searle. “But the biggest thing was that I was able to practice a lot more. In Montana, I could only practice for a couple months. But by the state meet this year I had been practicing for 11 months.”
Another major factor was the level of this training and coaching. Of course, good pole vaulters need to be fast and strong, but beyond this, technique is crucial – this is where coaching and training come in.
When Searle got to Arizona he joined the American Pole Vault Academy, which is one of the best pole vault training groups in the country. It is run by Dean Starkey, who won the bronze medal at the 1997 World Championships.
“I had great coaching in Hamilton, but I was able to take it to the next level in Arizona with coach Starkey,” said Searle. “I learned so much and I was able to get a lot of reps in.”
This spring, Searle won the Arizona Division III State Championship in pole vault on May 4th. Then the following week, he took 2nd in the Open State Championship. Searle and his competitor both cleared 17 feet, but Searle had more misses. “That was my only loss of the season,” said Searle, “but my competitor had a personal best, so I was happy for him.”
The following week Searle decided to compete in the Arizona Decathlon State Championship. There are 10 total events in the Decathlon.
“I had never done it before,” said Searle, “but I figured with my pole vault and my 100m time, I could get some points. I spent the week practicing for the other events, and was able to do pretty good.”
Searle won the Arizona Decathlon State Championship. This is impressive by itself, but even more so since his opponents specialized in the Decathlon, and many are headed to top colleges for the event. His point total of 6596 is the 7th highest high school score in the nation for the Decathlon.
One would think this success might stear Searle toward the decathlon, but Searle likes his current path.
“Pole vault has my heart,” said Searle. “But it was fun to do all the other events.”
Searle’s future is bright, and he has lofty aspirations and expectations for himself. He plans to attend Brigham Young University to compete in the pole vault, and, besides track, Searle plans to go to medical school and be a surgeon.
“Since I was young I wanted to go to BYU to play a sport,” said Searle, “and they have one of the best vaulting programs in the nation, so I was extremely grateful to get a scholarship.”
But, before all of this, Searle will spend the next two years in Argentina on a mission for the Mormon Church. Searle is excited to fulfill his mission for his church and feels he can continue excelling at the vault when he gets back. He’s planned a training schedule for his mission and is confident he will keep improving his athleticism. Searle’s scholarship will be waiting for him at BYU when he returns.
“My goal when I get to BYU is to clear 18 feet my freshman year,” said Searle, “and then clear 19 feet my sophomore year, which should qualify me for the 2028 Olympics. I know it’s a lofty goal, but that’s my plan.”
And based on Searle’s past accomplishments, I wouldn’t bet against him.