The stars felt aligned again when pole vaulters Joey Smart of Hoover and Liston Seibert of Perry squared off at a recent duel meet.
Smart and Seibert were among the state’s top vaulters in 2025. Smart finished 13th at the state meet. Seibert missed the state meet by just one place. No one would be surprised if they both close out their high school careers at state this June.
The hurdles Smart and Seibert faced before the start of the outdoor season felt as high as the bars they clear. Seibert did not compete indoors because of an infection in his knee that knocked him out of the state wrestling tournament. Smart missed the indoor state meet due to nagging injuries.
Stark County track and field is better when Smart and Seibert are battling other competitors ,,, and each other. Two weeks after he started to train again, Seibert jumped 13 feet, 6 inches at Hoover in his first meet. Smart vaulted 13-0.
Seibert soared to a winning height of 13-9 at the Jim Craig Stark County Track and Field Championships on April 25. Smart finished second at 13-6.
“It has been pretty smooth for me,” Seibert said. “I just got back into jumping 14-0 bungees, 14-6 bungees the other day.
“I’m just out there having fun with my coach and all my teammates.”
Seibert is approaching the end of the road with vaulting. He signed a letter of intent to wrestle at the University of Maryland in November 2025.
As a top Division I contender at 120 pounds, Seibert was looking forward to the 2026 state wrestling tournament. Then everything unraveled.
“The morning before the state finals, I had a little bit of pain in my right knee,” Seibert said. “Overnight my knee just got really swollen. It turned out I had an infection in it, so they had to rush me to the ER. I ended up having surgery the next morning.”
With wrestling at Maryland on the horizon, Seibert wasn’t sure if he would vault this year. Then he took a look around him.
“At the end of the day, I love my coaches so much. I love the teammates I have,” Seibert said. “We’re a pretty close team. It’s pretty nice to all come together, have fun, hang out with everyone and do the best I can.”
Smart’s indoor season was rolling right along. He was consistently jumping over 14 feet. He once hit 15 feet and was a threat to win a state title.
“It felt great to hit 15,” Smart said. “I’ve been hoping for 15 for awhile. It definitely left me with a very positive mindset for the future.”
Then …
“I just had an injury in my back and lower hips,” Smart said. “We’ve just been taking our time, doing our physical therapy and making sure we can get back out there and get back at it.”
Smart was back by the second week of the outdoor season. He jumped 13-6 at Medina’s Tom Fasko Relays.
“I still feel it in my back, but it’s just something I have to push through and keep on working through,” Smart said. “The more meets I jump in, the better I do. It’s just a matter of time before I get back at it.”
Smart’s goal is to become a three-time outdoor state qualifier. He has his sights set on 15 feet.
A state berth for Seibert would help ease the disappointment he experienced at the end of wrestling season.
“I just want to do the best I can no matter the outcome,” Seibert said. “I just want to enjoy it, have fun and get the job done if I can.”
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Pole vaulters Liston Seibert, Joey Smart regaining form after setbacks
Reporting by Mike Popovich, Canton Repository / The Repository
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