Marion assistant track and field coach Jerry Smith was recognized as the Class 2A pole vault coach of the year at the Kansas Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association Recognition Luncheon Saturday in Junction City. Smith has coached Marion vaulters for the past 20 years and has had a state medal recipient in each of those years. He has coached three state champions and more than 25 league champions. In 2019, he coached an athlete to the Class 2A state championship and a teammate to a fifth-place finish. Smith also coaches middle school vaulters, who have won a combined 28 of 36 league titles the past nine years. “Jerry has been an integral part of the track and field program at Marion High School for the past four decades,” said head Marion track and field coach Grant Thierolf. “The enthusiasm he brings to the track each day, and to the pole vault area, specifically, is one of the reasons we have had the success we have enjoyed in that time.”
