Winter Garden resident wins state championship in pole-vaulting

At the Class 2A FHSAA Track-and-Field State Championships Thursday, May 7, Winter Garden resident and Montverde Academy senior Grant Williams was competing neck-and-neck with South Walton’s Pierce Williams. 

Both athletes cleared 4.50 meters and failed to jump over 4.65 on all three attempts. 

Williams said in pole-vaulting, the winner can either be decided by who jumps the highest. If two competitors jump the exact same height, the number of misses can determine the winner.

Williams didn’t have any misses on his four successful marks. Pierce Williams had three. 

After they both finished jumping and the scores were calculated, Williams won the 2026 3A Men’s Pole Vault State Championship. His success came down to his ability to stay calm before lifting off the pole. 

Heading into states, Williams knew there was a lot at stake. There was a state title on the line but also his last opportunity to compete in high school, so he did his best to stay calm mentally and focus on putting all his effort into the run. 

“When I was on the runway and I was preparing for my jump, I knew that I had my last three attempts, and I was getting to that point, and I was like, ‘OK, I just (hit a) personal record,” he said. “I want to try getting to the next height as best as possible. We’re going to take a deep breath, look forward and just try running as fast as possible.” 

On the runway, he broke down exactly what steps he should take. 

“If I’m clearing this height, what is the thing I need to do to clear this height?” Williams said. “Is it swing quicker? Is it run faster? Is it be taller? Is it pull faster? Is it any of those? I try to go step-by-step, talk to my coach and once I finish my jump, I talk to my coaches and do the exact same thing for my next jump.” 

Williams’ state championship height of 4.5 meters was a personal record, and although he failed clearing 4.65 meters, he couldn’t hide his excitement of reaching a new best in his last meet. 

Over the course of the postseason meets, Williams’ height steadily increased. He first hit 4.15 meters at the FHSAA Class 2A, District 6 meet, then 4.47 meters at the FHSAA Class 2A, Region 2 meet, where which he won the regional championship. That .35-meter increase over two weeks was the direct product of his intense training. 

“We do a lot of gymnastics and upper body work,” he said. “Obviously, we work lower body accelerations in a run to make sure that we can exert as much energy as possible on the runway, because the run is everything. But when it comes to the jump, we have to focus on a lot of pull-ups, upper-body inversions, handstands and things like that.” 

Williams and his coaches tested training on different poles, including ones with a higher grip that allowed him to exert enough energy onto the pole to get upside-down and jump over the higher marks. He also focused on training his swing leg, which is the back leg that drives his rotation. Doing so helped Williams get over the higher poles by having more energy going upside-down and inversion. 

Montverde’s pole-vaulting coach David Jones found Williams four years ago. When Williams joined track in eighth grade, he wanted to be a sprinter, but Jones introduced Williams to pole-vaulting, and he loved the thrill of it. 

“Being able to jump that high to get over something that most people would never be able to, the difficulty of it, everything,” Williams said about his love for pole-vaulting. 

Williams said Jones had helped him learn everything, including jumping technique, the correct run and even overcoming mental struggles.

In Williams’ sophomore year, he hit a mental block where he couldn’t jump over the pole no matter how hard he tried. The thought of quitting the sport crept into his mind. But Jones still saw potential in Williams, and through his encouragement, Williams was able to overcome the mental hurdle. 

Sticking with pole-vaulting his sophomore year paid off. Williams made states three consecutive years before capturing the state title.

“I’m glad I was able to end up this year pretty well, of course winning state championships, but it was all pretty nice,” he said. “Everyone’s been congratulating me … and always encouraged me to push forward and into the next stage of my life.” 

This summer, Williams will continue to train at Montverde to attempt to jump even higher so he can be recruited by the University of South Florida, but if August comes and he hasn’t received a letter, then he will try to walk on the team.