Helena native Chase Smith won the men’s pole vault title at the Pac-12 Conference track and field championships on Sunday.
Smith, a sixth-year senior at the University of Washington, entered the event with the bar at 16 feet, 7.25 inches and went on to win at 17-1. It’s the first conference title for Smith, who had previously finished no higher than fourth at the conference championships. But on Sunday he cleared 16-7.25 on his second try and then was the only athlete to clear 17-1. Stanford’s JT Herrscher and UCLA’s Kyle Brown each missed on three attempts at 17-1.
