Fifth-year senior has overcome combined six surgeries on both knees and right foot during collegiate career, but it hasn’t deterred her desire and drive to again become an All-American for Bulldogs in their quest for a second Division 1 championship in three years

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Kayla Smith might not be the most decorated pole vaulter ever to compete at Georgia, but she’s certainly the most determined.

The fifth-year senior might not possess any program records, but there have been few track and field athletes in Bulldogs’ history who are more resilient.

And in addition to being one of the most improved field-event athletes in the country, Smith is quite possibly the most inspiring.

Despite six surgeries during her collegiate career – four on her knees and two more on her right foot – and being forced to miss at least a year’s worth of competition on a pair of occasions, Smith is flourishing for the Bulldogs, adding a veteran presence to a young lineup ready to challenge for Southeastern Conference and national supremacy.

INTERVIEW WITH KAYLA SMITH AT RAZORBACK INVITATIONAL

“She’s too tough to quit,” Georgia coach Petros Kyprianou said. “With the Kobe Bryant passing, now every coach in the country is talking about the ‘Mamba Mentality,’ but Kayla is the real embodiment. She is exactly the definition right now, the living example of going through all this adversity and she keeps coming back.”

Smith enters Saturday’s competition with a lifetime-best clearance of 14 feet, 4 inches (4.37m) – No. 8 in the country and one of five SEC vaulters ranked in the top 11 – and a legitimate opportunity to contend for the individual title at the Gilliam Indoor Stadium in College Station, Texas.

“All that adversity and all those surgeries just makes me cherish and appreciate my ability and blessing to do this even more than I could explain,” Smith said. “It’s hard to understand that my story is so inspiring because this has just become my norm over the last 4 ½ years. It’s just what I have to do.”

What she has to do is wear braces for support, in addition to limiting workouts and rarely practicing from a full approach in order to minimize the impact on both knees, allowing for quicker recovery time.

Although she has vaulted only three times this season, Smith not only put herself in position to qualify for the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships on March 13-14 in Albuquerque, N.M., but to potentially contribute valuable points for Georgia in its pursuit of a second team title in three years following her 14-4 clearance Jan. 31 at the Razorback Invitational.

“I really truly believe now that I can hold my own with those girls and I have no doubt about that,” said Smith, who earned All-America honors by tying for eighth place at the 2017 Division 1 Outdoor Championships.

“I’ve always known that personally, but I think now the numbers are showing. So, just that coming together, I definitely think that I can hold my own and that I can be in that top three, that’s really my big goal, or even the top five. I just want to go out there and have fun and do well and whatever my plan is, it’s going to happen.”

Unfortunately for Smith, plans have changed quite a bit since her first indoor season with the Bulldogs in 2016.

She was out of action for nearly 15 months, before returning for the 2017 outdoor season, which culminated in Eugene, Ore., by finishing in a five-way tie for eighth with a 13-7.25 (4.15m) clearance and contributing to Georgia’s runner-up performance.

Despite that success, more surgery and rehabilitation resulted in Smith missing all of 2018.

Last year marked the first time in her collegiate career that Smith completed consecutive indoor and outdoor seasons, placing fourth at both SEC championship meets and finishing 19th at the NCAA Outdoor final in June.

“I talk to our athletes all the time about good adversity, but with Kayla, it just kind of went a little bit out of control with all the surgeries,” Kyprianou said. “Just her ability to come back after each surgery has been incredible. Obviously a big reason has been because of the people around her, her family and all the coaches and everybody that kept her going. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to have it inside yourself.”

Smith has benefited from working with Georgia pole vault coach Russ Johnson, thriving with one of the country’s most improved groups that also includes Carson Dingler, Julia Fixsen, Gracie Jauch and Courtney Long, along with Haze Farmer and Collin Lark on the men’s team.

“Russ has done a tremendous job, not only recruiting these kids, but developing them,” Kyprianou said. “You get one big timer and then another big timer, and even the ones who don’t arrive here maybe as big time, as long as they’ve got that killer instinct and want to compete and want to improve, they’re going to make a difference for us.

“Adding the pole vault in that chamber with all the other ammunition we have in the field events is really nice.”

Since the majority of her jumping has been reserved for competition, Smith has been focused more on the mechanics of her vault in an effort to remain sharp for when her knees allow her to practice from a full approach and take a limited number of attempts.

“Training has been going pretty well the last two weeks,” Smith said. “For the first time since the fall, I had no aches, pains or restrictions. That was a confidence booster for sure.

“I think I’ve been pretty lucky with my lack of training and conditioning that I’ve still been able to withstand my strength and my speed. That’s always been there and I’m thankful for that, but once those technical things click and that’s what happened (at Razorback), that’s when things really take off.”

Despite clearing only 13-8.50 (4.18m) to place fourth Feb. 15 at the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas, it was a good reminder for Smith about the level she will need to perform at Saturday and again in Albuquerque in order to achieve her biggest goals.

“Overall, I just was not ‘on’ at Tyson,” Smith said. “Now, looking back, I am glad I got that meet out of the way and did not peak then. I want to peak at these next two meets and set some new PRs. So, although it was not a great meet, it was humbling and put things back in perspective for me for what’s coming up.”

Although the top five women’s vaulters in the country are currently from other conferences, Smith knows that there is no better preparation for the NCAA Indoor championship meet than to compete Saturday against LSU’s Lisa Gunnarsson, South Carolina’s Hailey Sweatman and Arkansas’ Lauren Martinez and Bailee McCorkle, all of whom have cleared at least 14-2.75 (4.34m) this season.

“I think that just comes with being a veteran and being older, you have to know how to respond based on where your competition ends up and where you’re sitting in it,” Smith said. “It’s just about keeping my energy up and there’s just a whole ‘nother gear when it comes to competition and especially when it comes to clutch makes, because sometimes those are even sweeter than first-attempt makes.”

Besides Amber Tanner in the 800 meters and possibly Jessica Drop in the 5,000, the majority of Georgia’s projected points this weekend and at the Division 1 final are expected to come from freshmen Jasmine Moore, Anna Hall and Shelby Tyler in the field and multi-events in their anticipated battle with conference rivals LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M, in addition to USC.

That reality has only provided Smith more incentive and motivation to not only earn a podium finish in College Station, but All-America indoor honors for the first time in Albuquerque.

“In 2017, when I was an All-American, we had to split points between five of us and those points made a difference because we came in second, so if that can help us win a title, I would just be blown away,” Smith said. “We’ve got a strong group of girls. If I can be a part of that, and be a big part of that with some big points, I think it’s going to make topping off my career even better.”

Kyprianou continues to stress to his athletes the importance of adapting, especially during championship season. No athlete on the Georgia roster has been forced to adapt more during their career than Smith, whose patience and persistence are being rewarded when the Bulldogs stand to benefit the most.

“I believe in karma, and I believe if you are a good person and you work hard, good things will come to you,” Kyprianou said. “Whatever it is, whether it’s karma or positive energy, she’s got it on her side and she deserves it.”

Georgia hasn’t crowned an SEC indoor pole vault champion since Morgann Leleux in 2014, ironically the first time the conference final was held at Texas A&M.

But just being back on the runway with an opportunity not only to compete, but inspire others around her, is another victory for Smith and any athlete across the country questioning whether they have what it takes to make it back from injury or surgery when it might seem like all hope is lost.

“Now that it’s finally coming together after all my adversity, it just speaks volumes to what God can do and what you can do with determination and not giving up,” Smith said. “I cherish these moments so much. At any moment, it could be taken away from me, and it’s almost been taken away multiple times, so I cherish my body being somewhat healthy, at least healthy enough to go out there and jump and have fun and do what I love to do.

“It’s an absolutely incredible feeling to finally become the athlete that you’ve known you can always be.”