Gulf Shores sophomore Matt Howe didn’t set out to become a record-breaking pole vaulter — it started as a simple decision in middle school.

“I'm from Oklahoma, and at that school they were way bigger on track than here (at the time),” Howe said. “My coach needed pole vaulters, and my friend was doing it, so I decided to try it.”

The Grove, Oklahoma, native moved to the Gulf Coast with his family during his eighth-grade year. Now two full track and field seasons later, Howe is raising the bar — literally — for the Dolphins.

HAVING A RECORD YEAR

Howe’s sophomore track and field season started back in late 2025 before rolling over into 2026 as he vaulted for the indoor Gulf Shores team. The 16-year-old claimed his first state title as a Dolphin at the state meet in January, vaulting 14 feet even for the first time in a competition. 

At the Class 6A Section 1 meet, Howe cleared 14 feet again to break his outdoor school record of 13 feet, 6 inches set earlier this year and claim the sectional title. His older brother, Anthony, also advanced to state with a 10-6 vault at the sectional meet.

This season alone, Howe has finished in the top three of every boys pole vault final he has competed in. And back in March, the sophomore claimed he was aiming for a 15-foot jump that would qualify for Nationals competition at just 16 years old. 

“Now, I need 15 (feet) to qualify for outdoor nationals,” Howe stated. “So right now just shooting for that, and obviously I want to try and win the state.”

But for Howe, breaking records isn’t the end goal, the sophomore hasn’t even looked into being a pole vaulter at the next level yet. According to Howe, there isn’t much competition between him and Anthony during meets either — they are both aware of what areas they excel in. But there is also a younger brother who Matt wants to set the bar for. 

“I didn't really think anything of it,” Howe said of breaking the outdoor record for the first time. “I just want to set a really high bar for my brother to get.”

The youngest Howe brother, Ethan, is already nearing an 8-foot vault as a sixth-grader right now and will join the varsity team next year. 

“His PR at a meet is 7-6,” Howe’s father said. “He's gone over eight feet in practice, but he can't really even join the team until next year. He should be giving all Matt's records a run for their money.”

PUTTING IN THE WORK

Howe’s progression hasn’t come by accident. The Howe family is hands on when it comes to developing their children in athletics they want to excel in. Since both Matt and his brothers have taken the sport seriously over the years, the offseason work has only ramped up. 

Ashley Howe, Matt’s mother, said even after the brothers finished playing golf this year they went right back to work. “Since then (the end of golf season), Matt has went up to private lessons in Mobile, and Anthony's had two private lessons as well,” Ashley Howe said. 

Howe’s father, Jacob, said that Matt also trains with former Olympian coach Daniel Ryland during the summer. 

“There is a camp in Florida I go to,” Matt said back in March. “I went there two or three times last year, he (Daniel Ryland) was an Olympic pole vaulter. Then we went to three summer meets, and those were really fun.”

Jacob Howe has invested heavily in the sport for his sons, purchasing more than two dozen vault poles while traveling to locations such as Dolphin Street, Ocean Springs, Birmingham and Vulcan Vault to train year-round.

Howe also trains under a strong local support system with Gulf Shores head coach Jason Hill and former South Alabama pole vault coach Aaron James, who has decades of experience coaching elite athletes and Olympians.

Outside of the training and just staying active, the Howes have dabbled in another more niche sport — decathlons. “When Matt was a ninth grader and Anthony was a sophomore, I took them up to Hoover to the Decathlon State Championship, and they both fared very well,” Coach Hill said. They finished in the top 30 in the state, and that was their first time to ever do that. 10 events in two days, that's a crushing schedule.”

At just 14 years old, Matt set the school decathlon record with 3,560 points, edging out Anthony by a single point.

“It's just practicing everything, getting yourself mentally fit and physically fit, because it's every event,” Howe said of decathlon training.

Barring inclement weather, the AHSAA state meet is set for April 30 through May 2 at Gulf Shores’ home track. So in the coming days, Howe will be aiming for that 15-foot jump in a field that includes three other 14-foot vaulters.