Joe Sarra

THE SARRA FILE

EVENT GROUP: POLE VAULT

School Records: 3
All-Americans: 3
Conference Champions: 3
Conference Medalists: 11
COACHING EXPERIENCE
- 2010-19: State College Area HS
- 2013-19: VaultWorx
- 2019-21: Louisiana Pole Vault Compound (Head Coach)
- 2022-23: Texas A&M (Volunteer Coach)
- 2024-: Texas A&M (Assistant Coach)

Joe Sarra is in his second season as a full-time assistant coach for the track & field team and his fourth year total with the program. He leads the pole vault groups and during his time coaching with the program his group has accumulated 11 conference medals, including three gold, three silver and five bronze, while also helping obtain three All-America honors. His athletes dominate the top of the Texas A&M record books, as three of the school records have fallen during his time with the team.

2024 was a year to remembers for the pole vault squad, as Sarra helped Heather Abadie secure both the SEC indoor and outdoor titles, marking the first conference titles of her collegiate career. Opening with the indoor season, she broke the school record in the pole vault for the first time at the Razorback Invitational with a clearance of 4.38m/14-4.5. At the SEC Championships she won her first title with a mark of 4.32m/14-2, making her the first Aggie to win the indoor conference meet since moving to the SEC. Under Sarra's leadership she qualified for her first NCAA Championships and earned First Team All-America status placing fifth, breaking her own school record with a mark of 4.40m/14-5.25. Jack Mann III continued to lead on the men's side, securing both his third and fourth conference medal of his career. Indoors he ranked third with a clearance of 5.35m/17-6.5, and outdoors was more of the same finishing third with a mark fo 5.40m/17-8.5.

The 2023 season saw Sarra lead Zach Davis to All-America status, marking the first honor for both Davis and coach Sarra. He placed 15th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a clearance of 5.30m/17-4.5. The conference meet were also successful for the pole vault group, as both Davis and Jack Mann III tied for third at the indoor championships, marking Davis' third SEC medal and Mann's first. Both men cleared 5.30m/17-4.5 to ensure their medals. Shifting to the outdoor conference meet, both Mann and Davis once again claimed medals with 5.40m/17-8.5 to earn silver and bronze medals, respectively. On the women's side Heather Abadie secured her first conference medal, as she downed the school record in the event with a clearance of 4.35m/14-3.25 to finish second. That summer, coach Sarra and Abadie made the trip to the U-23 NACAC Championships, where she cleared 3.95m/12-11.5 to earn the silver medal at the event.

In 2022, Sarra coached Zach Davis to a Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship in pole vault with a clearance of 17-3/5.26m. Davis registered two Aggie all-time top-12 marks under Sarra as he became the ninth best pole vaulter in school history at 17-7/5.36m and 12th best indoors at 17-3/5.26m. Sarra recruited and coached freshman Heather Abadie to eighth-place finishes at the SEC Indoor Championships (13-10/4.22) and the SEC Outdoor Championships (13-7.25/4.15m). Abadie missed qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships by two positions finishing with a clearance of 12-11.75/3.96m at the NCAA West Regionals. Sarra continued to coach Abadie over the summer of 2022 as she won the Canadian U20 title before placing eighth at the World Athletics U20 Championships.

Prior to his time in Aggieland, he was the head coach at the Louisiana Pole Vault Compound, a premier pole vault academy that specializes in coaching junior high and high school athletes located in Hammond, La. During the 2020-21 season he produced one national champion and six All-Americans. Most notably, he coached Abadie to a Canadian National u20 indoor record with a clearance of 13-11.25/4.25m. Abadie also earned high school All-America status after finishing fifth indoors. Sarra also coached Clayton Simms to an outdoor national championship with a national high school leading height of 17-5.75/5.33m. In total, he coached two girls that finished the season ranked in the top six indoors as well as two boys in the top seven indoors and two boys in the top five outdoors. Sarra also completed a sweep leading a boy and a girl to USATF and AAU Junior Olympic Championship titles.

Prior to coaching in Louisiana, he spent nine seasons as an assistant coach (jumps/throws) at State College Area High School a premier high school track program in State College, Pa. He helped lead his teams to four state team titles and three runner-up finishes. During his nine year tenure, he coached countless state medalists, state champions, state record holders and Penn Relays record holders.

Sarra began his coaching career as a UCS Pole Vault Summit national coaching staff member before coaching at VaultWorx from 2012-19.