2026 WIAA State Track & Field Championships: The Stars, Storylines & Records to Watch

For two days in La Crosse, the best of Wisconsin high school track & field gets decided. The 2026 WIAA State Championships — June 5–6 at Veterans Memorial Stadium — bring together the elite of Divisions 1, 2 and 3, and this year's field is loaded: the best shot putter in state history, a thrower chasing 70 feet, and a fistful of races that may come down to a single stride. Here's your division-by-division guide, and you can track every event on our interactive State Meet hub.

More previews: Division 1 · Division 2 · Division 3 · State Meet hub

The records on the line

Start in the throwing ring. Neenah's Emma Severson isn't merely the Division 1 shot put favorite — she's the best the state has ever produced. Her 49-11 is the No. 1 mark in Wisconsin girls history, and it sits more than six feet clear of the rest of the D1 field (runner-up: 43-5). A state title would be the exclamation point on a record-breaking career.

She's in rare company. Arrowhead's Elise Schroeder owns the all-time Wisconsin girls pole vault at 14-0 and headlines the D1 vault; teammate Payton Eicher ranks third all-time in the long jump (20-0) and is the favorite in both horizontal jumps. Brookfield Central's Kyenret Rinkam sits eighth all-time in the 100m. Several of these athletes already rank among the greatest in state history before they've run a step in La Crosse — the full lists live on our all-time pages.

Arrowhead's team-trophy bid

No Division 1 program arrives louder than Arrowhead. The Warhawks bring the most top-three marks of any school in the division — Schroeder in the vault, Eicher in the jumps, Avery Bott in the sprints (a state-best 24.13 in the 200m and runner-up in the 400m), Addison Pommerening in the high jump, and a state-leading 4x100 relay (46.61). That's a genuine bid for the team title, not just a collection of medals.

Division 1 boys: a 100m coin flip

The marquee sprint is a dead heat on paper: Middleton's Kingston Penn and Antonio Jackson are both seeded at 10.41 in the 100m. Waukesha West's Cole Zielinski is chasing a jumps double, leading the state in the long jump (24-04.25) and triple jump (47-09.50). Homestead's Luka Ivancevic is the only D1 boy over 60 feet in the shot (60-11). Wisconsin Lutheran's Niyer Clayborn owns both hurdle races (13.59 and 37.92). And bring a stopwatch for the close ones: Owen Sayles (Oconomowoc) leads the 800m by two-hundredths (1:51.69 to Lucas Tanner's 1:51.71), and in the 4x400, Brookfield Central edges Brookfield East by the same razor margin (3:18.59 to 3:18.61).

Division 1 girls: McCalla doubles down

Menomonie's Lauren McCalla is the rare distance star favored in both the 800m (2:12.00) and 1600m (4:45.79) — and her 1600m ranks among the 10 fastest in Wisconsin history. The sprints are knife-edge: Holmen's Lydia Lazarescu (11.87) and Rinkam (11.88) are split by a hundredth in the 100m, with Rinkam coming back to lead the 400m (55.63). Behind Severson and Eicher in the field, Whitefish Bay's Karstin McCabe brings the state's best 3200m.

Division 2: a 66-foot shot and a sprint king

Division 2 has a monster of its own: Lake Country Lutheran's Isaac Freeland sits at 66-4.5 in the shot put — a throw that would win the D1 final by five feet. McFarland's John Gibson is the man to beat in the sprints (10.65/21.77). On the girls' side, Kettle Moraine Lutheran's Sydney Falkowski is the No. 7 all-time 400m runner (54.69) and adds the hurdles, while Hayward's Harper Sheehan doubles in the 100 and 200. Bloomer's Hartman sisters — Ciara and Aliya — go 1-2 in both distance races.

Division 3: the Marcell show

The single most dominant athlete at the entire meet may compete in the smallest division. Marathon's Chris Marcell leads every division in both the shot put (69-01) and the discus (212-00) — throws that would headline any classification in the state. He anchors a deep Marathon squad that also features sprinter Fred Tylinski and hurdler Garrett Bracewell, one of the favorites for the D3 team crown. Mishicot's Juliana Doerner rules the girls' sprints (11.90/24.30).

The iron athletes

Finally, the workhorses — the athletes who'll be everywhere on the track. West Bend West's Rylee Faehling owns the state's No. 1 mark in the 300m hurdles (42.25) — and she's the most versatile athlete in Wisconsin this season, ranked top-15 statewide in five more events (the 100m, 200m, 400m, the 100m hurdles and the long jump). WIAA caps athletes at four events at state, so she'll pick her best shots in La Crosse — but she's a podium threat in any of them.

Races too close to call

• D1 Boys 100m — Kingston Penn and Antonio Jackson, dead even at 10.41.
• D1 Boys 800m — Owen Sayles over Lucas Tanner by 0.02 (1:51.69 / 1:51.71).
• D1 Boys 4x400 — Brookfield Central over Brookfield East by 0.02 (3:18.59 / 3:18.61).
• D1 Girls 100m — Lydia Lazarescu over Kyenret Rinkam by 0.01 (11.87 / 11.88).

How to follow along

Our State Meet hub has the favorites in every event, the tightest races, the multi-event stars, and the athletes chasing history — all in one place, updating as marks come in. Statewide rankings, full meet results, and every athlete profile are always free on WI Athlete. See you in La Crosse.