Records fall across every division at the 2026 WIAA State Track & Field Championships

LA CROSSE — For two days at Veterans Memorial Stadium, Wisconsin's high school track and field season reached its summit, and the record book did not survive intact. 33 meet records fell across the 2026 WIAA State Championships, spanning all four divisions — Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 and the wheelchair division — as sprinters, distance runners, hurdlers, jumpers, throwers and relay teams turned the biggest stage of the year into a celebration of how far these athletes have come.

There were multi-event champions who refused to pick just one race, freshmen and sophomores trading blows with seniors, and family relays rewriting their schools' history. What follows is the complete recap, division by division and theme by theme.

The multi-event stars

If one storyline defined the weekend, it was the athletes who simply could not be contained to a single event. Cole Zielinski of Waukesha West may have had the deepest haul of all: he swept the Division 1 long jump (25-9¾) and triple jump (48-2), then added a third gold as a leg on Waukesha West's record-setting 4x200 relay. Three titles in one meet is the kind of weekend that defines a career.

He had plenty of company. In Division 1, Trey Resch of Arrowhead completed the classic sprint double, winning the 100 in 10.59 and the 200 in 20.98. De Pere's Grady Lenn swept the distance events, taking the 1,600 in 4:03.90 and the 3,200 in a meet-record 8:49.15. On the girls' side, Brookfield Central's Kyenret Rinkam matched Resch step for step with her own 100 (11.62) and 200 (23.82) double, while Menomonie's Lauren McCalla won the 800 (2:08.68) and the 1,600 in a meet record (4:38.54). Arrowhead's Payton Eicher took both horizontal jumps, the long jump (19-9) and triple jump (39-9¾), and Neenah's Emma Severson owned the throws with the shot put (47-11½) and discus (156-6).

The smaller divisions produced the most jaw-dropping multi-event lines of all. In Division 3, Abundant Life Christian sophomore Jonathan Simon ran — and won — every distance race on the program, taking the 800 (1:54.30), 1,600 (4:20.02) and 3,200 (9:21.15) for a triple that ranks among the hardest feats in the sport. Osceola's Elletta Uddin swept three events in Division 2, winning both hurdle races in meet records (13.44 in the 100 hurdles, 42.33 in the 300 hurdles) and the long jump (19-1) for good measure. Ladysmith's Ashton Clark took both the high jump (6-6) and long jump (22-11½) in Division 3, Rice Lake's Carter Kucko swept the D2 distance with the 1,600 (4:11.65) and a meet-record 3,200 (9:01.75), and Hayward's Harper Sheehan doubled in the 400 (a meet-record 54.56) and 200 (24.38). Marathon's Chris Marcell swept the D3 throws with the discus (201-6) and a meet-record shot put (63-7), and Stratford's Zander Zawislan won the 200 (21.76) and a meet-record 400 (47.40).

Division 1

Beyond Resch, Rinkam, Lenn, McCalla, Eicher, Severson and Zielinski, Division 1 crowned a deep field of champions. Homestead had a banner meet: Jemekhi Tally won the boys' 800 in a meet-record 1:51.00, and Luka Ivancevic launched the shot put 57-8¼ for the title. Wausau East's Parker Schmitt took the 400 in 47.97. In the hurdles, Holmen's Jakai Ayed won the 110 hurdles in 14.22 and Pulaski's Keaton Dauk took the 300 hurdles in 37.91.

The story of the 110 hurdles belonged in part to Stoughton's Niyer Clayborn, who blistered a meet-record 13.80 in the prelims. He fell in the final and could not finish — a heartbreak on the day — but he answered emphatically by winning the 300 hurdles in 37.87. A meet record and a state title in the same weekend is a remarkable line for any athlete.

In the field, Germantown's Aiden Dykstra cleared 6-9 to win the high jump and River Falls' Blake Schneider went 15-6 for the pole vault crown. Waukesha West's Chetan Malkan won the discus at 172-5, complementing his teammate Zielinski's jumps haul. Among the girls, Arrowhead's Avery Bott won the 400 (55.19), Whitefish Bay's Karstin McCabe took the 3,200 (10:24.22), Oshkosh West's Sydnee Nelson won the 100 hurdles (13.94) and West Bend West's Rylee Faehling took the 300 hurdles (42.00). Franklin's Ella Anderson cleared 5-7 for the high jump title, and Arrowhead's Elise Schroeder set a meet record in the pole vault at 13-6.

Division 2

Division 2 was loaded with breakthrough performances. On the track, Amery's Mateo Aizpurua won the 100 (10.80), Marinette's Mason Hofherr the 200 (21.65), New Berlin Eisenhower's Javaryn Love the 400 (48.36), and Winneconne's Grant Wenzelow the 800 (1:53.43). Martin Luther's Rylee Wendt won the 110 hurdles (14.44) and Hayward's Lucas Hansen the 300 hurdles (37.81).

The D2 field events were a showcase. Edgerton's Breck Anderson cleared 6-8 in the high jump, Winneconne's Trey Zemke went 15-0 in the pole vault, Oconto Falls' Brady Bursa won the long jump (23-2), and Xavier's Wyatt Rouamba took the triple jump (47-11½). Winneconne's Hudson Samolinski threw 61-2¾ to win the shot put, and Notre Dame's Richie Flanigan won the discus at 176-8.

Among the D2 girls, Kettle Moraine Lutheran's Sydney Falkowski won the 100 (11.96) and Altoona's Abbie Hoage the 800 (2:12.92). Bloomer turned the distance races into a family showcase: Ciara Hartman won the 1,600 (4:55.09) and Aliya Hartman the 3,200 (10:33.94). In the field, Lancaster's Lexie Olmstead won the high jump (5-8), Xavier's Caroline Basehoar the pole vault (12-3), Berlin's Selci Sirrell the triple jump (38-8), Edgewood's Eva Akpandja the shot put (45-8½), and Colby's Daelyn Rieck the discus (143-5).

Division 3

Division 3 was a record-breaker's playground. Rosholt's Alex Wierzba won the boys' 100 (10.85), and beyond the multi-event sweeps of Simon, Zawislan, Clark and Marcell, Coleman's Kolton Peters set a meet record in the 110 hurdles (14.25) and Marathon's Garrett Bracewell won the 300 hurdles (37.93). Spencer's Breckin Miller cleared 14-6 in the pole vault and Markesan's Owen Dornfeld won the triple jump (45-8¾).

The D3 girls produced a flurry of records. Dominican's Sydney Knautz won the 100 in a meet-record 11.94, and Mishicot's Juliana Doerner took the 200 in a meet-record 24.04. Assumption's Bella Thomas won the 400 (55.31), Kewaunee's Hannah Miller the 800 (2:11.62), Cochrane-Fountain City's Addy Duellman the 1,600 (4:55.52), and Deerfield's Emmerson Drobac the 3,200 (10:33.73). Saint Mary Catholic's Ellie Davel won the 100 hurdles (14.59) and Bangor's Jaycee Michek set a meet record in the 300 hurdles (43.58). In the field, Dodgeland's Abby Kast won the high jump (5-4), Ladysmith's Hailey Wilmot the pole vault (11-9) and teammate Lyla Gago the long jump (18-11¾), Deerfield's Rylee Berryman the triple jump (38-0¼), Athens' Sy'Rih Hartwig the shot put (44-3½), and Clear Lake's Shelby Meyer the discus (154-6).

The relays

The relays delivered some of the loudest records of the weekend. In Division 1, Arrowhead won the boys' 4x100 in a meet-record 40.84 and the girls' 4x100 in 46.52, while Waukesha West powered to a meet-record 1:25.76 in the boys' 4x200 with Zielinski aboard. New Richmond won the boys' 4x400 (3:18.54) and Homestead the boys' 4x800 (7:43.00). On the girls' side, Mukwonago won the 4x200 (1:39.39), Stevens Point the 4x400 in a meet record (3:50.41), and Menomonie the 4x800 (9:04.13).

Division 2 saw Brown Deer win the boys' 4x100 (42.11) after running a meet-record 41.83 earlier in the meet, with Grafton taking the 4x200 (1:27.50), New Berlin Eisenhower the 4x400 (3:20.99), and Shorewood the 4x800 (7:53.67). The D2 girls' relays were a record bonanza: Pius XI Catholic won the 4x100 in a meet record (47.60), New Berlin West the 4x200 in a meet record (1:40.87) plus the 4x400 (3:53.07), and Bloomer the 4x800 in a meet record (9:02.77).

Small-school relays shined brightest in Division 3. The combined Kickapoo/La Farge program swept records on both sides, winning the boys' 4x400 (3:21.60) and the girls' 4x100 (48.87) and 4x200 (1:41.92) — all meet records. Grantsburg won the boys' 4x100 (43.04), Marathon the boys' 4x200 (1:29.58), and Rib Lake the boys' 4x800 (8:04.86). Cameron took the girls' 4x400 (3:57.80), and Cochrane-Fountain City won the girls' 4x800 in a meet record (9:21.29).

The wheelchair division

The wheelchair division was a record-setting tour de force. Marquette University High School's Gianni Quintero swept the boys' distance events, winning the 400 (56.92), 800 (1:54.75) and 1,600 (3:52.27) — all three in meet records. Sun Prairie East's Jurgen Aguilera set a meet record of his own in the shot put (28-8½), and Waupaca's Jack Barbeau won the 100 (16.10).

On the girls' side, Sun Prairie East's Megan Egstad turned in a brilliant multi-event meet, winning the 800 (2:32.06) and shot put (17-10) in meet records and adding the 1,600 (5:13.04). Slinger's Lucy Rate completed the sprint set, winning the 100 (20.33) and 400 (1:14.55).

A weekend to remember

From the deepest Division 1 fields to the smallest Division 3 co-ops to the wheelchair athletes rewriting their own record book, the 2026 WIAA State Championships were a reminder of what makes this sport special: the months of training distilled into a single race, throw or jump, and the joy on a champion's face when it all comes together. 33 meet records fell, but the lasting memory is simpler — a weekend in La Crosse where Wisconsin's young athletes were, every one of them, at their very best.