LA CROSSE — Jack Schmeling was feeling the moment, and he knew everything was going to have to fall into place if he was going to win a WIAA Division 3 championship in the high jump at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex on Friday.
The competition was slow to exit, and there were seven jumpers left when the bar was raised to 6 feet, 6 inches.
“I started my clap (with the crowd) on the first attempt at 6-6, and I don’t normally do that,” the Onalaska Luther senior said. “I knew I needed it.
“I cleared it, the adrenaline was high, and we were off.”
Schmeling didn’t enter until the bar was at 6 feet and made his first four attempts — 6-6 being the last of those — without a miss.
But Ladysmith junior Ashton Clark and Markesan junior Alex Richter were jumping well, too, as they soared past the winning height of 6-3 from last year’s meet.
Schmeling hung in there until three misses at 6-9. Clark made his second attempt at that height, and Schmeling walked away with second place with his successful third attempt at 6-8. Richter was third at 6-7.
“I really believe I did my best and put my best out there,” said Schmeling, who did a back flip on the mat after clearing the bar at 6-8. “I’m very happy with second place.”
The performance was a good build toward Saturday’s Division 3 discus finals, where he is seeded third with a sectional effort of 168-5.
The high jump and discus combination is one seen very often in track and field, and when Schmeling started picking up the throws a couple of years ago, it expanded his future in the sport.
Schmeling, also a football standout for the Knights and a longtime jumper in track and field, will be a decathlete at the University of Wisconsin, where he intends to major in mechanical engineering.
“Recruiting for track and field is a lot different than something like football,” Schmeling said. “It’s all about the numbers you have, and when I started looking at some of my numbers, they stood up against others competing at that level.”
It gave him hope, and the contact he had with assistant coach Nate Davis confirmed Schmeling’s belief.
The decathlon is comprised of runs of 100, 400 and 1,500 meters, the 110 and 400 hurdles, the high jump and long jump, and the shot put, discus, pole vault and javelin.
Schmeling holds Luther records in nine events to demonstrate his versatility, and he’s ready to attack something new when he gets to Madison.
“I’m super excited to compete in the Big Ten, with teams like UCLA, Washington and Oregon joining,” Schmeling said. “It will be amazing for me to compete with some of the best in the world.”
Friday was still about being the best in the state and some goals Schmeling had before heading to Madison, and he accomplished one of those when he cleared 6-7.
“One of the big goals I had was clearing 2 meters, which is 6-6.75 (inches),” Schmeling said. “I’ve had that goal since the beginning of the season, and I got it, so 6-7 was huge for me.”
