LA CROSSE — Onalaska High School sophomore Gabe Mauss was the second jumper when the Division 1 long jump began at the WIAA state track and field meet on Friday.
His qualifying jump was better than just one other qualifier, and that doesn’t usually bode well for those in search of a medal.
But Mauss didn’t think about any of that and instead focused on the fact that he had a chance to do something big and memorable at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
He knew he’d accomplished that when he soared 23 feet, 10 inches — more than 2 feet farther than his sectional performance — on his second attempt. That put him at the top of the leaderboard for a little while and kept him near the top the rest of the evening.
That jump was his best and gave him some momentum heading into Saturday’s triple jump and even into next season.
“I knew I got up high,” Mauss said. “I wasn’t sure about it until I looked over saw it. I was really hyped about it when I saw 23-10.”
Waukesha West sophomore Cole Zielinski won with a distance of 24-5, and Milwaukee King senior Jalanai Hervey followed at 24-1.5. Mauss also topped 23 feet on his final jump and was over 22 feet on four of the five jumps he landed after a sectional performance of 21-5.5 and previous best of 22-11.
Improving the 22-11 seemed realistic for Mauss, but he hadn’t even considered a jump of 23-10 to be in his immediate future.
He said state was something he started to think about as an eighth-grader when a 19-9 put him on top of the state for his age. Gradual progress has been achieved since then, and Mauss is ready to watch that continue.
“I’ve got triple jump (Saturday),” he said, “so I’ll get ready for that.”
Mauss is seeded 16th for the triple jump after a sectional performance of 44-6.75.
