What: The 130th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association boys state track and field championships.
When: June 5-6.
Where: Veterans Memorial Stadium on the UW-La Crosse campus.
Tickets: Available for $11 per session plus fees through WIAA ticketing partner GoFan.
Streaming: Available on WIAA.tv, a subscription site that is part of the NFHS Network.
Results: Available on the WIAA website.
Journal Sentinel coverage: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will be providing a live blog and recap story coverage at jsonline.com, as well as social media coverage on X at the Journal Sentinel prep sports reporters’ handles of @couldbelikemike and @ZacBellman_WNY.
UWL alert emergency notification system: Spectators can text “WIAATRACK” to 67283 to receive weather, emergency and other important updates during the WIAA state track and field championships.
Individual competitors with the best chance to bring home titles
Several Milwaukee-area competitors hold top seeds that put them in prime position for a run at a state individual title. Here are the top seeds and defending champions to be aware of heading into the weekend.
Arrowhead junior Trey Resch holds the top seed in the Division 1 200-meter dash (:21.24), while Greenfield senior Bennett Bradley is the second seed (:21.89). Resch placed fifth at state in the event in 2025. Oak Creek senior Gabriel Olson placed third in the 400 last year and holds the top seed in the event this year (:47.94), while Bradley (:48.86) also holds the second seed.
In the 100, seniors Amillione Johnson of Marquette (:10.72) and Gavin Schilling of Oak Creek (:10.80) hold the second and third seeds behind Middleton junior Kingston Penn (:10.52).
Reigning D1 state champion, state record holder and Homestead senior Jay Tally holds the fifth seed in the 800 (1:53.86), while last year’s 11th-place finisher senior Owen Sayles of Oconomowoc (1:51.69) is the top seed. Tally also holds the third seed in the 1,600 (4:14.46) behind reigning 1,600 and 3,200 state champion De Pere senior Grady Lenn. Marquette senior Brendan Reardon is the top seed in the 3,200, an event he placed seventh in a season ago.
Wisconsin Lutheran junior Niyer Clayborn won the 110 hurdles last year after setting a state record of :13.92 in the preliminary heat, and holds the top seed in both that event (:13.59) and the 300 hurdles (:37.92). Sophomore teammate Cedric Bolden could be slated to go 1-2 with Clayborn as the second seed in the 110 hurdles (:14.57).
Defending high jump state champion Germantown senior Aiden Dykstra is the top seed in the event again, having cleared 6-10 at his sectional. Reigning long jump state champion Waukesha West junior Cole Zielinski has the top seed in that event this year as well (23-10.25) over a field that includes second-seeded Waukesha North senior Cade Mundell (23-3.75). Zielinski also looks to improve upon a 10th-place finish at state in the triple jump, where he holds the top seed (47-9.50) over a pair of Nicolet teammates in junior Donavin Bond (46-3) and senior Demian Harris (46-3).
In the throwing events, Milwaukee-area competitors hold the top seeds in both the discus and shot put. Homestead senior Luka Ivancevic is the top seed in the shot (56-6.50), an event he placed ninth in last year. Arrowhead junior Evan Wozniak is a first-time qualifier in the discus throw with the top seed for his sectional throw of 159-11.
D2 has a notable lack of top seeds compared to recent seasons, but there are still some contenders. The 800 field includes Milwaukee Academy of Science junior Keymari Upshaw (third, 1:55.77), University School of Milwaukee sophomore Beckett Newman (fourth, 1:55.81) and Shorewood junior Ben Bejma (sixth, 1:56.52) among its top six final section seeds. Saint Thomas More senior Brody Oleson holds the third seed in the 400, while MAS senior Amir Vines also holds the fourth seed in the 200. Shorewood senior Ryan Lien is a qualifier in both the 3,200 and 1,600, holding the fourth seed in the former. Shorewood also holds the top seed in the 3,200 relay with Bejma and Lien leading their qualification. Brookfield Academy junior Ethan Potthast (44-1.50) is the third seed in the triple jump as the leading area contender in D2 field events.
Team title contenders led by recent stalwart programs
Relative to recent seasons, the depth for recent D1 state title contenders like 2024 state champion Arrowhead and 2025 runner-up Homestead is potentially a bit lighter. Arrowhead has seven potential final heat participants, including top seeds Resch (200), Wozniak (discus) and its 400 relay team. Homestead has seven likely final heat participants, led by Tally (800, 1,600), senior Jack Ferguson (300 hurdles), its 3,200 relay team, senior pole vaulter Alex Newcomer and Ivancevic. The 2025 state champions from De Pere look poised to repeat with the returning talent it possesses, which could impact Milwaukee-area programs’ team title hopes.
Local record watch includes Clayborn, Tally, Quintero
State tournament records rarely seem safe year over year, as 15 were set last year in the boys divisions. Among those were three set by returning Milwaukee-area athletes. Wisconsin Lutheran’s Clayborn set the 110 hurdles record with his preliminary time of :13.92 last year, and his seed time this year of :13.59 would suggest a strong run at topping that may be coming. His 300 hurdles seed time of :37.92 is exactly one second off Logan Hicks of Arrowhead’s 2024 record time (:36.92). Homestead’s Tally set the 800 record in his 2025 title win in 1:51.21. While his seed time (1:53.86) comes in shy of that mark, the competition from top-seeded Sayles (1:51.69) among others could give Tally that edge he needs to push past his 2025 mark.
Marquette senior wheelchair athlete Gianni Quintero already holds records in the 800 (1:56.02) and 1,600 (4:09.84), with the latter being set this past year. He returns as the top seed in both events as well as the 400 (:58.18), while also earning a qualification as the third seed in the wheelchair shot put. His 400 seed time is just off the state record from 2021 set by Noah Eckelberg of Columbus Catholic (:57.83), while his 800 (1:59.54) and 1,600 (4:07.34) put him within range of eclipsing his prior records as well. Perhaps most significantly, Quintero is chasing fellow Hilltoppers graduate Joe Schubert (2014-2017) in career individual state titles in wheelchair events. Quintero enters the 2026 state meet with three straight 400 wins, three straight 800 wins, a 100 win (2024) and a 1,600 win (2025) to give him eight career golds. Defending two of his three top seeds would tie him with Schubert, while a clean sweep or overperforming in the shot would make him the most decorated wheelchair athlete since the WIAA introduced wheelchair heats in 2011.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Top seeds lead Milwaukee-area boys state track and field contenders
Reporting by Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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