Teske reaches podium with sixth-place jump at state track meet

Arcadia junior Ted Teske saved his best leap for last in the boys long jump competition on Saturday, and the distance held up as enough to earn Teske a podium finish at the WIAA Division Two state track and field championships.

Teske leaped 21 feet, 8 1/2 inches in his sixth and final jump to place sixth in a field of 14 athletes. Milwaukee Academy of Science junior Amare Jackson won the state championship with his jump of 23 feet, 3 1/2 inches.

Teske found himself in sixth after his third jump of 21-6, one he bested with his longest performance to keep his placement.

“I was struggling with my landing the whole time until my last jump,” Teske told the Times on Saturday. “I finally got a good landing and I ended up with my longest jump of the day.”

Teske, who won the Coulee Conference title in long jump this season, said he didn’t have expectations of reaching the podium at state.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did. I just wanted to do as well as I could. I feel like I did that today and I ended up on the podium,” the junior said.

With one more season as a Raider ahead of him next year, Teske said he hopes to be back at the state meet in 2025.

“Next year I will hopefully break my school’s long jump record and then make it back to the podium.”

County athletes compete at D2 state track

Friday’s field at the WIAA Division Two state track and field championships featured numerous Trempealeau County athletes, one of whom qualified for the finals on Saturday.

Arcadia senior Landan Bremer had the 10th fastest time in Friday’s 400-meter dash preliminaries to earn a spot in the D2 finals on Saturday. Bremer’s preliminary time of 50.75 seconds edged Denmark’s Sean Malay — 50.78 seconds — to claim the final qualification.

Bremer went on to place ninth in the 400-meter finals on Saturday, running an even faster time of 50.56 seconds. Osceola senior Addison Uddin won the state crown in 47.73 seconds.

The Raiders had another boys athlete come close to a podium finish. Junior Trey Lyga launched his third preliminary discus throw 162 feet, 1 inch to qualify for the finals. 

Lyga was in fifth place heading into the final three throws, but opponent heaves of 186 feet and nearly 171 feet nudged him out of a top-six finish. Lyga collected his second consecutive eighth-place finish with his throws.

Two area relays also ran on Friday.

The Gale-Ettrick-Trempeaeau High School track team was represented by its 400-meter relay squad of Kyle Seiling, Max Knapmiller, Isaiah Carroll and Mikah Vail. The group ran a 43.95-second event, a time that placed them 15th in the qualifying race.

Bremer joined teammates Ted Teske, Joel Fernando and Ben Kolstad on Friday to finish 12th in the preliminary 1600-meter relay, the final event of the day.

Teske had the Raider boys’ best finish on Saturday by taking sixth in long jump, and Arcadia senior Casidi Pehler won her second straight state championship in girls pole vault (see stories elsewhere).

Pehler also finished 11th in discus with a throw of 109 feet, 11 inches.