La Crosse – All year long, Ben Schreib has had one thing in mind: a state record in the triple jump.
While the Greendale Martin Luther senior won the event in 2010 with a mark of 45 feet, 8.5 inches, he was still a foot short of Joe Prestigiacomo’s (Monona Grove) distance set back in 1985.
On Friday, Schreib’s hard work paid off as he got his record with a jump of 46 feet, 10 inches.
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“That was my goal coming into the year,” he said. “By the time I got here I still hadn’t beat that jump, but I (had my personal record here last year) and I got it. It was really exciting.”
After being able to focus all his attention on that one event on Friday, the University of Wisconsin recruit had to turn to two events on Saturday as the high jump and long jump came up on the schedule.
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There was no second-day slide however, as Schreib continued to dominate.
In the high jump, where he was seeded fourth from the bottom, Schreib continued to go about his business, reaching the 6 foot, 4 inch mark, good enough for a tie for fourth place and his second medal of the weekend.
“I was very surprised to do well in the high jump because I was seeded fourth to last,” he said. “But I jumped a couple inches over my seeding height and was able to tie for fourth.
“It was pretty exciting.”
Part of his success came from a different approach. Having low expectations placed upon him, Schreib said he was able to just ‘go out and jump’ without having to worry as much as the triple or long jumps where he was a favorite in both.
Speaking of the long jump, in the final event of his high school career, Martin Luther’s lone representative at the State Meet saved his best for last.
With his previous ‘PR’ in the event being 21 feet, 6 inches, Schreib crushed that mark on his final jump, landing 22 feet, 11 inches away from his take-off point.
“I didn’t expect to take first here today and jump as far as I did,” the humble senior said after the event.
“The kid in front of me jumped 22 (feet) and then my next three jumps were all over 22…the best being my last jump.”
Schreib’s three medals earned Martin Luther 24.50 points in the overall team standings, good enough for sixth overall in the division 2 standings at the end of all events.
