2026 Wisconsin HS Track & Field

Pongonis 4:18 at the SPASH meet

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Lucas Tanner ran 4:07/8:54 at the English distances and he beat Lenn in the mile

I don't know how much Grady Lenn and Lucas Tanner have maxed out their training, but it will be very fun to watch them compete against each other in college.

Griak Indoor Classic - Pongonis 4:16

https://results.wayzatatiming.com/meets/64227/events/individual/2368353

4:18*

GRADY LENN 8:39 ARCADIA 2026 - GOOD ENOUGH FOR 4TH

The only concern is that people from WI tend to lose momentum after competing at a high-performance meet like Arcadia. I doubt he'll top the 8:39-mark this season but I hope this assertion is wrong and the student-athletes do something special at the state meet.

From here, Lenn's already great high school career should focus on the much anticipated sub-4 minute mile. He clearly has the physical tools to accomplish this feat.

In 1997, Gabe Jennings ran a 4:02.81 (4:01.40y for 1600m) to finish back of the pack among professionals at the Pre Classic. If Lenn travels to Hale or Palatine, that might be the place to do it. The state meet is arguably another valid venue and the spectators will never forget such a performance. The environment in La Crosse is somewhat unpredictable, however. It could, for instance, rain, endure a freezing hail storm and be a sun exposed, humid boiler pit all in a matter of the same two hours.

I am not sure the Wisco Mile after the season is the best place for a high schooler of his caliber to try and accomplish this though. If Lenn were a freshman trying to break 4:20 it'd be a different story. Wisco Mile is otherwise hit or miss, especially for the girls. When we alsp consider qualifying times for USATF, the Wisco Mile venue is also absent of a rail, something most people don't realize, so any big performance is truly an exhibition.

What else does Lenn shoot for to keep the momentum going this season? A sub-1:50 tune up? Sub-4 against HS only competition? A sub-4 against college runners and pros? Can he run sub-50?

Lenn should not count out the in-state competition at the state meet. A lot of student-athletes have the proven to have the physical tools to perform at sub-1:52 / sub-4:05 / sub-8:45 levels this time around. And when people are racing, anything can happen!

Drake Relays has a special mile this year in 2 weeks. Hope he is competing. Iowa has Nauman at sub 4 along with a few sub 4:05 guys.

Asking for non-windy, ideal conditions at Drake Relays is asking a lot. That race will have a lot of hype going in but I could see the results appearing very normalized at the end (1-2 sub 4:05 efforts).

Running it Friday night. Wind dies down and drake stadium is in a hole and stadium blocks wind. State meet last year had 3:59 and 4:03.

Running it Friday night. Wind dies down and drake stadium is in a hole and stadium blocks wind. State meet last year had 3:59 and 4:03.

Wisconsin Valley Conference https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/658565/results/m/1/1600m

Big 8 triple dual

https://results.tracksidetiming.com/meets/69250/events/individual/2538792

Landon Franke 4:13 lsat night, conveted from a 4:15 mile.

https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/625385/results/m/8/1600m

Wasnt there supppsed to be a Grady Lenn sub-4 attempt today?

https://live.pttiming.com/?mid=8856&en=109-1

I see a Polk County mile

https://live.pttiming.com/?mid=8856&en=195-1

Pongonis (Jr) a minute behind - 4:14 in the 1600

Freshman Carroll 9:39 at the Spartan invitational

https://live.badgerstatetiming.com/meets/72374/events/individual/2677870

This post was generated by AI

## 2026 D1 4x800 Projection

### Tier 1 — Legitimate State Title Threats

1. **Homestead High School**

2. **Hudson High School**

3. **Oconomowoc High School**

4. **Stevens Point Area Senior High**

Then:

* DeForest

* Marquette University HS

* Wisconsin Lutheran

* Wauwatosa East

---

# 1) Homestead = clear favorite now

### Returning from 7:47.55 state championship team:

* Jay/Jemekhi Tally

* Elias Ulmen

* Sean Deguire

* Max Bennett

AND:

* Tally improved from 1:51.21 state champ → 1:51.57 early season

* Ulmen already at 1:56.39

* Athan Speck ran 15:58 XC

* Entire program is stacked aerobically

The biggest thing:

their 2025 state-winning relay was mostly juniors.

Projected 2026 lineup:

* Tally

* Ulmen

* Deguire

* Speck / Bennett replacement

Potential:

* 7:38–7:43

That is state-record-adjacent territory if conditions align.

Tally alone probably gives:

* ~1:49 relay split capability

Homestead now has both:

* elite anchor

* true XC depth

---

# 2) Hudson

They have:

* TJ Pennycook — 1:53.73 state placer

* Ryan Keller — 15:33 XC / 4:21 / 9:16

* Ryder Berscheid 50.05

Projected:

* 7:41–7:46 range

---

# 3) Oconomowoc = strongest top-2 combo in the state

* Owen Sayles was already 1:55.53 at state as a junior

* Troy Bartelt was 16:26 XC

* James Lennington ran 9:36 at state

* Max Meissner 16:34 XC

* several more sub-17:15 XC kids

.

Sayles has:

* 1:52.80

* 50.20

* 4:17

Sayles might become a 1:50-flat relay split guy.

Oconomowoc may have:

* the best 1–2 punch

* the best balance of speed + endurance

Their issue:

Do they have a fourth sub-1:57 runner?

If yes:

they can absolutely win state.

---

# 4) Stevens Point (SPASH) = the dark horse with terrifying XC depth

They have:

* Cooper Erickson

* Fisher Carroll

* Garrett Strong

* Bennett Story

* Alex Dziak

All strong XC/state-level aerobic runners.

This is EXACTLY the type of school that suddenly runs:

* 7:44 out of nowhere.

And Fisher Carroll being elite as a freshman is huge.

SPASH may not have the superstar front-runner that Homestead has, but:

they have the best total distance roster in Wisconsin.

---

# Biggest riser: DeForest

DeForest's visible depth fro,m XC:

* Lucas Tanner — state runner-up

* Logan Davison — 16:24 XC

* Jacob Lafever — 16:54

* Wyatt Parker — 17:04

* Chandler Pabon — 17:27

And Tanner is:

* 1:51.71

* 4:05.80

* 15:24 XC

If DeForest intentionally built a team around Tanner they could be quite good.

---

# Programs with the best relay DNA

## Homestead

Already proved it with:

* state title

* returning core

* elite anchor

## Hudson

XC depth + 800 tradition + 400 speed.

## Oconomowoc

Balanced roster construction.

## SPASH

Classic distance-machine program.

---

# Best Individual Relay Legs in Wisconsin

| Athlete | Estimated Relay Split Ceiling |

| --------------- | ----------------------------- |

| Jemekhi Tally | 1:49-high |

| Lucas Tanner | 1:50-low |

| Owen Sayles | 1:50-low |

| TJ Pennycook | 1:51-mid |

| Cooper Erickson | 1:53-low |

---

# Final 2026 Projection

| Rank | School | Ceiling |

| ---- | -------------------- | ------------------- |

| 1 | Homestead | 7:38–7:43 |

| 2 | Hudson | 7:41–7:46 |

| 3 | Oconomowoc | 7:42–7:47 |

| 4 | SPASH | 7:43–7:48 |

| 5 | DeForest | huge unknown upside |

| 6 | Marquette University | dangerous depth |

| 7 | Wauwatosa East | sneaky contender |

| 8 | Wisconsin Lutheran | young upside |

The key takeaway is that the 2026 field looks MUCH deeper than 2025. Wisconsin D1 may legitimately produce:

* multiple sub-7:45 teams

* possibly a sub-7:40 team if conditions and pacing align.