Tucker Wedig turned in two state medal efforts in the Division 3 boys’ discus and shot put to lead the Braves at the state meet, while classmate Keegan Kamps followed in her sisters’ footsteps by medaling in the D3 girls’ discus.
“Tucker and Keegan have put in a lot of hours throwing this year,” said Belmont head coach Jason Weittenhiller. “It was great to see two sophomores on the medal stand. With the work ethic these two have, the next two years will be very exciting.”
Wedig opened up his first trip to state by finishing fifth in the discus on Friday with a top toss of 143’1”.
He came back on Saturday afternoon and made it back to the award stand by registering a personal-best heave of 50’5” on his final attempt in the shot put to place sixth overall.
“It feels good,” said Wedig. “It’s a good point to start at and build off of. I have some momentum going into the future.”
Kamps not only added to the school’s tradition of quality throwers, but also added her family’s history as well with her sixth-place performance in the girls’ discus on Saturday morning with a top toss of 110 feet.
“My goal this season was to get [to state] and I got here,” commented Kamps. “After that, my goal was to get myself on the podium and I did that, so I feel awesome.”
It is the eighth straight year a member of Kamps’ immediate family has competed at the WIAA state meet, and the seventh straight year a Kamps has done so in the discus. Kara, the oldest Kamps sister, competed at state in the long jump and 800-relay in 2006, while Kassi (2007–09) and Kailee (2010–12) Kamps competed at state in the shot put and discus.
“It’s definitely a lot of pressure, but I like it. It’s good to have them behind me,” said Keegan about living up to the family tradition.
All were on hand to cheer on the youngest member of the family along with her dad, David, a former WIAA state champion in the discus who also serves as Belmont’s throws coach.
“It means the world to have them here to boost me up and give me critiques,” Kamps added. “If I have any questions, they know exactly what I need to be doing because they have been there before.”
Kailee also won a state title in the discus in 2010 and was runner-up in 2011 and 2012 to Algoma’s Kennedy Blahnik, who became a three-time state champion in the event on Saturday when she broke her own record with a toss of 154’3”.
Blahnik, a junior, also became a three-time state champion in the shot put with a record-breaking throw of 49’1.5”.
The state meet certainly was a family affair for Belmont as Tucker’s senior brother, Brandon, competed in the boys’ triple jump; while Keegan’s cousin, junior Jordyn Kamps, participated in the girls’ 200-meter dash.
Brandon Wedig placed 14th in the triple jump with a top mark of 40’8.75”, and Jordyn Kamps finished 13th in the 200 preliminaries in 27.89 seconds to miss out on the finals.
“Our kids did a very good job in La Crosse. Brandon and Jordyn have put in a lot of work this season and it was great to watch them compete at state,” said Weittenhiller.
Belmont finished in a tie for 34th-place in the boys’ standings thanks to Tucker’s seven team points, while Keegan’s three points put Belmont in a tie for 46th-place in the girls’ standings.
Saint Mary’s Springs (48) edged Melrose–Mindoro (46) and McDonell Central (44) for the boys’ team title, and Edgar (70) rolled to their fourth straight girls’ title ahead of Saint Mary’s Springs (36.5).
