Clear Creek Amana's Aren Schlemme wins long jump state title at Iowa state track meet

Clear Creek Amana sophomore Aren Schlemme didn’t have much time to celebrate after winning his first state title Friday.

After placing first in the Class 3A long jump, he immediately raced to the 110-meter hurdle prelims, placing fifth in the event and advancing to Saturday's finals.

As he walked off the Blue Oval, Schlemme admitted he didn't expect to win the long jump

“I’m kind of surprised, I didn’t think I would (win). But the last jump, I somehow went farther,” Schlemme said.

Schlemme was head-to-head with Decorah’s Kaiden Quandahl in the long jump finals. The second-year Clipper kept his eyes on the score sheets as the event came down to the final three jumps.

“I was staring at the results,” Schlemme said. “I knew he had (22 feet, 2 inches) since the beginning so I was trying to get that the whole time.”

While down on the score sheets, he felt a sense of nervousness, but the feeling turned into a clutch moment. His final leap of 22 feet, 2.5 inches was the difference maker.

"I feel like CCA don't get a lot of state wins as much besides the girls shuttle," Schlemme said. "Hoping to continue doing it."

It was Schlemme's second appearance at the Iowa state meet. As a freshman, he competed in four events and didn't even qualify for the long jump.

Fast-forward to his sophomore year, he entered the state meet as the 3-seed in the 3A long jump. Schlemme, who started competing in fifth grade, said he put in more work this season than ever before. He trains with CCA coach Karl Vogel while also spending time outside of school as a part of the Iowa Speed Track and Field Club.

"At Iowa Speed, I was doing the long jump, so I started early trying to be better than last year," Schlemme said. "From this year to last year it's more work. Before that it was just growing up but this year...I had to learn how to jump instead of doing it with (just) athletic ability."

Schlemme's winning leap at the state meet was a new personal best. He hopes to earn a CCA school record in the long jump and add another state title to his resume in the future.

“I still got a couple more years, hopefully, I can actually do it again and jump farther," Schlemme said.

Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached atMARay@gannett.com, and on X, formerly Twitter, at@themarcszn.