WOONSOCKET, S.D. — Jeff Boschee is following a familiar road map with hopes the final destination is familiar, too.
One year ago, Boschee's results steadily built toward the state track and field meet. Once there, he announced himself as one of South Dakota's premier high jumpers with a Class A state championship.
As the Sanborn Central/Woonsocket junior prepares for the return trip to Sioux Falls' Howard Wood Field for the 2023 state meet, Boschee is peaking at the appropriate time once again.
But this time around, Boschee will not enter simply as one of several contenders. Instead, he's the clear-cut favorite to claim another state title.
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'I love high jump'
Boschee is far from a one-trick athlete, regularly competing in the long jump and triple jump and adding in occasional appearances on the track as a middle-distance runner.
However, there's zero doubt that high jump is his favorite event.
"It's my favorite, by far," Boschee said. "My dad (Arin) was very good at high jump, too. He had our old school record at 6-5 and he's always jumped, so I've always jumped, and he helps me a lot. It's just our thing, and it's been fun. I love high jump."
This season, Boschee, who stands 6-foot-2, owns South Dakota's highest mark at 6 feet, 7.25 inches, as one of five athletes to reach 6-4 or better across all classes. Within Class A, Boschee is more than 4 inches better than the next-best height. He's not content there, either, as his goal is to clear 6 feet, 8 inches, at the state meet.
"My 6-foot-3 jump last year, I was about 4 or 5 inches above [the bar], so I knew I could get a lot higher this year," Boschee explained. "I just know I can get over. I have all this video of [my jumps] where I'm soaring over 6-4 and 6-5, so I have all this confidence going into it."
Recent form is trending in Boschee's favor, too. Of the five Class A athletes to clear 6-2 or better this season, none have set their season high as recently as Boschee, who recorded his 6-7.25 leap on May 11 at Ethan/Parkston's Buck Timmins Memorial meet. At the Hanson Invitational on May 15, Boschee reached 6-7, giving him the top two heights of any South Dakotan this season.
After clearing a top height of 5-foot-6 as a freshman in 2021 and posting a 5-4 mark in the first meet of 2022, Boschee hasn't finished a meet at less than 6-1 this season. Across nine competitions, Boschee has claimed first place in eight of them, including Thursday's Region 5A meet in Alexandria. The lone exception was a third-place finish at the elite Howard Wood Dakota Relays.
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'Feeling good'
In his state title defense, Boschee is relying on what he knows. He hasn't felt the need to adjust much from last season to this, down to the marked location he uses to start his approach.
"It's just practice and form work," Boschee said of his success. "That's my focus [ahead of state], just keeping the legs loose and continuing to work at it."
That hard-working mindset has been integral in helping Boschee outpace his peers. But he understands all his prior results effectively get thrown out with one competition to go, not to mention the added stakes of attempting to repeat as a state champion.
Come next Thursday in Sioux Falls, it's just Boschee, his fellow competitors and the bar.
"There's some pressure, for sure," he said. "Something could go wrong or you could have an off day and all of a sudden, it's just gone."
But Boschee thinks he's in a solid position to finish his quest for a second-straight state high jump championship.
"I'm feeling good going into state," he added. "I've got some time to prepare. I'm going to take it easy next week and hope for the best."
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