ShawneeDispatch.com

The sky was the limit for Matt Sittenauer midway through his sophomore year at Lansing High, only at that point he didn't know it.

For much of his sophomore track season, Sittenauer was stuck in a rut as a 19-foot long jumper, but during the final three weeks of the season he vaulted himself into the realm of the state's elite.

Since then, he pushed his limits as one of the state's most consistent 22-foot jumpers - the last two years coming at Mill Valley.

He placed second at state in the long jump and fourth in the 100-meter dash last year, and a week ago he was a state runner-up in the long jump and triple jump while also helping the 400-meter relay team place sixth.

Now he has earned a track scholarship to Wichita State University where he will compete at the NCAA Division I level.

"It was really about my sophomore year at the end of the year when I started thinking I might be able to do something with this," he said.

"When I went to state, I was like, 'I want to go here. This is where I want to go if I could."

State, of course, takes place at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium, so Sittenauer has had a close look at the facilities he will be using during the next four years.

After his first taste of state as a sophomore, Sittenauer's rapid improvement took him within inches of a state title in the long jump as a junior. He was in first place heading into the finals with a mark of 22 feet, 9 inches, when Shawnee Heights' Jonathan Owens surpassed him with a leap of 23-1 1/2.

"He overcame me in finals; I didn't have the umpf to get it there," Sittenauer said. "That's just pushing me even harder (this year)."

He was in a similar situation this year in the triple jump when his leading mark of 45-10 was topped during finals by Emporia senior Brandon Childs.

Sittenauer landed a career best leap of 22-11 in the long jump at the Shawnee Mission West Invitational this year. It was the top mark of the season in Class 5A.

Although he was one of the fastest sprinters in the area during the last two years, Sittenauer will focus on the long jump and triple jump at Wichita State. He was unable to collect a first-place finish at Cessna Stadium during the past three years at state, but now he has four more years to try. While doing so, he will see some familiar faces from the state meet on a regular basis.

One of his teammates will be Childs, the jumper from Emporia.

"He'll be my roommate next year, and me and him will just have a good time building off each other," Sittenauer said. "It'll be fun."