Junior Joseph “Max” Schmitz delivered a record-breaking performance at the Arizona Decathlon/Heptathlon State Championship on Friday and Saturday, surpassing his own school record in the decathlon by an impressive 900 points. Schmitz scored 5,801 points to place third overall in the Open Division, earning All-Arizona honors.

Entering the competition ranked 15th in the state, Schmitz saved his strongest performance for the final meet of his season, recording seven lifetime personal bests across the 10-event competition. He opened the championship with personal-best marks in the 100-meter dash, long jump, and shot put. He followed with a season-best performance in the high jump and another lifetime best in the 400-meter dash to conclude the first day of competition.

On the second day, Schmitz ran the second-fastest 110-meter hurdles time in the field before facing adversity in the discus. After struggling to record a legal throw, he successfully completed a standing throw on his final attempt to remain in contention. His pole vault mark of 12 feet, 10.75 inches elevated him further in the standings.

Schmitz then delivered one of the top performances of the meet in the javelin, recording a lifetime-best throw of 151 feet, 3 inches — the farthest throw of the competition — which moved him into third place overall. To secure his podium finish, he needed another personal best in the 1,500-meter run, and he responded by improving his previous best time by 20 seconds.

Multi-event Coach Kimberly Matura praised Schmitz’s determination and composure throughout the championship.

“Max is a fierce competitor and battled against the top 24 decathletes in the state over two days to earn this bronze medal,” Matura said. “Everyone is incredibly proud of Max for his performance and how he carried himself with class throughout the meet.”

Head Coach Chris Nash also commended Schmitz for exemplifying the values of the Notre Dame Prep Track & Field program.

“Max is the embodiment of what we have built with NDP Track & Field,” Nash said. “He is a 4.0 student-athlete with high character. He has embraced the process and has learned to learn and then compete. The only practices he missed since the beginning of December was the Kairos religious retreat. He was practicing two to three events a day for months. His performance is a reflection of the quality young man he has become."