Jonas Earns Silver in NCAA High Jump

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Fayetteville, Ark.?Junior Dusty Jonas added to his already well-stocked Husker trophy case by claiming a second career runner-up finish in the men’s high jump Saturday, as the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships concluded at the RandalTysonIndoorTrackCenter. Jonas’ effort, along with an eighth-place finish by the Husker men’s 4x400-meter relay, helped the Nebraska men finish in a tie for 25th place with nine points.

<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The team placing marked the sixth straight year the squad finished among the nation’s top 25 at the national indoor meet. Sophomore Brysun Stately scored the only points for the NU women (1.5 points) by tying for seventh in the pole vault to tie the squad for 67th place overall. Wisconsin (40) won the men’s team race, while ArizonaState (38) collected the women’s national championship.

Jonas earned his second silver-medal honor in the last three seasons in the indoor high jump after reaching 7-4 ?, which tied his indoor career-best height. The La Vernia, Texas, native outlasted fellow Big 12 jumpers Scott Sellars of Kansas State and Andra Manson of Texas, but was unable to match Auburn's David Thomas in clearing 7-5 ?.

Jonas faced early elimination in the contest after missing at each of his first two chances at 7-3 ?, but was able to clear on his final attempt. He made his final height during the next round on his first try. Following the elimination of Jonas, Thomas went on to reach 7-7 ? before even recording his first miss and attempted to tie the collegiate record of 7-9 ? before fouling out.

“It took until I had those two misses to really get myself fired up because it was such a long drawn out competition,” Jonas said. “I tried to put everything together, and I think I had a pretty good jump to get over (7-3 ?). I knew if I didn’t make it I’d still finish as an All-American, but that wasn’t what I wanted. That first attempt I had at 7-4 ? was a big jump for me. In national competition, that’s the biggest jump I’ve made.”

The performance marked Jonas' fifth career NCAA All-America effort in as many chances. His previous best national meet effort of 7-3 ? was recorded during each of his previous four NCAA competitions, including his freshman indoor season of 2005 when he finished second place to USC's Jesse Williams. Jonas is now only one national honor shy of former Husker Shane Lavy's school record of six All-America finishes in the high jump.

“I’m really excited to finish as high as I did,” Jonas said. “I didn’t really expect that coming into the meet, but you can’t really count on anything (in the high jump).”

Jonas performance marked the 25th NCAA All-America finish recorded under the tutelage of Head Coach Gary Pepin, while the Husker junior is the lone athlete to earn multiple top-two placings in the event.

“Dusty has always tended to compete well in big meets,” Pepin said of Jonas. “This is certainly the best one he has had. I thought he competed hard in one of the more talented fields in the high jump in recent years. He looked a little rusty on some of those first jumps, but he’s a really talented guy.”

The efforts of Nebraska’s young 4x400-meter relay provided the team with an addition point to push it into a tie for 25th place in the final team standings. Senior Nate Probasco and freshmen Scott Wims, Daniel Christensen and Lukas Hulett each garnered All-America honors after clocking in with a time of 3:08.68 to place second in their heat, as well as eighth overall. The foresome became the first Husker men’s relay to earn an NCAA placing since the team won the 1996 national title in the distance medley relay. The last NU 4x400 to place was in 1994.

“We definitely thought they would be in position to do well coming into the meet,” said assistant coach Matt Martin, who coaches the Husker relay. “To have three freshmen on that team make All-American and see them compete their guts out in their first (NCAA) meets, that was a success.”

Stately registered the only team points of the weekend for the Husker women by tying for seventh place in the pole vault with a height of 13-5 ?. The finish marked Stately’s second career NCAA All-America honor following her sixth-place showing at last year’s NCAA outdoor meet for USC. MontanaState’s Elouise Rusy won the competition (14-1 ?) in a jump-off with Florida’s Natalie Moser.

Stately was the lone athlete to pass on each of the first two heights. She followed with a clearance on her second attempt at 13-5 ?, but was unable to reach 13-9 ?. Stately helped the NU women earn a team score for the 26th time in the last 28 national indoor meets.

“I was coming in strong and getting myself over the bar, but I was just coming down on it,” Stately said. “I should have moved the standards up, but I’ll learn from this for the next time I’m at nationals.

Nebraska takes a break from its 2007 track and field schedule, as the outdoor season now takes center stage. The Huskers open their outdoor slate March 30-31 in Palo Alto, Calif., at the Stanford Invitational.