American Record: Charles Austin, 7-10.5
2007 U.S. Champion: Jim Dilling, 7-5.25
2004 Olympic Trials Champion: Jamie Nieto, 7-7.75
Top 5 Seed Times
1.) Dusty Jonas, 7-8.75
2.) Andra Manson, 7-7.75
3.) Scott Sellers, 7-7.75
4.) Jesse Williams, 7-7.75
5.) Jim Dilling, 7-6.5
Even with two high jumpers from the 2004 U.S. Olympic team back to compete, the younger generation of high jumpers will likely grab their first trips to the Olympics this year.
Jamie Nieto (fourth place in Athens) and Tora Harris will try to secure their second Olympic team berths against the likes of new Eugene resident Jesse Williams, the No. 1 high jumper in the U.S. in 2007 and Nebraska’s Dusty Jonas, who holds the world-leading mark of 7 feet, 8.75 inches. Jonas, however, jumped 7-5 at the NCAA meet.
A 2004 NCAA champion while at Texas, Andra Manson jumped the world’s third-best height early in the season in April, and could prove to be a spoiler in an event many expect Williams to headline. Williams competed at the 2007 world championships in Osaka for the U.S. after taking third at nationals, and has been a multiple NCAA champion at Southern California.
Scott Sellers has an NCAA title to his name at Kansas State, the same school that produced Nieto, NCAA champion Nathan Leeper, and 2004 silver medalist Matt Hemingway. Sellers enters seeded third and ranked 10th in the world.
Jim Dilling, last year’s U.S. outdoor champion, is seeded fifth, but his title performance last year shows he can jump under pressure.
Newcomer Grant Lindsey of Kentucky took a surprising second place at last month’s NCAA championships but will most likely need to improve his personal best of 7-5 to finish in the top three.