All-American high jumper hopes to keep soaring

By Greg Doddridge
Staff Writer

Shaun Guice found his motivation for his runner-up finish at the 2001 NCAA Indoor Track Championships.

"I stayed focused; I talked to myself," he said.

The sophomore, a three-time All-American indoor/outdoor high jumper, wanted to use his ninth-place finish last year to help him improve this year.

"I got there and I was real timid and I felt like I cheated myself last year going in there with a timid mental mindset," said Guice. "This year, I went in there focused. And that is what I kept telling myself the whole time I was there. I just want to go in there and do better than I did last year, especially after Big Ten Indoors this year. I still wanted to let everybody know that I can have a bad meet, but I'm still used to jumping."

Guice jumped 7-0 1/2 at the Big Ten Indoor Championships at Penn State on Feb. 25 to finish second in the conference. On Feb. 3 at the Carl Busey Open in Illinois, Guice jumped a 7-4 1/2. For the NCAAs, he said people were expecting Kenny Evans of Arkansas, who leaped 7-7 to finish second last year at the NCAAs, to contend with Charles Clinger of Weber State, who jumped 7-5 to finish third at last year's NCAAs.

All three jumped 7-5 this year, but Clinger won the event with Guice second and Evans third. The tiebreaker was number of misses.

"It's funny because (Clinger and I) still had the same number of misses and that is usually what breaks the tie," said Guice.

He said he thought the next tiebreaker would be a jump-off, but "we both had the same amount of misses, but since he cleared the height that we both cleared first, that won the event. It breaks the tiebreaker, whoever clears it first."

Clinger missed a lower height and Guice cleared 7-5 on his second try. But Clinger nailed that mark on his first try.

"I was upset at first, but after I thought about it, I was like 'Oh well'," said Guice. He was happy with his personal best.

"A personal record at that type of meet is definitely what you want to do," said Guice. "I think that is what everybody wants to come in doing — peak at that time of performance. I think it was the perfect time to peak."

And now that he has peaked, he said it is time to get ready for the outdoor competition, which starts this weekend with the Boilermaker Open. Guice tied for fifth at the outdoor NCAA Nationals last year with a height of 7-2 1/4.

"I think some people are going to be chasing me now," said Guice. "Those are people I have been considered to be in the same level with, competition-wise."

But he doesn't think his competitors, including Evans and Clinger, can put any pressure on him.

"The only pressure I can put is on myself and that is what I learned at Big Tens," said Guice. "I was trying to make it look like everybody was after me and that's not the case. Everybody has to clear the bar just like me."

He said he still feels like he is the one in the chase because everybody is still gunning for Evans. And that is fine with him.

"I would always rather be on the bottom," said Guice. "That's how I came into the meet; I was right on the bottom. I wasn't considered to be in the top three."

All-American high jumper hopes to keep soaring

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