A few years after not knowing where the state of Nebraska was located on a map, Husker high jumper Jenna Rogers is starting to regain her confidence in a "hidden gem" city 1,300 miles away from her home.
Rogers, a freshman from Rutherford, N.J., was one of the top jumpers in the country after breaking the state and national freshman records in her prep career.
But after fracturing the navicular bone in her left foot, Rogers missed time in high school and her first year in Nebraska. An MRI last spring revealed a bone spur, and after surgery, she's back in action.
She won last week’s high jump title at the Graduate Classic with jump of 5 feet, 10 inches.
“(Last season) I just had to root everyone on, but to be back with this team is so nice and I will never take that for granted again,†Rogers said “I just continued to work hard through it because I knew I would be back eventually. … Now I feel good, and I feel confident again.â€
Rogers decided on Nebraska in the fall of her senior year of high school. She was initially skeptical, but her mother, who attended Minnesota, pushed Rogers to at least check out the campus in Lincoln. On the plane ride back from that visit, Rogers decided she was a Husker.
“I did not expect (Nebraska) to be like this,†she said. “(High jump coach) Dusty Jones is 100% the best coach in the nation. There are a ton of great athletes out here you wouldn’t expect. It’s so great to be out here.â€
Rogers was also one of the top volleyball players in New Jersey. She was second in the state in kills as a senior and was fielding calls to play volleyball in college, too.
But track and field was always her priority. It’s the individualism that she enjoys the most.
“Everything is on me,†she said. “All the pressure is on me, which is a lot. But also, if I do well, it is all me and I can give myself credit for that either way.â€
Despite sitting out almost all last year, Rogers still has high expectations for herself for this season — and beyond. The first step is a conference championship, and the school record of 6-3 is in her mind, too.
“I’m super confident this year in my abilities,†she said. “I really think that things will happen. … I have a long time here still but there are some goals that I have for myself that I hope to achieve.â€
Rogers and the rest of the Nebraska track team continue their indoor season this weekend in the Prairie Wolf Invitational on Friday and the Mark Colligan Invitational on Saturday. Both will be at the Devaney Sports Center.
Photos: Husker track and field team hosts Graduate Classic