Southern University's House setting bar high at championships

In the two most important meets of the season, Southern high jumper Jason House has added a certain dramatic flair to the end of his performance. But it’s not the kind of dramatics House, a sophomore, wants in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which begin Wednesday at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

In the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships in April and the NCAA Mideast Regionals two weeks ago, House had to come up with a clutch jump just to stay alive in the competition. House, a native of Laurel, Miss., was down to his final try at 6 feet 10 inches when he cleared the bar. He went on to win the title at 7-1, which turned out to be the second-best jump in the NCAA Mideast Region this spring.

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The Natural: B-CU star has found competitive spirit

DAYTONA BEACH -- Ronnie Ash can't really explain his reluctance to play organized sports. Like a homecoming queen playing hard-to-get, he rebuffed his high school suitors year after year.

Basketball coaches, football coaches -- you name it -- they all drooled when they saw the lithe 6-foot-3, 190-pounder ambling down the hallways. They all recruited. They were all rejected, until Knightdale, N.C., High School track coach David Castell finally got a bite in Ash's senior year and was able to reel him in.

Now a freshman at Bethune-Cookman, Ash's rapid rise in track and field might even astound all of the spurned coaches who envisioned greatness for this young man. Ash will compete in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division I track and field championships this week at Des Moines, Iowa.

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