Jason Wassung Season 2003-04

Honors and Awards

• 2007 Jim Hartung Award Recipient
• Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall: 2006)
• MPSF Academic All-Conference (2007)
• MPSF Championships (PH-3rd; AA-4th) (2006)
• NCAA Event Finals (AA-12th) (2006)
• MPSF Gymnast of the Week (2005: 2/14; 2/21) (2007: 2/27)
• MPSF Championships Event Finals (PH-8th; V-6th) (2005)

2007: After being named co-captain of the 2007 team, Wassung lived up to his billing, rising as high as third nationally in the all-around rankings. The senior finished first or second in the all-around in each of Nebraska’s regular-season competitions and was responsible for 24 percent of NU’s point production, counting all but three routines toward the Husker team score.

 

Wassung started the season by finishing second in the all-around (48.05) and third on the parallel bars (8.15) at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 13. He went on to earn the third all-around title of his career against Oklahoma and Air Force with a score of 50.35 the next weekend, while also tying for third on the parallel bars (8.85). In Nebraska's home-opener on Feb. 2, Wassung thrilled the hometown crowd by setting career-high marks on parallel bars (9.40) en route to his first event title of the season on the parallel bars, and a pair of second-place finishes on the high bar and all-around (51.90)

 

Taking a break from team competition, Wassung enjoyed his first career trip to the Winter Cup, where he finished 10th in Session I, NU's best finish of the meet. Upon returning to collegiate season, Wassung got right back into form, earning the fourth all-around title of his career against Iowa on Feb. 24. He also earned the high bar crown in that meet, as well as setting a season-high mark on the still rings (9.20).

 

Nebraska returned to Lincoln on March 4 to take on Stanford, where Wassung tallied a season best on the pommel horse (8.80). He followed that up with a season-high mark of 52.95 in the all-around against Minnesota on March 11, while also tallying season bests on the floor (9.20) and the high bar (9.40). Wassung earned the fifth all-around title of his career (52.40) during Senior Night as the Huskers topped Air Force on March 17.

 

During postseason action, Wassung captured second-place on the vault with a season-high score of 9.10 at the 2007 MPSF Championships. He went on to qualify for the 2007 NCAA All-Around Finals, where he finished ninth (51.75), just one-tenth of a point away from an eighth-place finish and All-America honors.

 

Academically, Wassung was named to the fall Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll and also represented NU men's gymnastics at the annual Nebraska HERO Recognition Breakfast for demonstrating outstanding leadership and citizenship.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

 

2006: Wassung led <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska as its top all-arounder in his junior season, ranking as high as sixth nationally in the event. He started the season strong, advancing to the event finals on the pommel horse, still rings and parallel bars at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 13, before earning the first event title of the 2006 season with a first-place finish on the pommel horse with a season-high score of 8.85 at the Rocky Mountain Open event finals on Jan. 14. Wassung finished third in the all-around (49.55) at the Stanford Open and second in the all-around with a season-high score of 52.45 against Iowa.  He also earned a pair of third-place event finishes in the vault (9.25) and parallel bars (8.75) against the Hawkeyes. At Minnesota on Feb. 18, Wassung finished third on the pommel horse (8.65), second on parallel bars (8.55) and second in the all-around (50.30). He gained another second-place finish in the all-around (51.85) the following week against Oklahoma, in addition to tying for third on the floor exercise with a season-high score of 9.00. In Nebraska’s regular-season finale, Wassung tied senior Derric Wood for first on the parallel bars against Air Force on March 19 with a season-high score of 8.95. He also posted a career-high score of 9.15 on the high bar for second-place against the Falcons.  Wassung capped a successful season by finishing 12th overall in the all-around at the 2006 NCAA Championships.  He was also named to the Big 12 Fall Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the first time in his career.

 

2005: After getting back to health following an injury in 2004, Wassung became invaluable to the Nebraska roster during his sophomore season. The Lincoln native burst onto the all-around scene for Nebraska from the start, earning a pair of all-around titles and quickly hitting the coveted 54 mark early in the season.  His efforts earned him a season-long stint in the national all-around rankings, where he ranked as high as sixth, as well as repeated appearances on the pommel horse list. On the season, Wassung sported career-high marks on every event and claimed four event titles in addition to becoming the only two-time recipient of MPSF Gymnast-of-the-Week honors in the conference for the season. At the MPSF Championships, Wassung finished fourth in the all-around (53.20) and qualified for both the pommel horse and vault finals. Wassung finished the season in fine form, landing solid scores in all six events at the NCAA Championships to help propel the Huskers to a ninth-place overall finish.

 

2004: The only Nebraska freshman out of Lincoln in 2004, Wassung was forced to sit out the first two meets with injuries before making his college debut in the floor exercise (8.75), vault (9.00), and parallel bars (8.70) in Nebraska’s win over OhioState. Wassung competed in every NU meet after his return, setting season-high scores of 8.75 on parallel bars against Oklahoma, Michigan and Minnesota.  He earned his first top-three finish against Minnesota, tying for third on the floor (8.80), while hitting season-high marks of 9.05 on both the floor and vault as well as making his collegiate debut on the pommel horse (8.60) against Oklahoma and Air Force.

 

Prior: At LincolnEastHigh School, Wassung earned a multitude of honors, including five state USAG titles in the all-around, four Region IV championships and a spot on the Junior National team in 1998 during his club career. Wassung was also a USA Qualifier in 2002 and a part of the 1999 NSG National Championship team under the direction of Nebraska assistant coach Chuck Chmelka. He considered West Point and Stanford before deciding to remain in Lincoln.

 

Personal: Jason is the son of Doug Wassung and Kate Croissant and has one sister, Johna, 26, and a brother, Adam, 18. Jason is a construction management major at Nebraska.

 

 

 

Wassung’s Career High Scores

All-Around

54.575

vs. Oklahoma, 2005

Floor Exercise

  9.20

at OhioState, 2005

Pommel Horse

 9.475

 at Iowa, 2005

Still Rings 

   9.30

vs. Minnesota, 2005

Vault 

   9.60

  at OhioState, 2005

Parallel Bars

  9.40

  vs. Oklahoma, 2007

High Bar

   9.40

     vs. Minnesota, 2007