March 17, 2008

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The University of Northern Iowa track and field program has added another Iowa athlete to its 2008-09 recruiting class with the signing of high jumper Travis Leuer to a National Letter of Intent.

 

Leuer, who hails from Laurens, Iowa, has twice finished in the top five in the high jump competition at the Iowa high school state track and field championships while competing for Laurens-Marathon High School.

 

Leuer owns a personal-best clearance of 6 feet, 10 inches, a height he reached while competing in the Appleton, Wis., high jump festival. A jump of 6-6 gave Leuer a runner-up finish in the Class 1A high jump at the 2007 Iowa state meet, an improvement from his fourth-place finish at the 2006 state championships.

 

He has twice been named to the Class 1A all-state track and field team while also earning a pair of nods to the elite all-state team, which recognizes the state's top athletes regardless of classification.

 

A strong all-around athlete, Leuer also was named to the Iowa Newspaper Association's all-state football team in 2007 and has twice been named first team all-district in football. He also has received all-conference honors in basketball. Academically, Leuer has twice earned district all-academic distinction in football.

 

Leuer will bring additional depth to a UNI men's high jump program that qualified both Julian Morris and Ehi Oamen for the NCAA Indoor Championships, where Oamen earned All-America honors with a third-place finish. The duo also swept the top two spots at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships during the 2008 indoor season.

 

"We're thrilled that Travis has decided to join our program," UNI associate head coach Travis Geopfert said. "He's an excellent student as well as a terrific athlete. He has nearly unlimited potential with his size and overall athletic ability, and I'm confident he will make an immediate impact on our already-talented high jump crew. It's exciting to know that, with Ehi, Julian and Luke Thompson, we have the ability to have four seven-foot jumpers on the same team.

 

"Travis reminds me a lot of Ehi Oamen when he was coming out of high school," Geopfert added. "He's another small-town Iowa athlete with a great attitude and a great work ethic. I'm excited to have the opportunity to coach him for four years."

 

UNI has signed a total of 11 athletes for the 2008-09 season.