Jasmine Staebler’s run to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship wasn’t supposed to be this simple.

Yet, the sophomore middle-distance runner has expedited the development stage, securing a school record, one of the top-10 fastest 800-meter times in the nation and a ticket to nationals in less than two months.

And she won’t be going alone.

Junior Jhoanmy Luque owns the fourth-best marks in the nation in the long jump and triple jump, sending her back to the indoor championship for a second straight year.

The pair is approaching sacred territory, as only five Iowa State women’s track and field athletes have qualified for the meet in the last three years.

An unexpected debut

Staebler’s ticket to NCAAs wasn’t expected heading into the season. She didn’t set any lofty goals for herself, instead “just hoping that some of my strength can carry over from last year.”

Competing at nationals never crossed her mine. Of the 48 women who have qualified for the 800 at the indoor championships over the past three years, only 14 were freshmen or sophomores.  

But the strength was evident from the start of the season, as she set a personal record in her first meet at the PSU National on Jan. 28, crossing the finish line in 2 minutes and 4.81 seconds. The time was more than a second and a half faster than her previous career best.

Just when it appeared like she may have peaked, she repeated with another personal best her next race, dropping her time to 2:03.08 at the Iowa State Classic and securing a spot at NCAAs.

“I don’t know, honestly,” Staebler said on whether she thought she peaked at the Classic. “I thought once I ran 2:04, I thought that was pretty tough and I didn’t know if I’d be able to go faster. At the Classic, I was able to go faster, but that was really hard. So I guess I don’t know. Maybe I do have more left.”

She’ll get one last chance to test that this weekend in College Station.

“Coming in I never thought that nationals was even a possibility just because it’s so tough to make,” Staebler said. “So I was just really excited to make it and compete for Iowa State.”

An expected return

Luque’s qualification didn’t come as a surprise.

She entered the season as a three-time All-American and was coming off an outdoor season in which she finished fourth in the triple jump and 11th in the long jump at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

She showed improvement right out of the gate to start the indoor season, leaping to a personal-best mark in the triple jump, 44-6¼, at the Black and Gold Premier on Jan. 28 in Iowa City.

While she was satisfied with the result, she knew there was more in the tank.

“I still have a lot to improve [on my technique],” Luque said after the meet. “And just get focused in my practice and just try to have fun in every meet. I think that really helps me a lot.

“Just go for nationals and maybe be in the top three. That would be a dream come true for me.”

Less than a month later on Feb. 24 and 25, Luque was back on the runway setting more personal records. This time, however, they led to her first Big 12 titles in the long jump and triple jump.

She will enter the indoor national championships with a Big 12 Performer of the Year award, a Midwest Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year award and the same goal she set out to accomplish at the beginning of the season: a top-three finish.

“I just [want] to keep doing what I’m doing,” Luque said. “I know I have been working really hard and I know I can show that at [NCAAs]. “I’m just going to try to have fun and be relaxed during nationals and maybe be able to be in the top three.”