A total of 1,088 student-athletes will be competing in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week in Des Moines, Iowa.

Twinsburg's Ryan Jones, a senior high jumper at the University of Akron, took the long way to get there.

Three years ago, Jones was a basketball player at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, wondering whether his track career was over.

Once he got his academics in order, he was able to enroll at UA in 2006. Then came satisfying and productive seasons as a sophomore and junior that, nevertheless, ended frustratingly short of the national meet.

Then, his last chance was put in jeopardy May 31, when he finished 10th in the Mideast regional in Fayetteville, Ark. He then had to wait to see whether his 7-feet, 3/4-inch jump during the season would be enough to get him to Des Moines as an at-large entrant.

That news came last week, when he became one of eight high jumpers added to the field of 20 who qualified automatically at the regionals.

''I knew it was going to be close. I had my fingers crossed. All I could do is wait,'' Jones said. ''When my coach sent me a text message that I made it, I didn't know what to say. I was speechless. It was something that I was waiting for ever since I came to Akron.''

Zips coach Dennis Mitchell was almost as excited as Jones about the news.

''He deserves it. It's something that he has been trying to do. He's had so many disappointments at the regionals and now he can end his career like this,'' Mitchell said. ''He has been so solid for us for three years.

''He has never been afraid of challenges and has always had big goals. He reached a big one.''

In 2003, Jones won the Division I state high school championship for Twinsburg, jumping 6-foot-9 to edge — by one inch — Dayton Colonel White's Quade Milum (who went on to complete a solid basketball career for the Zips in March).

However, Jones did not achieve a high enough score on the ACT to qualify for a Division I scholarship. So he went to Lakeland and played basketball to stay in shape.

''That was a long two years,'' Jones said. ''I was itching to get back to track, but I didn't know if it was going to happen.''

Jones qualified academically at Lakeland and enrolled at UA in 2006. Jumping ahead, let it be known that Jones graduated May 10 with a bachelor's degree in media production and business organization.

In track, he became an immediate contributor for the Zips as a sophomore, finishing third in the MAC meet. He then finished eighth in the Mideast regional, missing the finals.

As a junior in 2007, he won the MAC title but placed sixth in the regional, missing the nationals by one spot.

In neither of those years did he have a jump that put him into the at-large pool. But his 7-3/4 effort at the All-Ohio Championships in Cincinnati in April was high enough to qualify for the national meet, which runs Wednesday through Saturday.

''I am prepared. I have competed against most of the field before, so I know what to expect,'' said Jones, who finished second in the MAC meet in May to help the Zips win the men's title. ''I am going to relax and not try to focus too much on the mental things. That wears you down. . . .

''I have to visualize my jumps and focus on fundamentals and technique.''

Jones will be joined in Des Moines by teammates Cadeau Kelley (men's long jump), Auston Papay (men's discus) and Stevi Large (women's hammer).