By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

Hays Striders coach Ty Haas was home in Hays with his wife during the USATF Region 9 Track and Field Championships in mid-July at Tulsa, Okla.

One afternoon during the meet, Haas received a phone call from Dave Haberman, father of Kim Haberman, Haas' longtime pupil. Haberman said, "guess what Kimberly just did."

At first, Haas thought Kim Haberman had reinjured her problematic hamstring. Instead, Dave told Haas that his daughter long jumped 19 feet, a new personal record by nearly five inches.

"Oh my gosh," Haas recalled.

The long jump gave Kim Haberman, a four-time state champion (twice in the long jump) at Thomas More Prep-Marian, the regional victory by more than a foot.

"I didn't believe it at first," she said. "It was just so amazing."

Haberman ranks fourth in the country entering this week's national junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Omaha, Neb. According to Haas, only two jumpers from California and another one from Florida are ahead of Haberman.

Haberman, a Kansas State University signee, also won in the triple jump (36-8) and finished third in the 100 meters (12.48). She'll compete in all three events in Omaha, the ninth straight year she made the Olympics.

Ashli Dryden, a Hays High athlete, finished second to Haberman in the triple jump (33-5 ¼) and also will head to nationals.

Both will compete in the Young Women's age group.

"In triple jump, I think she is a 37-foot jumper," Haas said. "If she hits everything correctly, she has a lot of potential, she has that speed element that Kim has that helps out. She is just pretty raw."

Keith Dryden, Ashli's 10-year-old brother, will high jump in the Bantam division after he finished third in the region (4-0). Keith Dryden has only jumped for a short time, yet exhibits great talent.

"The day of the deadline we found out that he was a high jumper," Haas said. "You see somebody and you go (wow). This might be your thing, so we got that changed kind of at the last minute."

For Haberman, this will be the final meet of her high school career. She has never won a national championship but has medaled in the top eight. A replication of the 19-foot long jump would likely provide her the highest national finish ever.

"That would be great," she said.

In the spring, Haberman was the best jumper in Kansas, regardless of classification.

She broke her personal and school records in all four of her events, the 100, 200, long jump (18-8) and triple jump (38-3).

At the state meet, Haberman, running with a balky hamstring, won three golds in Class 3A and bronze in the 200 as the Monarchs finished second as a team. Because of the pain, Haberman jumped just 17-2 in the long jump.

The hamstring, hurt in mid-May at the conference meet, was on the verge of snapping. Haberman rested for two weeks after the state meet and then started to train again.

Since then, she discovered why her hamstring hurt and also tweaked her jump, two changes that helped with the personal best.

"I didn't let her jump for awhile," Haas, Haberman's coach for six years, said. "There was no way we were going to let her jump."

Haberman went to Dennis Weber, the Fort Hays State University track and field coach, and discovered the problem through some stretches.

"We figured out the inside part of the hamstring wasn't working right," Haberman said. "It would start to shut down."

Haberman went for a deep tissue massage through a friend of Haas' family a few weeks before the national meet.

The masseuse released a problem in Haberman's hip. The next practice, Haberman felt soreness on the inside (a plus) and Haas said "she said she felt 100 percent better."

The duo also worked on Haberman's penultimate step in her long jumps. In practices, Haas would clap as Haberman came down the runway. As Haberman approached the board, Haas would quickly clap on his last two claps.

"We kind of talk about rhythm in our approach all the time and getting fast at the end," Haas said. "She heard it and she kind of picked up on it."

The change helped Haberman, consistently jumping in the 17-foot range in 2007, to hit 18 feet or higher regularly.

"It has helped me out so much," she said. "If you would compare what I was jumping last year to this year, I think it has a lot to do with the penultimate step."

At nationals, Haberman jumped well on her first two attempts, but still was two feet behind the board. She moved up on her third jump and uncorked the 19 foot leap.

When she landed, Haberman didn't know how far she finished because they measured jumps in meters.

"I don't know the metric system," she said with a laugh.

The father of Kayla Grafel's, Haberman's friend and competitor, had a metric converter. All of the Habermans' family and friends held up "19 feet" in the stands.

After she got out of the competition area, Haberman sent Haas a text message about her personal record, a mark she'll hope to hit again in Omaha.

"You could tell she was ecstatic," Haas said.