THE NEBRASKA 100

Jim Hartung thought for a moment, then said it was impossible to answer the question.

"I don't think there was one moment that was better than all the rest," said Hartung, who led Omaha South to four consecutive state gymnastics titles and Nebraska to four straight national crowns.

"As you grow up, you set a goal. When you achieve it, you put it into that memorable category."

Hartung, who was The World-Herald's high school athlete of the year in 1978, won two national Junior Olympics championships. Yet the state meet his sophomore year is etched in his mind.

"I scored a 54.05 in the all-around," Hartung said. "The significance is that it was a 9.0 average on six events. That's huge. It represents that you are in the top, that you can compete. After that, every additional point up to 60 is a huge milestone."

In subsequent state meets, Hartung scored 55.55 as a junior and 58.35 his senior year. "Those scores are so significant that even this many years later I can remember them," Hartung said.

In the national high school all-around meet, Hartung finished eighth as a sophomore. The other 11 competitors were seniors, and the winner was Bart Connor. Hartung won the event the next two years.

He led NU to its first national gymnastics title -- the first of five in a row for the Cornhuskers -- as a freshman. Two years later, he established himself as the No. 1 gymnast in the country by winning the NCAA all-around title.

Along the way, he made the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic teams. The 1980 team, however, did not travel to Moscow because of the U.S. boycott.

-- Larry Porter