STAFF PROFILES
Jenni Ashcroft In her fourth year with the Ducks, Jennifer Ashcroft works with the team’s decorated pole vault unit. She was instrumental in the development of three-time All-American Melissa Gergel, and 2008 NCAA Championships qualifier Colin Witter-Tilton. This year, Ashcroft will also assist with the men’s and women’s high jumpers and the combined events. The former All-America pole vaulter spent four seasons on the Wichita State coaching staff. Over that span, athletes in the pole vault, long jump and triple jump scored six Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) titles, earned 26 all-conference selections and 17 regional invitations, set 11 school records and seven MVC records, made four NCAA appearances, and received one All-America plaque. The Shocker squads also claimed two men’s outdoor team titles and four women’s team victories. Her pupils included All-America and conference champion pole vaulter Jackie Brown, an indoor and outdoor school record holder, and two other conference victors—Brooke Demo (pole vault) and Jelena Petrovic (long jump). Petrovic also scored an outdoor long jump school record (20-8) and NCAA invitations indoors and outdoors. As an athlete, the former University of Nevada pole vaulter earned All-America honors in the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She was also a pole vault conference titlist in the Big West (2000) and WAC Conferences, Olympic Trials qualifier (2000), and state of Nevada NCAA Woman of the Year.
Volunteer Assistant Coach 4th Year
Ashcroft graduated from Nevada in 2002 with a degree in secondary education, and added a master’s in sports administration at Wichita State in 2005. The Sheridan High School (Ore.) product was a state pole vault champion and 2A state meet record holder.
Brooke Demo Brooke Demo, a former Missouri Valley Conference champion in the pole vault, joins the staff to assist with Oregon’s pole vaulting group. Demo, from El Dorado, Kan., set the Wichita State school record in the pole vault, clearing 13-9.25 at the 2008 MVC championships. She was a member of two league indoor championship teams and three conference outdoor championship teams. She placed in the top three spots in the pole vault at seven MVC championships and garnered All-Missouri Valley Conference indoor recognition in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009, with outdoor honors in 2005, 2008, and 2009. Demo was an indoor NCAA Provisional Qualifier in 2007 and 2009, and a four-time outdoor NCAA Regional Qualifier who advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Nationals twice. She served as team captain for two years. The El Dorado High School graduate also excelled in the classroom, achieving a cumulative 3.80 grade point average while majoring in mathematics education and graduating from Wichita State with honors in 2009. A three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete selection, she earned honorable mention in 2005, and first team honors in both 2006 and 2007. Named in 2006 as a CoSIDA Academic All-District VII honorable mention award recipient, she went on to be recognized with first team honors in 2007. She was also named three times to the Missouri Valley Conference Honor Roll and twice to the Commissioner’s Academic Excellence list. After her senior season, Demo was selected as the Missouri Valley Conference’s Dr. Charlotte West Scholar-Athlete Award winner.
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Volunteer Assistant Coach 1st Year