By Colin Likas, The News-Gazette
clikas@news-gazette.media
Read on News-Gazette.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - One word consistently permeated the thoughts Jonathan Wells had in the wake of Illinois men's track and field having the remainder of its 2020 season wiped out in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Disappointment.

It's an understandable emotion for a redshirt senior to possess. Especially one with the accolades of Wells, an unforgettable Illini jumper even before his anticipated last stint in Champaign-Urbana.

Six-time All-American. Illinois high jump record holder at 7 feet, 5 inches. Multi-time high jump and long jump champion at Big Ten events. Two-time placer in the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships' high jump competition.

Oh, and he was lined up to compete in the United States Olympic Trials, slated for mid- and late-June in Eugene, Ore. Before those also were postponed, along with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics themselves, until 2021.

So, yes, disappointment was a common theme of Wells' headspace as he discussed significant Illinois, U.S. and international jumping opportunities slipping away.

And yet ...

"I live a life full of challenges and adversity, as many people have, and so this being a heartbreak — yes, it's disappointing," Wells said. "But life, every day isn't guaranteed. … Even though it is disappointing, I'm still here and have a lot of blessings and have a lot of things to be grateful for."

That's how Wells — who will celebrate his 24th birthday on Saturday — chooses to approach an unclear future.

Unlike many of his fellow Illini track and field seniors, Wells realizes he's in a better position to return to coach Mike Turk's program for the extra year of eligibility extended by the NCAA Division I Council before eyeing the delayed Olympic Trials once more.

"Coming for another year is not really an option for some of them — college-wise, financially, things of that nature," Wells said. "The teammates are pretty much sad. How can you not be? ... Basically, you're working all year round to train and ultimately achieve your goals. And when your goals are taken away from you ... it's disappointing."

Wells was primed to make a splash in the Olympic Trials after clearing a then-personal-best 7-4 1/4 in the July 2019 USATF tournament. That was good for third place in the field — three spots better than what Wells managed on the same stage one year prior.

The 2019 USATF performance prompted Turk to note Wells has "been through a lot," a nod to a back injury that plagued some of Wells' earlier Illini campaigns.

Wells followed that output by reaching the aforementioned 7-5 plateau, in The Match at Minsk, Belarus. The September competition, pitting athletes of Europe against those from the U.S., ended with Wells notching fifth place overall.

The Fox Lake native was bested nationally only by the 7-6 1/4 mark of Jeron Robinson, who snagged the top spot at the 2018 and 2019 USATF outdoor meets.

Not only did both of these big-ticket performances ensure Wells was in the national high jumping spotlight at just the right time — before the Olympics were postponed — but they also set him up for a banner final stretch at Illinois.

"I had high goals for the season," Wells said, "in terms of the level we could compete at and the marks we could get."

Wells closed out his home career, at the Armory on the UI campus, by winning the high jump at the Illini Invitational on Jan. 25. He finished atop both the high jump and long jump fields at February's Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Neb.

And then he bested all Big Ten long jump opponents at his last collegiate meet of 2020 — and possibly ever — to become the only Illini since 1944 ever to claim both indoor and outdoor high jump and long jump championships in a career.

It's an outcome that made Wells wonder, "OK, where are we going to be at the Olympic Trials with the long jump" as well as the high jump.

"It's just continuously finding opportunities within different events that other people might not have noticed," Wells said. "But my coaches put me in an opportunity to consider those events in the future."

At this stage, Wells has much to consider in the track and field realm. Namely, does he return to Illinois for 2021?

It remains to be seen. If the answer is no, he'll still go down as one of the best athletes in program history.

If the answer is yes, his storied tenure could become legendary — if it isn't already.

"Everything's open right now," Wells said, "and that decision, it includes me, it includes my family, it includes my coaching staff.

"Anything can happen within the next three to six months, let alone 12 to 18. So we're going to play it week by week, month by month, and put together the best plan that we can to be successful."