Analy high jumper Kellan O’Donnell punches ticket to State
by Greg Clementi
Sports Editor
An even dozen of the best high school track & field athletes
in the West County assembled in Berkeley last weekend at the Meet
of Champions, the last qualifier for those with lofty State
aspirations.
All participants were entered with a common goal- a top four
finish in their respective event(s), good for advancement to the
State Track & Field Championships on June 4-5 in Clovis.
Punching his ticket to State was Analy senior high jumper Kellan
O’Donnell, author of the infamous method now known as the
“O’Donnell Flop.”
The talented senior, who owns an Empire-Best jump of 6’ 6” this
spring, was caught in a controversy last month when his unorthodox
jumping method was deemed illegal by a league official. The
argument called into question whether his jump was off of two feet,
which is considered by the rule book to be illegal.
But O’Donnell received a favorable ruling from a prominent CIF
official, who reviewed a video of the jump and declared it to be
legal, stating that each jump would be considered on an individual
basis by meet officials.
“The controversy really doesn’t bother me since I don’t have any
plans of doing this after high school,” O’Donnell said.
On Saturday, the soft-spoken senior cleared 6’ 5” to capture
third at the MOC and advance to State.
Complete results for West County athletes at the
MOC.
– Varsity Girls –
(Individual results)
400 Meter Dash
18. Molly Schuster (A) 61.49
20. Kaya Ward (A) 62.34
21. Sarah Scott (EM) 63.63
3200 Meter Run
17. Nicole Lane (EM) 11:43.97
100 Meter High Hurdles
13. Kallee Cool (A) 16.47
300 Intermediate Hurdles
13. Kallee Cool (A) 47.63 (PR)
High Jump
7. Kristina Brockman (A) 5’ 2”
Pole Vault
15. Brenna Thomas (A) 9’ 6”
Long Jump
15. Allison McIntyre (A) 16’ .50”
Triple Jump
19. Allison McIntyre (A) 31’ 11.50”
– Varsity boys –
High Jump
3. Kellan O’Donnell (A) 6’ 5”
6. Aidan O’Donnell (A) 6’ 2”
Long Jump
17. Jordan Guerinoni (A) 19’ 10.25”
Discus Throw
14. Dakota Lerner-Ross (EM) 140’ 3”
