Athlete of the year for Boys track and field: Kinsley Ojukwu, Union High School

Kinsley Ojukwu from Union is our boys track and field athlete of the year. (Troy Wayrynen/The Columbian)

Losing is not something Kinsley Ojukwu has experienced much. He doesn’t remember finishing below first place at any track meets while in elementary school or middle school. His first losses came as a freshman at Evergreen, when he dueled with senior teammate Ryan Hamilton and wound up finishing second to Hamilton in the final strides of the Class 4A 100-meter dash. As a sophomore, Ojukwu won the 3A state titles at 100 meters, 200 meters and in the triple jump.

A junior this season, Ojukwu went to the state meet favored to win those events again and hoping to help Union win the 400-meter relay.

But a hip flexor injury flared up on the final day of the meet, and Ojukwu finished a disappointing eighth in both sprint finals. However, he needed only one jump to retain his title in the triple jump with a distance of 46 feet, 1¼ inches.

That effort, plus his four gold medals at the 3A Greater St. Helens District meet where the Titans won the boys team trophy, made Ojukwu The Columbian’s boys track and field athlete of the year.

What was your most memorable moment of the season? "It would probably be the prelims at state. I just felt great. I ran 21.4, which is a PR for me. And I beat my coach’s (Union sprints coach Lamont Woods) high school time, too.

What’s one thing most people don’t understand about track and field? "When I’m trying to recruit people for track, they say, ‘I’m not fast or anything.’ There are other events. When people say ‘I’m not fast. I can’t beat you,’ I say ‘You can throw, you can jump, you can run for 10,000 and not get tired.’"

What does it mean to be The Columbian’s boys track and field athlete of the year? "It means a lot to me. It means I’ve reached my goal. In eighth grade I was seeing Ryan Hamilton on the front page of The Columbian and I was, like, ‘I’m going to beat him.’

"Freshman year, I came out with no expectations and I did it. Then last year I came out and I won it all, and that kind of killed my motivation, I guess. After you’ve been to the top of the mountain, it’s kind of hard to get back up."

Do you have any hobbies? Ojukwu said he sometimes sleeps four or fewer hours, and will spend the night surfing news and information Web sites such as Wikipedia. "I’m a pretty boring guy. I used to read a lot, until I got to high school. I read 336 books in a year (in middle school)."

How much does psychology play into success in track and field? "It’s all psychological. ... If you’re smiling, if you’re not dead-on serious, if the guy next to you wants it more than you do, then you’re going to lose."

Will the disappointment from the state finals re-energize you for next season? "I guess it will. Next year, I’ll be out there more for my times. Because this year I didn’t set any PRs except for in the 200."



What does it mean to you to compete for Union? "It means a lot to me, because I’m running with all my friends. And we just have a blast at state every single year. I just love track."

Have you played other sports? "Freshman year, I played basketball on the C Team for Evergreen. Last year (as a sophomore), I played football for Union. This year I just did track. ... I’ll probably just do track and take a lot of classes next year."

When did you get started in track? "A long time ago in third grade. I’ve run track ever since through middle school and into high school, so it’s been big for me. I did not lose once until freshman year, when Ryan (Hamilton) beat me." Note: Ojukwu attened Pioneer elementary as a third-grader, then went to Harmony Elementary and Pacific Middle schools.

What advice would you give to a young middle school kid who might see you in the newspaper and be thinking? I’m going to beat him? "You can try, but you aren’t going to beat me (laughs). No, the advice is to train hard, but try not to over exert yourself. You have to go hard, then rest, then go hard, then rest, until you feel like you can go into a race and win it."

Who has been your most influential coach? "I guess it would be my sprint coach (Lamont) Woods, him and my jump coach Todd Spike. They’ve both been pushing me and pushing me and pushing me. And the thing I like about them is that when I lose, they get mad at me. People assume that when you lose, your coach is saying ‘It’s all right, you’ll do better next time.’ They say: ‘You lost. What are you going to do about it?’ That helps me a lot."

What has your most embarrassing moment in track and field? "When you get last place, like I did a state, that’s pretty embarrassng. That was bad. When you go in being ranked first and you end up being last.."

What’s one thing about you that someone might surprise some people? "I used to play violin in middle school. ... I actually am not that good of violinist. I actually played upright bass in jazz band. But after middle school I didn’t play anymore. It was all schoolwork.

Do you have a favorite teacher? "Because I like chemistry, it would probably be Mr. (David) Lemberg, my chemistry teacher. He does tricks every single day. He’s a pretty funny guy and he makes learning fun."

What is one big goal in your sport that you would like to accomplish in the next few years? "Next year, I want to win all four events at state. I know I can do it. I don’t know why it’s been eluding me."

What’s one big goal you have away from your sport? "I’d like to keep my GPA above 3.7. Right now, it’s dipping down lower, and I don’t know what to do about it and it’s bugging me."