Large support group lifts Clovis track and field dynamo Jenna Prandini

Some track and field athletes get the feeling they are all alone in trying to accomplish their goals, themselves against the clock or measuring tape.

Clovis (Calif.) senior Jenna Prandini feels like she's never alone because, well, she isn't. Help in the way of family is literally close by all the time and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Her father Carlo not only coached her before high school, he is the Clovis Unified School District Assistant Superintendent.

Her older sister Chrissy is the Clovis High Activities Director and since Jenna is the school's Associated Student Body president, they see each other daily.

Her grandparents are present at almost every meet.

"I have a ton of family," says Prandini, the youngest of three children, with a chuckle. "My one grandpa made a silk screen picture of me on a T-shirt and my other grandfather sings the National Anthem at my events. As a freshman, it was a little embarrassing but now I'm just proud and happy to have everyone around.

"On Christmas morning we have to rent out a hall for my dad's side of the family. Then in the evening we go to my other grandma's."

And the family has plenty to cheer about.

At the California Interscholastic Federation Championships last spring, Prandini entered three events – the 100 meters, long and triple jumps – after competing in four (adding the 200) for most of the season, capturing the two jumps and finishing second in the 100.

Her best marks rank among the top three all-time in CIF Central Section history.

According to the Fresno Bee, no one from the San Joaquin Valley has run faster than her 11.34 seconds in the 100 or jumped farther in the triple jump than her 41-9 ¼. Only one has bettered her 23.97 in the 200 and she is No. 3 in the long jump at 20-2.

Since it often takes less than 40 points to win a state team championship, Prandini was asked about adding the 200 this year and taking a shot at that team title after Clovis finished second in 2010 with her 28 points.

"That would be a dream come true, it would be the ultimate goal," said the 18-year-old who is headed to the University of Oregon in the fall. "It's possible but I'd have to PR in almost every event to win. The trouble would be bouncing from one event to the other. Last year I had to go run the 100 during the triple jump competition and I know I'd be tired by the time I ran the 200, which is my weakest event."

But it's not impossible if powers like Long Beach Poly stumbled. In fact, she wouldn't even be the first to do it, yet that performance carries an asterisk.

In 1984, Wendy Brown won the triple jump (42-10 ½), high jump (6-1 ¼), long jump (20-9 ¾) and was second in the 100-meter hurdles (13.59) to give Woodside High the team title in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where two months later the Olympics would be held.

She ended up beating a pretty fair sprinter-hurdler named Gail Devers of Sweetwater High in National City (think Olympics and World Championships) who won two events and was second to Brown in the long jump.

But that state meet was the second year of an experiment in which Northern and Southern California championships were held one week and the top nine advanced to the state championship the next week.

Given an extra week to recover, Brown was fresh for all four events. Someone trying a quadruple now would have to get real lucky by getting outstanding marks on their first jumps in the prelims and finals and be able to coast a little in the sprints. Coast? Maybe in Rhode Island, but not in California.

"I like the challenge of winning four events but I don't want to give away the opportunity to excel in three," Prandini said. "I want to earn the gold medal because if you're tops in California, the odds are you're tops in the nation."

Her goals are lofty.

"I want to run 11.1 in the 100," she says with determination. "I want at least a 21-8 in the long jump and 44 feet in the triple."

Notice that she did not mention the 200. It is her least favorite event yet it's also the one where she feels she can have the most improvement.

Her high school coach, Greg Friesen, is not surprised by the difficulty of the goals but would not be stunned if she reaches one or all of them. Quite simply, in 25 years as a high school coach, he's never had an athlete like the 5-foot-9 Prandini.

"I have to admit, I haven't had anyone near as good as she is," Friesen said. "She is not only blessed with good genetics — both her father and mother were track athletes — but she is very competitive. She just hates to lose, no matter what she's doing, and there's nothing wrong with that trait. She's not satisfied just to be good at a single thing. So, she's good at everything and gives 100 percent to everything."

That would explain the 4.0 grade point average, the participation in student government every year of high school and the fact she enjoys more of those family activities, especially helping her mom and dad cook.

"Jenna was not pushed to run track, so she played every sport before she came to Clovis High," said Friesen. "She still played volleyball this year because sports make her happy and she just likes having fun."

She didn't just play volleyball, by the way — she was second team all-state.

But that is behind her now as she looks forward to turning her attention to doing the best she can in track once she gets to Eugene. Neither she nor Oregon sprint-jumps coach Robert Johnson have put any limits on what events she will do for Ducks.

"We don't want to put Jenna in a box," says Johnson. "She can do all the events and if she starts to excel in one and wants to focus her attention, that's what we'll do. I guess the one thing we'll have to teach her is how to take the baton."

Amazingly, despite her success over the past three years, because she has not been surrounded by other lightning-fast sprinters, Prandini has never run the 4x100 relay. Johnson can't wait to see how she'll do with the other speedsters in Eugene.

He also said he became fully aware of the importance of family when he made the visit to her house and found a large contingent on hand to talk about the school. He also realized right away the person he had to convince was Jenna's mother, Theresa.

It wasn't difficult to honestly say Jenna would be in good hands at Eugene.

"This will be her home away from home," said Johnson. "We act and respond as family. We laugh and we cry together all the time. In Eugene, you go downtown to the mall and people will walk up to you because they recognize you. We get 5,000 fans at a dual meet, this is a track community.

"The team will just be a bigger family."