Jenna Prandini (left) beats Akawkaw Ndipagbor to the 200 line, capping a remarkable day and career for Oregon-bound athlete.
Photo by Kirby Lee
She envisioned it as a freshman she said. But truly, until it happened, she couldn't have fathomed.
Jenna Prandini, the hometown girl from Clovis who battled hamstring injuries and shut down most of her senior season, pulled off a rare triple, taking the 100 meters (11.69 seconds), 200 (23.81) and long jump (19-11¾) to the roaring approval of the 7,115 fans.
The sleek and athletic 5-foot-9 senior who is headed to Oregon captured her third, fourth and fifth state crowns in two seasons, which are fifth in state history.
"It's really, really exciting," she said. "I never imagined I could really do it. To actually do it was awesome."
And the memory of her final 200 straightaway - holding off Long Beach Poly and USC-bound Akawkaw Ndipagbor (24.05) with the loud locals roaring their approval - will be long lasting.
"The crowd pushed me," she said. "I did it for them. They were rooting me on. It was an awesome feeling."
It was a sick feeling when she slipped out of the blocks to start the day in the 100. Meanwhile Kylie Price (Bishop Amat-La Puenta) got a great start and had a 7-meter lead near the halfway point before Prandini chased her down at the tape. ... barely, 11.69 to 11.72.
"That was one of my worst starts of my whole high school career," she said. "She got on me. It couldn't have been much worse. But I did not want to lose that race."
Prandini's prep career played out like a movie. She was injured as a freshman – torn labrum – and had time to dream of the three state crowns. Then, the CIF moved homes from Cerritos College (Southern California) and Sacramento City College (Northern) to the central location of Clovis – her hometown.
"It's been awesome," she said. "It was moved here to this stadium where I love to run with the hometown crowd. Everyone has come out to see me. I look up in the stands and see all my friends and family and feel all that support. They were all a part of this."
