South Range senior gets on stand

WORD PLAY:

KENNEY’S CURSE

IS LIFTED

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

COLUMBUS

It took a curse to end Jon Kenney’s curse.

In a strange — and strangely-fitting — end to Kenney’s career, the South Range senior moved up to the medal stand in the discus after a competitor was disqualified for swearing at Friday’s Division III state track and field meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Kenney was in seventh place entering Friday’s finals, but dropped to ninth — by two measly inches — after his final three throws. Since only the top eight make the podium, Kenney was facing another cruel setback in a career full of them.

As a sophomore linebacker, Kenney tore the ACL, MCL and meniscus (aka “the terrible triangle”) in his right knee, then did the same in his left knee as a junior. Each time, he recovered in time to compete in track, only to miss qualifying for state in the discus last year by — you guessed it — two measly inches.

“I sat over there [to the side] for about 20 minutes, half-an-hour, and just thought about everything that has happened,” said Kenney, whose best throw (151 feet, 9 inches) came on his second of six throws. “I was really down on myself. I got beat by two inches, I was in the ninth spot and I thought I’d have nothing to show for it.”

That’s when this story gets pretty #!*& good.

Colonel Crawford senior Clay Jury, who was third entering his final throw, fouled on his attempt and let loose a very bad word that starts with the sixth letter of the alphabet.

“I don’t think it was as [much because it was] loud as it was everything was quiet,” Maplewood junior Stephen Pop said of the moment. “Nobody was saying anything because he just hit the bar [cage].”

The officials huddled with Jury and his coach and eventually disqualified him, boosting Pop to third, McDonald sophomore Christian Smith to sixth and Kenney to eighth.

“I wish I would have got it by throwing for third,” Pop said. “But third place is third place. I can’t complain.”

Kenney can’t either. And won’t.

“When I heard he was going to get DQ’d, I felt bad for him but I was so happy,” Kenney said. “I just wanted it so bad and it makes this all worthwhile.

“It’s just an unbelievable feeling.”

And an unbelievable story.