PIAA Track and Field: ‘Beat by a miracle,’ Kivaleon Clarke still achieves silver memory
Kivaleon Clarke didn’t get the storybook ending, but the Penn Wood senior deserved it.
Late in the PIAA Class 3A boys’ triple jump competition Friday at Shippensburg University, Clarke led the field with a personal best of 48-2.75, which would become a top-two effort in the state this year. There was an audience each time he stepped up to the line.
“My first two jumps I’d already taken a big lead over everybody,” Clarke said. “The third jump, originally, I was going to pass it, but both my coaches said, ‘you’re warm now, you’ve got to go get that 48. So, let’s go get it.’ I lined up on the runway and I just went all out. I had the 48 in mind as my goal and just got it.”
Enjoyable as that was, unbeatable as it seemed, archrival Jordan Sowell of Cheltenham, whom Clarke defeated to earn gold at the District 1 championships last week, gained his revenge. Sowell soared 50-6 on his next to last jump and hung on for the win at balmy Seth Grove Stadium.
Clarke fouled on his last attempt and finished second in the triple jump but will always be a winner to Penn Wood coach Lenny Jordan. Matter of fact, Jordan is as proud of Clarke and his desire to be coached as he was of Darrell Hill, the Penn Wood product who finished 12th in the shot at the Rio Olympics. Clarke’s mental toughness and maturity for a guy just a couple of years into track and field have blown away Jordan, who appreciates character as much as tenacity.
“It took a PIAA record to beat him,” Jordan said of Clarke. “He’s disappointed he didn’t win but he’s happy with the fact that he jumped 48-0. Forty-eight was just big-time for him. He’s been working hard. We’ve been saying all year he’s a 48-0 jumper. He just hadn’t jumped it yet. He proved it.”
Junior Jayden Brown of Ridley also medaled in the triple jump as he finished seventh at 45-10.75. Brown entered the jump ranked seventh in the state.
At the District 1 championships at Coatesville High, Clarke triple jumped 47-5.75 to defeat Sowell by 3/4 of an inch. Clarke expected a fight. The way he performed, taking solace in a silver was really tough.
“Other than I got passed near the very end of this meet, honestly, this is a real big PR,” Clarke said. “Over these past two weeks in the states and districts I’ve been really good. I have nationals coming up. If my coach takes me there, I think I can get another PR there.”
On Saturday Clarke takes his best shot at gold in the long jump, where he finished first in the districts last week with a leap of 22-6, a PR that ranks 30th in the state.
A three-sport star once determined to focus on football in college, Clarke is re-evaluating what his next move will be.
The ending following Clarke’s career-best triple jump Friday humbled the selfless warrior yet again. When friends ask Clarke what happened, he will look them in the eye, summon his strength and tell them the truth.
“I went out there and competed my best, and I got beat by a miracle,” Clark said. “That’s how I’m going to put it.”
No matter how you frame it, it was a triple jump performance for the ages. Clarke entered the PIAA championships ranked fifth in the state. He exited second. The next step on his journey is Saturday.
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