Lakeland track star competes in Keystone State Games

On Aug. 4, Gavin O'Donnell, 16, of Greenfield Township participated in the Keystone State Games Championship in Harrisburg.

O'Donnell is a member of the Lakeland Jr./Sr. High School Track and Field team, as well as a starter for the school's football team who recently participated in the United States Track and Field Junior Olympics in Baltimore, Md. ranking 18th nationally in the 400m hurdles and 26th in the 110m hurdles.

The rising junior was one of 6,000 participants to compete in the Keystone State Games around the state capital the weekend of August 3-5 and was the sole Track and Field participant to medal in all four of his events (the maximum allowed for his age group of 15-16).

The young athlete took gold medals in the 110m and 400m hurdles with times of 16.09 & 1:00.15 respectively, as well as a gold medal in the triple jump with a jump of 39-09.00.

Gavin also took a bronze medal in the long jump with a jump of 18-00.25.

This was a great end to the athlete's 2012 Track & Field season which included placing at the PIAA District 2 championship and a trip to Shippensburg for the PIAA State Championship, as well as several gold & silver medals at the USATF Mid-Atlantic Association (West Chester) and USATF Regional championships (Newark, Delaware) winning him a National bid for the USATF Junior Olympics in Baltimore.

O'Donnell gave credit for his drive, determination and effort to his Lakeland track coaches, Tony Prudente and Art Davis who on their own time continued to assist in the preparation for these events, and Terry Reese Jr. a former NC State Hurdle coach and Nationally ranked athlete where Gavin attended a camp in North Carolina, stating "if it weren't for the efforts and dedication to the sport and athletes like myself, I could have never achieved the goals I've set."

In addition to athletics, O'Donnell is also a member of the National Honor Society maintaining a 93 percent GPA and looks forward to hopefully taking his track and field abilities to the collegiate level.