Kei-Jian Buckley was up in Eugene for Mother’s Day weekend, and decided he would enter the Oregon Twilight Meet high jump competition while he was here.
Turns out the Portland native, alumnus of Liberty High, made a wise decision, as he out-jumped 2011 World Champion Jesse Williams to win the event Friday night at Hayward Field.
“That’s the first time I had gone against a jumper of that caliber,” Buckley said.
The mark of 7 feet 2 ½ inches (2.20 meters) was 2 ¾ inches higher than Williams, who leaped 7 feet ¼ inches (2.14 meters).
Buckley, 21, who just started competing as a freshman for San Diego Mesa College this spring, has used anger to get him into sports. Buckley said he went through some legal problems when he was 18, but that’s all behind him now.
“When you know too many people, it’s best to take yourself away from the situation,” Buckley said.
He said he and his girlfriend moved down to San Diego to isolate themselves from the problems they were facing in Oregon. Buckley got into contact with schools in the area, and he already had a friend involved with San Diego Mesa.
“The coaching staff really wanted me down there,” Buckley explained. “The Olympic training center is also down there, so hopefully at the end of this month I’ll be able to do some high performance training.”
While he is taking classes at San Diego Mesa to get credits out of the way, his coaches are already in contact with track and field powerhouses he can soon be able to transfer to. Buckley said that he first needs to sit down and weigh his options.
Buckley says that his standouts are Oregon and Texas A&M.
“My family is all from Texas, so Texas A&M would be my first choice,” Buckley said. “But the U of O is the U of O, you know?”
