Ex-Northeast track star transfers from APSU to LSU

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Briana Kelly was a key member of Northeast High School’s first Class AAA team state track and field title in the spring of 2013, having claimed an individual state championship in the high jump.

The former Lady Eagle then transitioned to Austin Peay as a member of its track and field program, where she captured the Ohio Valley Conference title in the women’s high jump two months ago in Edwardsville, Ill., during the OVC Outdoor Championships.

But after Austin Peay assistant track coach James Jenkins’ contract was not renewed, the freshman Lady Gov found herself in limbo.

Not anymore.

The former Northeast star and Austin Peay standout has transferred to one of the nation’s top track programs in Louisiana State University.

“I really enjoyed my first year competing at the college level and I enjoyed being at Austin Peay, but it was really a personal issue with me to leave,” Kelly said. “I just found myself in transition not really knowing exactly what I was going to do, but I found a perfect place to land and continue my athletic career.”

Kelly said her own departure from Austin Peay was based solely on the loss of Jenkins from head coach Doug Molnar’s staff. Jenkins was a part-time assistant and was the team’s jumps coach. Kelly said she had developed a strong working relationship with Jenkins. The former assistant said he wasn’t told specifically why the program decided to go in a different direction.

“I wasn’t told why,” Jenkins said. “I was just told that it was time for a change. And people say ‘Well, why don’t you get a reason?’ I don’t want to know the reason. They wanted to do something else, so you have to move on.”

Despite attempts, Molnar was not available for comment at press time.

“He was just a great coach,” Kelly said of Jenkins. “It was disheartening to learn that he wasn’t going to come back. I consider having a good coach, that supports you, very important. It’s important to me, at least, and that’s the reason why I decided to transfer. I didn’t really think about it. I felt that if I was going to stay (at Austin Peay) then I wasn’t going to jump anymore because I didn’t need track in order to stay in college.”

But since her junior year at Northeast, Kelly has grown to love the high jump, clearing a distance of 5-7 1/4 during the OVC Outdoors Championships May 2. And her love of the sport eventually convinced her she wanted to continue college track and that led to a bigger Division I program.

But before choosing LSU, Kelly had interest from Texas A&M, Louisiana-Lafayette and the University of Mississippi — the same school that her younger sister, Brittany, signed with this spring.

Kelly said her family ties to the Baton Rouge area made LSU a natural choice.

“My mother’s family is from there and I’m from a military family and we’ve lived in the Louisiana area twice,” Kelly said. “Actually, both my mother and father’s families are from Louisiana, so the transition to LSU, in terms of campus life, won’t be that difficult.”

But the jump from OVC track to SEC track will. However, Kelly could fare well at LSU. Her high jump victory at the OVC Championships would have been good enough for second place among LSU jumpers during the SEC Outdoor Championships this spring.

The Lady Tigers have won 15 outdoor national titles, including 11 in a row (from 1987-97) and the last coming in 2012. LSU also has won 13 SEC outdoor crowns that includes five of the last seven years. The other two years, LSU took runner-up in the conference.

“I’m a little nervous about competing at LSU and in the SEC,” she said. “Just because LSU is this storied track program and I know the competition will be fierce. But I’m excited about the opportunity.”

Under NCAA rules, Kelly will not have to sit out a year because a Division I athlete in all sports — with the exception of baseball, basketball, football and men’s hockey — is granted a one-time transfer exception to another D-I program if that athlete is academically eligible and obtains a scholarship release from their previous school. Kelly said she received her release from Austin Peay in early June.

“I just know that having a new jump coach that may not agree with my approach to the event would be difficult for me, so I wanted to go in a new direction myself,” Kelly said.

George Robinson. Prep writer. 245-0747. georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com. Follow on Facebook and Twitter: @Cville_Sports.