Wei Leaps To National Prominence With 24-Foot Jump

By Brian Towey of DyeStat

Kenneth Wei's sudden emergence as one of the nation's best long jumpers might have come as a surprise, but then again, there's very little that he can't do. 

Wei jumped 24 feet (7.31m) in the long jump Jan. 12 at the Molloy Stanner Games at The Armory, a personal best by nearly eight inches. 

"It's just a pleasure to coach him because he's so excited and so driven," Mount Sinai head boys coach Eric Giorlando said. "He's just a wonderful human being. He's very humble. He's got none of those characteristics of a kid who excels on that level."

VIDEO OF 24-FOOT JUMP

MOLLOY STANNER GAMES VIDEOS

A senior from Long Island, Wei's entrance into the sport came early. As a ninth grader, he won the Molloy Stanner Games' freshman 55-meter hurdles (8.49 seconds). 

He has driven his PR down by more than a second in that event and also has achieved 5-8 in the high jump and 45-2.25 in the triple jump. (He has run 14.45 in the 110-meter hurdles outdoors). 

But the 24-foot jump amounted to a big breakthrough. It was a national leader at the time and is currently US#2.

Wei knew there was a big jump coming. 

"I've been seven or eight inches behind the board," Wei said. "I think we can hit the 25-foot mark outdoors, or maybe even indoors."

His recruitment story has been atypical. He reached out to many programs, but few expressed interest. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a formidable academic school with an NCAA Division 3 track and field program turned out to be the best fit.

"I want to study bioengineering," Wei said. "I wrote to a lot of Division III programs. M.I.T. was one of the programs that wrote back."

Adds Giorlando: "He wasn't highly recruited and I think that's starting to change. I'm getting phone calls. He's academically strong and he's thinking about what he wants to do with his life. M.I.T. is the best of the best, and I think he sees that."

Wei's already been admitted to M.I.T.

He is a late bloomer when it comes to the horizontal jumps. He didn't get into them until last year.  

"He's one of the most intelligent athletes I've ever had," Giorlando said. "His focus is (superb). When you have an athlete who is highly intelligent and focused it's almost a perfect combination."

Wei is ranked at the top of his class at Mount Sinai and is also a musician. He plays the piano and the flute, which he says helps him with his internal clock while sprinting. 

"Kenny excels at everything he does," Giorlando said. "He's a phenomenal musician. And he's the school's valedictorian. He's the complete package. He really is."

He comes from a Suffolk County program with a burgeoning girls distance program (Sarah Connelly's 9:47.37 3,000 meters is US#3.) 

For Wei, the progress is encouraging and something he hopes to continue building.

"I can improve a lot more in the jumps than the hurdles," Wei said. "I want to keep going down that path."