Sports
Palm Desert High Jumper Trading Desert for Snow
Senior Nick Donahue looks forward to college in Wisconsin.
If you see a tall redhead cruising down Highway 74, wish him good luck.
It's likely senior Nick Donahue, who's got several big things on the horizon.
Donahue just won the boy’s high jump at the Desert Valley League (DVL) finals last week, and will head off to the CIF divisional meet this week.
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The high jumper said he was happy with winning the DVL crown last Tuesday, because it allowed him to focus on his Thursday races: the 110 hurdles, the 330 hurdles and the 4x400 relay. Unfortunately, he did not qualify in those events.
A 4-year varsity letterman in track, and now a DVL champion, Donahue will be heading off to the cooler midwest in August to begin his collegiate career. He’s accepted a scholarship at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, in far northwestern Wisconsin.
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But don’t think the being a desert boy precludes him from enjoying the cold campus. Donahue actually enjoys the frigid winters on the great plains.
“I went for a visit this winter, and I already have family out there,” Donahue said. “I like the winters better because it’s easier to put extra layers on when you’re cold. Not much you can do when you’re hot.”
One thing Donahue enjoys is the California-based sport of longboarding - which adds skateboard wheels to a three-to-five foot surfboard. It’s basically a way to surf on dry land. But Donahue wouldn’t mind the aquatic version.
“The beach? I wish,” he laughed. “I just ride on [Highway] 74 ... It’s relaxing, but very bad to do during season.”
Go back two years, and you would have seen Donahue much differently; in a helmet and shoulder pads.
“I played football for two years,” he smiled. “But once I started getting better at the high jump, then I quit.”
Donahue says the transition to college will be tough because most of his friends are staying in California, with only two of his crew going to out-of-state schools. They’re already making plans to get together for Spring Break 2012.
That means Donahue may be seen once again cruisin' down Highway 74.
