Harveys bring depth and athleticism

Juniors Kerine and Keisha Harvey (often referred to just as the “Harvey sisters”) transferred from McKendree College in Illinois and have made an immediate impact on the Portland State women’s track team.

“We love our team and coaches. We can count on coach (Tony) Veney to always give 110 percent,” both sisters explained.

The Harveys stay occupied and participate in a handful of events. Keisha takes part in the heptathalon, triple jump, 100-meter hurdles and the long jump. In just her first year, Keisha holds the Portland State record for the indoor triple jump at 41’2.25″ and won the indoor triple jump at the Big Sky Championships. Kerine runs the 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles as well. She also partakes in the triple jump and long jump. Both girls are from West Moreland, Jamaica. Although many people assume they are twins, they’re not.

Both sisters earned prestige before arriving at Portland State. Keisha was a member of the Jamaican Junior National Team and the heptathlon and penthathlon champion for the Caribbean Islands. At McKendree, Keisha went to nationals for the long jump and triple jump, beating out all the competition in the United States in NAIA Championships. Keisha’s personal record for the 100-meter hurdles is 13.96, and for triple jump it stands at 41’2″. Kerine was able to finish second overall at the 2000 indoor season in the 55 hurdles and sixth in the 55-yard dash.

In her spare time, Kerine likes to play some other sports, most of which aren’t too prominent here in the United States.

“I like playing netball, I like bowling and I love cricket! People just don’t understand it, even though it’s almost the same as baseball,” Kerine said.

Keisha on the other hand, says she doesn’t have time for much other than track. “I like to play volleyball on the beach, during the summer when I’m at home. I would try softball. I do like gymnastics and ice-skating. I really love to be around kids,” Keisha said.

For the most part, the transition to Oregon has been a positive one for both sisters. Although they do have one overwhelming problem they’ve had to work through.

“We really don’t like the rain at all, that’s about the only bad part. We like our team and our coaches. The school workload is tough, but the classes are good for the most part. We’re not really used to all this computer-based stuff. Since we don’t live on campus, we have to get up early and walk over to school, which we’re not really used to either,” the sisters explained.