Few have had their jersey retired and hung at Osceola, but it takes a great athlete that has accomplished a lot in order to do that. Mr. Bohnet made an announcement last Friday, January 29th and made it official on Monday, February 1st when Jennifer Kistemaker’s jersey was hung up in the cafeteria. Jennifer said, “It was nice to be recognized for all of my hard work and I am thankful for the opportunity to have my jersey retired.”

She was a part of the track and field team from 2011-2015; Jennifer did pole vaulting and was very good at it. There was not a year that went by that Jennifer did not win a big award as she won districts and regionals all four years and finished fourth in states her freshman and sophomore year.

Jennifer then went on to her junior year to win state runner up even though she was vaulting with a torn ACL. She tore her left ACL the week before districts started and ended up having to have surgery. Jennifer tore two tendons and sliced a minor artery in her foot. She did this by stepping on a piece of glass at home. Jennifer is still not 100 percent to this day, but is still able to run and perform even though she does still have some pain. Jennifer was then invited to participate in the Junior Olympics and was also invited to the Millrose games.

She then went on to her senior year in which she ended up winning states. That was a huge accomplishment for her as she had been so close to it ever since her freshman year. After her senior year, Jennifer was not done pole vaulting.  She was ready to go onto college and had quite a few colleges interested in her. Jennifer’s choice came down between West Point, Liberty, and the University of Florida; she decided that Florida was the best option for her and now attends school there.

“My biggest accomplishment was coming back from surgery and getting on the track team at Florida and advancing in my future goals,” said Jennifer. She had some great help from her club coach, Coach Mason, who had been teaching her for a little over 5 years. Jennifer and Coach Mason knew each other so well that they got to a point where he would look at her a certain way and she knew exactly what he was saying.

“When I got my personal record of 12’2″ last year… has to be one of my favorite moments with him,” said Jennifer. Jennifer’s jersey can be seen in the cafeteria near the gym doors closest to the parking lot.

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