Seated, from left, Michelle Dorsey, mother; Andre Dorsey, athlete; and Sherry Scott, grandmother. Standing, from left, David Koontz, head track coach; Anna Horsley, track coach; and Jim Bickford, track coach.

Chalmette High’s Andre Dorsey, Louisiana’s top ranked boys’ multi field event performer, has signed a track and field athletic scholarship to compete for Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

During the state indoor track championship in February at LSU, the senior Owl finished as the state Division I runner-up in the high jump (6-8) and triple jump (46-5.50) not only giving him a national ranking in both events, but he stood out as the state’s best two-event performer with those marks.

Recruited by several schools, Dorsey continued his strong performances in the early outdoor season, having cleared 6-8 again in the vertical jump, leaped 45 feet in the triple jump to lead the metro in both events as well as tossing the javelin 172-7 (the leading metro mark as well) and leaping 21-6 in his only competition in the long jump.

Those are the reasons why the Division II school located just outside of Atlanta signed him.

With a strong score on his ACT test and a 3.45 overall grade point average, Dorsey is eligible as a freshman to compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

After having been offered full scholarships to and having taken several recruiting trips to Louisiana-Monroe, Alabama-Birmingham, Louisiana-Lafayette and Kennesaw State, Dorsey decided to sign with the university that has the same nickname as Chalmette – the Kennesaw State Owls.

Dorsey at first joke about picking Kennesaw State over other schools, “I could remain an Owl for life.” But he did give several other reasons for his decision. “Kennesaw had a living and cultural environment that seemed to resemble Chalmette and St. Bernard Parish as any place I have been.”

He added that he liked the diversity of the university community as the second largest school in Georgia, but the student body seemed to have a closeness about it that made me feel that I was at Chalmette High.

Academically, Dorsey will major in bio-chemistry and after discussing course offerings with counselors and faculty at the school during his visit, he determined that the professors would best prepare him for life after athletics.

But athletics was still a key factor with a brand new track and field complex currently under construction and the athletic department will add football in a year and plans are underway to move up to a Division I conference in two years.

Furthermore, he likes the fact that Atlanta is just a short driving distance from the school, almost like the northshore is from the city. Finally, he has several relatives who live in metro Atlanta.

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Jim Bickford
Contributing Writer
trackmic@juno.com