parkerkennedy.jpg

Parker Kennedy won the 2016 Class 5A boys title in the pole vault with a mark of 15 feet, 0 inches.

(Nick Daschel | For The Oregonian/OregonLive)

The 18-year-old Oregon track star who fell face first into a javelin Friday remains in serious condition at a Portland hospital but is expected to maintain his eyesight.

Parker Kennedy had been warming up for an event at Jesuit High School when he tripped and fell into the back end of a javelin he was attempting to retrieve.

"He is stable. He can see out of the eye. He's not out of the woods yet," Donnie Herneisen, Kennedy's former high school coach, said Saturday.

Kennedy graduated this month from Hood River Valley High School and is set to attend the University of Washington as a pole vaulter. Kennedy recently won the Oregon Class 5A pole vault title and helped lead Hood River to its first team state championship.

"He was a big part of that," said Herneisen, who was not at Friday's event with Kennedy.

Friday's freak accident happened as Kennedy was taking part in a USA Track & Field meet at Jesuit hoping to qualify for a regional event in Spokane, Washington.

Kennedy had been among other 17- and 18-year-olds participating in the decathlon when he stubbed his toe and fell into a javelin he had just thrown, said Jerry Westfall, executive director of Oregon's track association.

The back end of the javelin entered Kennedy's right eye socket near the nose, missing the center of his eyeball, Westfall said. The trajectory of Kennedy's fall pushed the javelin toward the roof of his mouth rather than his brain.

"The doctor said he's going to recover from it," said Westfall, who learned about the extent of Kennedy's injuries from a track official who spoke to Kennedy's family.

Kennedy remained conscious through the entire ordeal, and someone on scene removed the javelin from his head, Westfall said. Kennedy was flown to OHSU Hospital in Portland, where he remains in serious condition, spokeswoman Amanda Gibbs said Saturday afternoon.

-- Brad Schmidt

503-294-7628

@_brad_schmidt