Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
For 2021 Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Jeremy Lovell, beating his twin brother Josh in any of 10 men’s decathlon events was never his primary objective. Rather, all Jeremy concerned himself with was finishing ahead of everyone else.
Said the three-time NCAA All-American, “When I look back on our track careers, there was some competitiveness. We never fought or argued. We both just worked hard to get to where we were. It wasn’t so much me versus my brother, but rather the both of us competing against everyone else.”
In 2009, at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Marietta, Ohio, the Lovell brothers achieved the rarest of feats, claiming the top two places in the decathlon competition.
Jeremy sat in fourth place entering the decathlon’s final event – the 1,500 run – but blazed to a nine-second personal record and a sixth-place showing, surging to second place in the overall points standings with a personal best of 6,857.
"This was definitely the hottest two days I've ever competed in," Jeremy said of Ohio's heat and humidity. "There's no other person I would have rather finished second to than Josh. It's a pretty cool feeling knowing we’re 1-2 in nation.”
On that glorious day, Jeremy nabbed second place in the javelin with a throw of 172 feet, 1 inch. He was also sixth in the discus with a mark of 115-4.
Competing daily against his talented brother, Jeremy Lovell blossomed into a star athlete in his own right. He claimed the Northwest Conference decathlon championship as a senior in 2010 and was a member of three conference title-winning relay squads. Five of Lovell’s marks rank among the top-10 performances in Linfield history.
In addition to earning a runner-up decathlon finish at the NCAA Championships his junior year, he also finished fifth nationally as a sophomore and seventh as a freshman.
Lovell was a key member of Linfield’s 2007 Northwest Conference men’s track and field championship team. Additionally, he received an All-Academic award from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Lovell twins also competed in one season of football at Linfield before turning their focus squarely onto track and field.
Today, Lovell manages two retirement homes in Hillsboro. In his available time, he helps coach jumpers and sprinters at Forest Grove High School and previously spent nine years in a similar role at Hillsboro’s Liberty High School.
Jeremy and his wife, Tasha, live in Forest Grove where they are raising their two daughters, Aliya, 5, and Lilah, 3.
