Ella O'Kelley
-
- Email:
- ella.okelley@emory.edu
-
- Title:
- Head Men's & Women's Cross Country Coach / Instructor
-
- Phone:
- 770-784-8309
Bio
Ellakisha O’Kelley is the inaugural coach for Oxford’s Men’s and Women’s Cross Country program. She has led both teams to regional and national rankings since 2014. The highest ranking achieved to date is when the women’s team won the 2022 nationals champions and the men’s team placed in the top 5 in 2023. In addition to the teams’ athletic accolades, both teams have received academic honors for 10 consecutive years.
O'Kelley also understands firsthand what it takes to be a student/athlete on the collegiate level. As a competitor for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, she was honored with NCAA All-American status six times (twice in the 100 high hurdles, once as a member of the 4x100m relay team, and three times as a member of the 4x400m relay team, which included winning the National Championship in 2000). She was also a three-time Southeastern Conference (SEC) champion, capturing the coveted SEC titles in the 100m and 400m hurdles and as a member of the 4x400m relay team. She currently holds two school records. In her senior year, the University of South Carolina chose O'Kelley as the Student-Athlete of the Year for her stellar academic and athletic accomplishments.
O’Kelley competed as a professional athlete for the USA Team for six years, and was the 2000 Sydney Olympics alternate in the 100 hurdles. In 2013, O’Kelley was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Albany High School in Albany, New York. In 2024, she will be inducted into the Capital Region Cross Country and Track and Field Hall of Fame.
The Albany, New York native earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina in 2000 (Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society), MBA degree from American intercontinental University, Dunwoody, Georgia in 2005 (Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society), and her Juris Doctorate in 2016 from Atlanta John Marshall Law School (honored with the the top part-time student graduate award).