The 6-foot-2, 158-pound senior won all three events he entered in the abbreviated 2020 outdoor season, clocking PRs in the 100- and 200-meter dash. During the 2019 postseason, he took seventh in the long jump at the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships. At the Class 6A state meet last spring, O’Neal won the long jump and took fifth in the 200-meter dash. His personal-best leap of 24 feet, 3 inches in the long jump ranked as the nation’s No. 40 performance among outdoor prep competitors in 2019. A Clarion Ledger All-State selection, he set a PR in the triple jump in 2019 (43-0.5) as well.
O’Neal has maintained a GPA of 3.36 in the classroom. He has signed a national letter of intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at Georgia Tech.
Also a basketball standout, O’Neal helped the Indians to a final four appearance in 2020 and a combined record of 65-7 over the past two years. He has volunteered locally as part of multiple community service projects, including the Loaves and Fishes community center for the needy, Jack and Jill of America and the St. Therese Catholic Church. He’s also donated his time to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program, the Salvation Army Angel Tree initiative and by working at The Prospect Lab, a speed-improvement clinic for underprivileged youth. In addition, he’s served as a math and reading tutor for elementary school students. Most recently, he helped organize a Black History Month program for area senior citizens, and led an effort by the senior class to participate in the inaugural Biloxi Cares About Animals event.
