McCluskey, a potential Olympian, never had an opportunity to experience what her life might have been like.
Lauren McCluskey was an accomplished runner, including a Washington State champ (high jump). She was heavily recruited by the University of Utah and other schools before choosing UU as her college home.
Photo courtesy Univ. of Utah
Then, fateintervened. One night, McCluskey and her friends went to a bar in Salt Lake City, where she met a man named Melvin Rowland. Rowland told McCluskey he was a military-trained security officer. McCluskey and Rowland started dating, and it wasn’t long before McCluskey discovered the truth: Rowland was on parole and on the sexual offender list. She decided to end their relationship.
But that isn’t the end of this story. Rowland sent McCluskey threatening texts, and his friends posted fake news about his suicide. Rowland started showing up on campus and made demands, including asking McCluskey for $1,000 in exchange for not posting explicit photos of her on the Net. McCluskey was worried, voicing concerns to family and friends.
Then, on October 22, 2018, Lauren McCluskey (21 years old at the time) was found dead inside the back of a car in a parking lot next to her dorm. She had been shot seven times. Not too long before her death, Rowland waited for McClusky outside her dorm. When she arrived, he dragged her across the pavement in front of her dorm while McCluskey was on the phone with her mother.
What might have been for Lauren McCluskey? I think about that question, especially now that the Summer Olympics have rolled around. Would she have been an Olympian? Sadly, we’ll never know.
ESPN documentary follows.
