Auburn's Kiilsgaard a real lifesaver

Kellen Kiilsgaard has done just about everything for Auburn High School in baseball and football the past four years.

Recently, the Trojans' two-sport savior became a lifesaver.

While vacationing in Hawaii with friends and family, Kiilsgaard rescued a father and daughter from rough water along the Black Rock area of Kaanapali Beach in Maui on Feb. 19.

Kiilsgaard, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound Stanford-bound senior, used a rescue technique he learned two weeks before in a lifesaving class at Auburn High School taught by his father, Kjel Kiilsgaard, a former lifeguard.

"There are a few moments in high-school athletics that I'll never forget, but doing this means a lot more than anything I could do out there on the field," said Kiilsgaard, who swam about 50 yards each way to tow each struggling swimmer to shore.

"It's in a different part of your heart than an athletic accomplishment."

Kiilsgaard was snorkeling in the area when he noticed the father and daughter struggling to stay away from dangerous rocks and coral as the wind gusted.

He first rescued the girl, who he described as "6 or 7," then went to help her exhausted father, who weighed "between 250 and 300 pounds," according to Kiilsgaard.

Using the cross-chest carry, in which the rescuer puts one arm across the victim's shoulder and under the other armpit, Kiilsgaard brought each ashore to the family's anguished mother.

"The mom was pretty hysterical on the beach at the time, and the little girl was screaming," said Kiilsgaard. "I went to work with what I had just learned in class. I worked on that exact move in class.

"I didn't feel like a hero. I was just doing my duty. It would've been a pretty bad decision not to help them out."

Kiilsgaard never learned the names of those he saved or vice versa.

"We just went our separate ways," he said. "It was a good feeling. I was part of keeping a family intact. I never really pictured myself being put in a position to save anyone's life. I saw two people out there struggling and reacted. Anyone would've done what I did."

Kiilsgaard's friends, Kevin Jessery and Jeff Bethke, saw most of the rescue unfold. Jessery, an Auburn football teammate, and Bethke, a baseball teammate, were among a group of 10 vacationing together. Jessery and Bethke were in the lifesaving class with Kiilsgaard.

"I didn't know what was going on at first when we walked up," said Jessery. "I didn't realize the magnitude of the situation until later. Kellen's such a high-character guy, so you know he would do something like that.

"He put himself in danger, and he just went for it because he knew they needed his help."

Said Bethke: "It was shocking to see him respond so quick without thinking twice. I was talking to one of the locals about how tiring it is to go against the current like that. You realized afterward that he definitely saved those people's lives."

It took a lot of strength and endurance for Kiilsgaard to pull off the rescue.

"When I was done, I was exhausted," he said. "I felt like I'd just played four quarters of football. It wasn't an easy swim. It was a lot harder to drag the dad. He was pushing 300 pounds, and I did that on pure adrenaline."

Kiilsgaard, who expects to play both football and baseball at Stanford, caught his breath and called his parents, Kjel and Leslie, who were in another part of Hawaii.

"It brings tears to your eyes," said Kjel. "Just to think your son could do the right thing and achieve that is incredible."

Kellen Kiilsgaard, has a 3.95 grade-point average, played quarterback and was a Seattle Times all-state selection at defensive back for the Trojans' football team. He pitches for the baseball team.

"We already thought he was like Superman before he did this," Auburn baseball coach Tim Kuykendall said. "It makes you wonder, 'Is this guy for real?' "