DUVALL – Imagine that you have an athletic talent, and even better, the desire to succeed.
That doesn’t sound like such a bad thing, but now imagine that you don’t have anywhere to hone your desire and skills. And even if you did have a pseudo-practice area, it is usually shared with other athletic teams in a crowded gym or commons area, in which you have to constantly keep watch for other people walking by to make sure you don’t run right into them, or accidentally hurl a rubber ball masquerading as a shot put at them, or even worse, smack them in the face with a pole-vault pole.
Now think of the Cedarcrest High School track and field team. They, too, have athletes with talent and plenty of motivation to succeed. But for them the above image is not a daydream, it is real.
Because of several failed athletic bonds, the Cedarcrest track team does not have its own track or field for the team to practice on. Instead, team members practice both in the Cedarcrest school commons and at Woodinville High School, 12 miles away.
Head girls’ coach Marc Hillestad said that if they had an athletic facility, they would have twice the turnout.
“The biggest thing is not having the track,” he said.
Bruce McDowell, the boys’ head coach, shares Hillestad’s frustration, but is optimistic about the upcoming season.
“I think the lack of facilities is starting to wear,” McDowell said. “We have tried to run a stadium bond, I think, five times in the last eight years, and it has failed. Last time it failed by 20 votes.
“We’ve been a pretty solid team in terms of getting into league meets. We should do OK, considering the facility issues.”
Currently, only 25 girls and 29 boys have turned out for track. McDowell said that this is 20 kids less than the average high school. It is also the first time participation has been down in the eight years he has been coaching track at Cedarcrest.
Despite these hardships, the women’s 4×400 relay team went to state last year, and took sixth place.
“It was definitely the most successful girls’ season so far,” Hillestad said.
The team looks to be promising this year, as well. Key athletes returning for Hillestad’s girls’ team include Lindsay Peterson, who McDowell said has state potential and took second place in the district last year throwing the discus; all four members of last year’s 4×400 relay team, which includes Erin Kendig, Jamie Brooks, Sarah Gustat and Ashley Grant; Maile Marshall, a potential state contender in the high jump; and Candice Shepard, also a high jumper. Distance runner Kelly Ramirez is also expected to qualify for state again. Last year she was a state qualifier in the mile and currently holds the school record.
“We are solid in our top girls in each of the events, which makes us a good dual-meet team,” McDowell said. Hillestad said that the team will have to compete heavily with Newport and Bellevue this year, since they have more athletes to choose from, more “depth.”
Key athletes on the boys’ team include last year’s fourth-place finisher in state in the javelin, Aaron O’Neal, and Danny Abell and Chris Lee, who qualified for league last year in the mile and 2-mile races. James Conrick rounds out the distance team in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter races, and Nathan McLallin will be a key contender in the jumping events such as the long jump and triple jump, McDowell said.
With the help of its positive-minded, dedicated coaches and can-do athletes, the Cedarcrest track program seems to be destined for continued success, despite the lack of facilities.
“We are hoping we can keep everyone healthy and get the work in to be competitive,” McDowell said. “We have some good individuals who we think can do well at league, districts and possibly state.”
