| School: Jackson | Graduation Year: 1979 |
Year Inducted: 2022
Sports Played: Cross Country, Track and Field
High School Honors: 4 Cross Country letters. All-PIL as Sophomore and Senior, 10th in State as Senior, Team Captain all 4 years.
4 Track & Field letters. PIL 1st in 1500m and 6th in State as Senior.
Post High School Career: University of Arizona, 1 year in Cross Country and Track; 1 year at Univ. of Portland; 2 years at Univ. of Southern California, BA Degree in International Relations. Footwear product creation at Nike from 1983-2014, including China and Indonesia from 1987- 1992. Started the Portland middle school cross country series in 2009 that now has over 2,000 competitors. Coached at Holy Trinity and started CYO Track Club which grew to 2,000 athletes in 12 years. Coached at St. Mary’s Academy, 2007-2010. Central Catholic (head 2012-2016), named Mt. Hood Conference Coach of the Year, 2012, OSAA Girls’ 6A Coach of the Year (2014) with the State Championship team. Received the Portland “Light A Fire” Award in 2013 for leading the effort to rebuild the Roosevelt High Track & Field facilities. Elected President of Portland Track, 2017. Launched IncubatorU Consulting that led an effort to construct the first Track & Field facility in Maupin, OR which hosted 18 single A schools to an initial meet May 13, 2022.
Commentary:
I am honored and humbled to be inducted into the PIL Hall of Fame. I ran in my first PIL Cross Country Meet in an exhibition role while an 8th grader at Markham Middle School. I had been running for several years prior to my time at Jackson High School so was familiar with the great runners and programs throughout the PIL. I was lucky enough to have a coach that trusted me to lead the Varsity XC team as a Freshman. The ability for a coach and teammates to support a Freshman as a leader allowed me to have that confidence not only through High School in College and beyond.
I was good but never the best. I recognized the fact that many others had more talent than me but I had the ability to elevate those around me to perform to their potential. These leadership qualities are still with me today. I competed at the University D1 Level, ran a short amount of time professionally ( won trips and a TV) and started working at Nike while still in High School parlaying that experience into a 35+ year career that has taken me all around the world.
I look back at the teams and athletes that I competed with and still love the relationships that are in place with the “crazy distance runners” of the 1970’s. Those athletes from the 1970’s have become the coaches of today carrying on what they learned and experienced as athletes into making them better coaches. My passion for the sport has led me to develop and grow the CYO Track and Field program that welcomes everyone to participate. I also helped start the PDXC Middle School Cross Country program that is a free program for every middle schooler to compete in XC for free. These programs have contributed to growing the sports of Cross Country and Track and Field in the state because of their inclusiveness and opportunities to maximize the talent of those on the teams.
My ability to see both the beginner as well as athletes at the top of their class formed my coaching philosophy. Coaching at the middle school, club level and eventually in Cross Country and Track and Field at the high school level allowed me to take my experience as an athlete in the PIL to transfer that knowledge and engagement to build championship teams, winning the 6A Coach of the Year for Central Catholic in my 3rd year as the Director of Track and Field.
The focus on the athlete, their physical and mental well being has also formed lifelong relationships that provided me insight into other opportunities. I led the effort in building Roosevelt High School’s Track and Field Facilities beginning in 2007 and completing it in 2012 being awarded the Portland Monthly’s Light a Fire Award for Extraordinary Volunteer of the Year in 2013. This PIL school had 15 students out for track and field in 2008. In 2015 that number reached 150. In 2022 the Roosevelt Boys team won the PIL and they have some of the top athletes in the country…because of their facility and the coaches that came along.
I am forever grateful for the time I spent in the PIL with my coaches and teammates. ( Larry Allen and Vic Carlson) and those teammates that I still am in touch with through the sport. Thank you for this honor.