| School: Wilson | Graduation Year: 1984 |
Sports Played: Cross Country, Track and Field
Year Inducted: 2023
High School Honors: 4 Cross Country letters. PIL Team Champions all four years; Undefeated team in PIL dual meets all four years; Individual PIL champion as a Junior; Runner-up as Senior; Team Captain and Team MVP as Junior and Senior; State Champion as a team in 1983; State runner-up team in 1982.
4 Track & Field letters. 3-time PIL Team Championships (Freshman, Junior, Senior); 3000m individual champion last three years; 1500m champion as Junior and Senior; PIL City Meet record holder in 1500m, 1984-2004; School record holder in 1500m and 3000m, 1984-2016; State runner-up as team in 1983; 3rd place individual 1500m at 1984 State Championship.
Post High School Career: University of California at Berkeley, BA in Economics, 1988; lettered in Cross Country one season. Earned CPA in 1997. 25-year career in international logistics and transportation. Presently Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller at IA Global in Portland. Coached elementary school age runners in Catholic Youth Org.
Commentary:
I am extremely honored and humbled to be inducted into the 2023 PIL Hall of Fame.
Running has been a huge part of my life from a very young age as a participant, a fan and as a father. It all originated with my first-grade teacher at Robert Gray Elementary, the late Betty Martin, and her husband Porter, who were the heads of the Portland Track Club (PTC) and recruited grade schoolers from the Portland-area to join PTC in the early 1970’s. There is a whole generation of kids from that era that populated high school track and cross-country teams across the region that originated from PTC. Wilson and Jackson High Schools were two of the biggest beneficiaries (and both had great running programs in the late 70’s into the 80’s as a result) but many others such as Lincoln, Tigard, Aloha, Hillsboro and Sunset all benefitted from the Martins and their selfless and tireless support of PTC. Thank you to Betty and Porter and all the great volunteer coaches.
Grade school running culminated in a trip for seven of us to the Junior Olympics Cross Country Championships in Shawnee Mission, KS where our Portland Track Club team from way up in the Pacific
High School at Wilson from sports to social life to lifelong friends originated with running. Who I am today largely originated with the friendships, relationships, discipline and teamwork that came from all those hours running on the region’s roads, trails and tracks. And my success in life and in running was very dependent on our high school coaches and we were very fortunate to have some good ones who were not only great coaches but mentors, role models and friends. Geoff Henderson, Head Cross Country Coach and Distance Coach, the late Ray Nairn, Head Track Coach and the late Larry Allen, Assistant Cross Country and Distance Coach were all big factors in my evolution as a runner and a person.
While my success individually and as part of teams at Wilson in cross country and track provide many great memories (1983 State Cross Country Team Championship as the highlight), it is the life-long friendships, relationships and experiences that I cherish the most. Many of my close friends today originate from running-related experiences at PTC, Robert Gray and Wilson. And one of the most impactful trips of my life that spurred my lifelong interest in international business and travel was the trip four of my teammates and I took to Sweden and Finland as 17-year-olds as part of a track and field exchange program in the summer of 1983 which included attending the World Track and Field Championships in Helsinki.
Beyond my own experiences, as a father of one daughter, I have been very fortunate to experience the joys of running through her experiences as a runner which included a very good high school career at Cleveland High School here in Portland and then an extraordinary experience in college at the NCAA Division 3 level, where she was a 4-time All American culminating in the 5k National Championship in her final collegiate race. More importantly, I see all the great relationships, friendships and experiences that she too has enjoyed as a result of her love and commitment to this sport.
Today, you can find me in the stands around region at all the big track meets from Portland to Eugene, as a proud dad watching my daughter continue her post-collegiate running career and as an active participant plodding along the trails of Forest Park, Tryon Creek or Terwilliger Blvd. Running is indeed a sport for life whether as a participant, spectator or self-identified track and field “junkie”.