They’re in it for the long run

Published 7:00 am Saturday, September 3, 2005

Harriers are young, but new coach is ready to help them win.

What have you done today to be better than your competitors?

That’s the question new Bainbridge cross country head coach Dean Tarbill is posing to his team as they prepare for the prep season.

“I have that saying to tell them, ‘What are you doing? How are you training?’” Tarbill said. “I tell them to get involved. Know who your competition is. Find out who the best runners are on the other teams and become a student of the game.”

Tarbill, a retired teacher from the Central Kitsap School District who also coached track, football and wrestling at Olympic and Central Kitsap high schools, took the job during the summer.

He has a new staff in assistant Pat Logan, who has coached cross country and track in California, and Ann Howard Lindquist, a former high school state champion in cross country at Port Townsend who ran track and cross country at the University of Washington.

“To me, Pat’s the best trainer I’ve ever been around,” Tarbill said. “I think if he worked at a college program, they would turn around and be NCAA champions. He’s that good.

“Ann comes with a lot of credentials. She’s still a runner and she runs with the kids. She’s a real nurturer and a mother, too.”

Tarbill has a number of returners to work with, many of whom he coached while an assistant with the Spartan track program.

On the boys’ side, junior Bevan Taylor and sophomore Joel Turkheimer are two returners excited about the upcoming year.

“We lost a lot of people last year,” said Taylor, the boys captain. “But this year is looking a lot stronger. We’ll have a full varsity team, so we’re hoping to qualify the entire team for Districts and qualify a few for State.”

They’ll be joined by returning runners: seniors Max Suffis and Sean McCotter and sophomores Alex Oechsli, Colin Schultz and Matt Tetlow. Ian Shiach is a newcomer who showed considerable improvement over the summer.

On the girls side, senior captain Caroline Johnson and juniors Hilary and Geneva Pritchett will try to guide their squad back to state.

Johnson just missed qualifying for the big race in Pasco last year. She is expected to be one of the top runners in the district.

“She’s a real thoroughbred,” Tarbill said. “She’s trained hard this summer and I think she will be very competitive.”

All three made it to Districts in the last track season, while the Pritchett twins placed second in the 4×400 relay at Star Track in June. Hilary was also a finalist in the 800 meter run.

The trio will be joined by returning senior Christina Garrigues and sophomores Emily VanVleet and Molly O’Keefe, with many newcomers including, sophomores Emily Farrar, Camilie Frate, Hazel Scott, Callie McKenzie and Taylor Raquer expected to help the team.

Although the team is young, Tarbill didn’t waste much time after being appointed head coach. He put his philosophies and goals into a syllabus for runners, and had them training all summer on trails around Phelps Road, Gazzam Lake Park and Battle Point Park.

“I just started coaching five years ago, and I think it’s so important, now more so than ever, to give kids a chance to develop habits to be successful,” he said. “Not just in athletics, but life.”

“That’s going to be a major part of our success this season,” Taylor said of the regimen. “There’s been a core of 10 people showing up all summer, but when official practice started, there have been between 35-40 people showing up.”

Those people will come in handy when Bainbridge starts the season against Eastside Catholic, Nathan Hale and Ingraham at Lower Woodland Field in Seattle on Sept. 15.

The boys face competition from strong squads at Bishop Blanchet, O’Dea and Seattle Prep, which is home to one of the best runners in the state, Max O’Donoghue-McDonald.

As for the girls, they’ll see Blanchet and Holy Names next to them as they navigate the trails. Cougar runner Chelsea Burns will be Johnson’s main rival, according to Taylor and Turkheimer.

Though both sides have many runners with little experience, Tarbill is making sure the team is thinking nothing but positive thoughts about their chances.

“I want to build the habits of industriousness, dedication and commitment,” he said. “I use the term ‘springboards of success.’ Failures are not bad. We use them to identify our deficiency and that’s why coaches are here to help you out.

“So failures are good.”