Once and only once a year, the Bellevue Christian boys and girls track teams get a taste of home.
This Thursday, for the third consecutive year, the Vikings modest three-lane track will play host to the third annual “Flynn-vitational” meet when Tacoma Baptist brings their squad to face-off with BCS.
The name of the meet pays homage to a close friend of the school’s founding fathers, the Green Brothers. The meet originally came about as a result of an April snow storm back in 2008 that left the Vikings unable to travel to West Seattle for a scheduled meet.
After the success of the inaugural meet in bringing people together to celebrate BCS track, girls head coach Larry Royce and boys head coach Ed Sloan decided there was no reason the Vikings couldn’t host an event annually.
Without a full eight-lane track, the Vikings boys and girls track and field teams shuttle between area schools (usually Lake Washington or Juanita) with more accommodating facilities for “home” meets. That means extra time spent loading and unloading gear, added travel and a longing for the familiarity of a “home track” advantage.
Royce, who was recently named the track and field coach of the year at both the state and national level, talked about the logistical challenges that come with traveling to every meet. “Typically it’s load the bus, load the gear, unload the gear etc.,” Royce said, adding that hosting an event also gives the student-athletes a sense of pride in their campus and the BCS community.
While track and field is not typically a spectator-sport at the high school level, Royce said the annual on-campus meet draws students, faculty and parents and is a wonderful showcase for the teams.
Senior Mackenzie Altig also talked about the added sense of school spirit that comes with performing in front of the home fans in a familiar setting. “I think it’s great because it really gives everyone a chance to come and cheer,” Altig said. “It’s cool for us to see them there.”
Fellow senior John Miller said that all the travel for both “home” and away meets can at times become “a little stressful,” and is excited to perform in front of the home fans once more as a Viking.
Of course, hosting an event on a track with five fewer lanes than the typical track presents some unique challenges.
Track events will be raced in three-person heats and hurdle events will be one-on-one, which should make for some uniquely exciting action. All of the field events are able to be conducted without modification according to Royce and Sloan.
In another unique twist, each member of the Bellevue Christian team will participate in four events, with many taking on unfamiliar challenges. Currently, the Vikings have a number of the Emerald City League’s top marks on both the boys and girls sides.
BCS is home to the top performer in the 100, 200, 800, 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 4×100 relay, high jump and long jump for the boys while the two-time defending state champion girls are led by Mededith Lampe (100, 4×200 relay), Paige Berdan (javelin), Bree Oldham (400, 300 hurdles, 4×200 relay) and the top long jump of Altig.
