Carver Memories: 100 years of Western Track & Field (1923 to 2023)
From Carver to Halsell and all the highlights in between

  (L-R): Sam Carver & Pee Wee Halsell
 
With the first 100 years of track and field at Western Washington University coming to a close this spring, it's time to look back at the sport which began at the school on Sehome Hill in 1923.
 
That year, Western, then known as Bellingham Normal School (BNS), competed against other colleges for the first time when the Tri-Normal League was formed in the state of Washington. It was composed of Bellingham, Cheney Normal (Eastern Washington) and Ellensburg Normal (Central Washington).
 
At that same time, the BNS Board of Control (later Board of Trustees) selected Vikings as the mascot/nickname for the athletics program. And D.B. Waldo Field, then located where Miller Hall and Red Square are now, was dedicated on Nov. 16, with the school's first track installed in 1925.
 
That first cinder squad of 1923 numbered 10 men. Since then, more than 2,500 student-athletes have represented Western in men's and women's track and field.
 
From the 1920s through the 1940s, student-athletes attending Western were primarily from Bellingham and Whatcom and Skagit Counties. In the 1950s and 1960s, that area extended south down then US Route 99 (now Interstate 5 corridor) to Oregon. Now, the hometowns on Viking rosters range throughout the state and across the country.
 
From the mid-1950s into the 1970s there were standout track student-athletes who competed at Western from the province of British Columbia in Canada. That ended when tuition was raised for those north of the border to compare with that of students from other states.
  Sam Carver 
 
Carver was school's first track coach
 
BNS track and field was first coached by Sam Carver, who later became known as the school's "Father of Athletics." The Vikings won six of the first nine Tri-Normal track titles.
 
Carver, who served as the school's Director of Athletics for 19 years (1914-33) and for whom the school's gymnasium is named, retired in 1955 after 45 years on the hill. In 1957, he was inducted into the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame for noteworthy contributions to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in track and field.
  Pee Wee Halsell

Halsell closed out track's first century
 
In mid-December of 2022, Kelven "Pee Wee" Halsell stepped down following 36 years as men's and women's track and field coach at Western, the longest tenured coach of any sport in school history. In all, Halsell, who also coached indoor track and cross country for the Vikings, received 44 Coach of the Year awards while directing those sports to 36 team titles.
 
Halsell's Western tenure began in the fall of 1987 when the school was a NAIA member. In 1998, the Vikings joined Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 
 
Overall, for his six sports, Halsell coached 10 individual national champions, 163 All-Americans, 210 Academic All-Americans, 237 individual conference champions, 385 West Region all-stars, 560 national participants, and 630 conference academic all-stars.
 
Under Halsell, Western finished among the Top 25 in the team standings at outdoor national track meets 17 times. His women's squad of 2011 tied for sixth, the highest finish by any cinder squad in school history.
 
Standouts for Carver in the 1930s

  (L-R): Norm Bright (second from left) & Walt Schilaty
 
One of Western's earliest track standouts was Norm Bright (Chehalis), who set a meet record in winning the mile at the Tri-Normal meet in 1931. Following graduation, he established an American record in the two-mile run (9:12.2) in 1935 and placed 11th at the 1944 Boston Marathon.
 
In 1936 at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Bright ran in the 5,000 meters at Randalls Island, New York. A co-favorite, he along with several others collapsed during the race which was run during one of the hottest days of the North American heat wave that year. Finishing in a dead heat to qualify for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, were American record-holder Don Lash and Louis Zamperini, the subject of a #1 New York Times bestseller Unbroken (2014) and later a major motion picture of the same name.
 
In 1932, the Vikings' Walt Schilaty blazed to a 10.7 second 100-meter dash, only one-tenth of a second off the existing Olympic record of 10.6 set at the 1924 Paris Games by British runner Harold Abrahams, who was portrayed in the movie Chariots of Fire released in 1981. It should be noted that this was just before starting blocks became a standard and accepted practice.
 
That time propelled Schilaty (Everett) to victory at the U.S. Regional meet and qualified him for the Olympic Trials in Pasadena. But with this taking place during the depression era he was unable to raise the funds needed to advance. The next year, Schilaty was again the Tri-Normal champion in both the 100 and 220-yard dashes.
 
Another BNS star was Dan Gagnon (Vancouver, B.C.), who on May 13, 1939 at Ellensburg, clocked a regular-season school-record 9.6-second 100 yards at Ellensburg and later that year won that event at the first Washington Intercollegiate Conference meet in a time of 9.7. His 100 school record was never broken, only tied before the change to metric distances in the late 1970s. His school record of 21.6 seconds over 220 yards, set in 1937, stood until 1994, a total of 57 years. That's the longest any Western event time or mark has lasted, though there are two others currently at 50 years and counting.
 
New campus track, first collegiate nationals, standouts from Canada
 
 
In 1941, a new track was completed at Western, this one located south of the Physical Education Building which was dedicated on Nov. 7, 1936. And in 1952, the first NAIA national meet took place at Abilene, Texas.

Participating in that first nationals was the Vikings' Gerry Swan (New Westminster, B.C.). Altogether he made four national appearances, all in the two mile, from 1952 to 1955, finishing second twice and sixth twice. Swan was the founder and director of the Abbotsford Royals Track Club and a middle distance coach for the B.C. High Performance Center. He was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1993. 
 
In 1954, Ken Swalwell (New Westminster, B.C.) placed fourth nationally in the discus (149 11-1/2/45.57m) as did Ted Whan (Victoria, B.C.) in the 880-yard run. Swalwell was second in 1955 and Darrell Pearson (Mount Vernon) sixth in the javelin in 1959.
 
Whan was a double winner twice (1954 and 1956) in the 440 yards and 880 yards at Evergreen Conference meets while winning three titles in each event.
  (L-R): Dan Gagnon, Ken Swalwell & Ted Whan
 
Top Western track performers of the 1960s
 
Ray Ciszek, who directed the program after Carver and a two-year stint by C.W. "Bill" McDonald (1947-48), had the fourth longest track coaching tenure at Western with stints of five, three and four years for a total of 12 from 1949 to 1962. And the school's track meets were moved to Bellingham's Civic Stadium, which opened in 1961.
  Don Trethewey
 
Ciszek's top athlete was Don Trethewey (Kamloops, B.C.), who won the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:35.2) at the NAIA National meet in 1960 at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to become the school's first national champion. He also placed sixth that year at the NCAA Nationals (9:21.9) and was fifth in 1961.
 
Coaching Western track from the mid-1960s thru the early-1970s were Stan LeProtti (1965-67), then a member of the U.S. President's Council on Physical Fitness, Boyde Long (1967-69) and Dick Bowman (1970-73).
  (L-R): Ray Ciszek, Boyde Long & Dick Bowman
 
In 1966, John Hunt (Tacoma/Mount Tahoma) finished second at nationals in the long jump with a leap of 24-feet, 3/4-inches (7.33). That mark was the school record until 2015, a total of 49 years.
 
In 1968, javelin thrower Dave VanderGriend (Lynden) won the NAIA nationals with an effort of 238-4 (72.54) after placing second in 1967 and fourth in 1966. That same year, he broke the Evergreen Conference standard with a titanic school-record toss of 241-5 (73.58) at Spokane and later finished fourth at the U.S. Olympic Trials held at Echo Summit, Calif.
  (L-R): John Hunt & Dave VanderGriend
 
Note: In 1986 the men's javelin was redesigned for safety purposes; its center of gravity being moved forward by four centimeters. This shortened throwing distances by approximately 10 per cent by bringing its nose down earlier and more steeply.

Also in 1968, the mile relay quartet of Larry Anderson (North Bend/Mount Si), Ron Jackman (Tacoma/Wilson), Dave Anderson (North Bend/Mount Si) and Jim Kuhlman (Snohomish) was timed in 3:15.7h (3:14.71, equivalent for 4x400 meters), a clocking that stood for 45 years to 2013.
 
Nielson and Pearson achieve feats following graduation
  (L-R): Larry Nielson & Jim Pearson


In 1970, Western's Larry Nielson (Olympia/Tumwater) placed ninth nationally and set a school record in the six-mile run. At 13, he and his brothers had climbed Mount Olympus on the Olympic Peninsula and Larry was hooked. He went on to scale five of the 10 highest peaks in the world, including Mount Everest, the world's tallest at 29,028-feet. Nielson reached the summit on May 7, 1983, becoming the first American to accomplish the feat without the use of supplemental oxygen. A high school educator for 44 years, he also was a guide at Mount Rainier, scaling that peak 180 times.
 
Jim Pearson (Lake Stevens) was a long and triple jumper when he arrived at Western in the fall of 1962. As a junior, he switched to the two-mile run. Following graduation, he became one of the nation's top ultra distance runners, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 1972 and 1976. In 1975 at Seattle, Pearson became the U.S. champion in the 50-mile run with a then American record time of 5:12:40.1. Now 78, Pearson is still working on a streak of running at least a mile a day that began on Feb. 16, 1970. (As of mid-April, 2023, his streak stood at 53.16 years or 19,418 days). He taught at Ferndale (Wash.) High School for 35 years.
 
Vorce dominates in early 1970s   
  Mike Vorce
 
Mike Vorce (Murdock/Lyle), a junior at Western in 1973, ran the 440-yard hurdles in 51.9 seconds (51.74, equivalent for 400 meters), still the school's best after a half century.
 
His amazing performance came at the 1973 NAIA nationals on May 26 at Arkadelphia, Ark. He led in that race up to the final barrier, which he hit and nearly fell.
 
Vorce made four trips to the NAIA nationals to compete in the 440-yard hurdles and was a three-time All-American, placing fourth in 1972 (52.2), third in 1973 (51.9) and second in 1974 (52.2). The 1972 event, held in Billings, Mont., was televised on CBS Sports Spectacular.
 
Ralph Vernacchia, who coached the 5-foot-10 Vorce as a senior, still believes Vorce's most amazing performance was a 14.3 time in the (120-yard) high hurdles in 1974. That clocking was the school record for the 110-meter hurdles (14.53 equivalent) until 2015, a total of 41 years.
 
Others might pick one of his mile relay efforts as the anchorman, as on numerous occasions he came back from incredible deficits to win.
  (L-R): John White & Jim Magee
 
And in 1973, 32-year-old John White set a school record in the triple jump of 47-11-1/2 (14.61). He also won both the long and triple jumps at the Evergreen Conference championships.
 
In 1972, sprinter Jim Magee (Seattle/Cleveland) ran a school record 100 meters of 10.3h (10.54), a mark that lasted for 43 years (2015). That same year, he tied the 9.6 100 yards record held by Gagnon since 1939. Oftentimes, Magee used starting blocks being developed by Coach Bowman.
 
Women begin competing for Western, Taylor stars
 
Title IX legislation was passed in 1972, but women began competing in track at Western as early as 1967 under coach Alta Hansen.
  (L-R): Shirley Swanson & Wendy Taylor
 
Shirley Swanson (Mount Vernon) placed second in the 440 yards at the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) nationals in 1971 and was third in that event in 1972.
 
In 1973, Wendy Taylor (Abbotsford, B.C.) was the national champion in the 100-meter hurdles with a AIAW meet record time of 14.2 after being third in 1972. Sherry Stripling (Seattle/Ingraham) was third in the javelin in 1973 as was the 880-yard medley relay, which featured Taylor, who was coached by Gerry Swan, and Swanson.
 
Taylor's winning time of 13.7 seconds (13.94) in the 100 hurdles at the University of Washington Invitational on Apr. 14, 1973, is one of two school records, the other being Vorce in the 400 hurdles, that still stands after 50 years.
 
Taylor, who was inducted into the Abbotsford (B.C.) Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, was outstanding on the international stage. She placed sixth in the 100 hurdles at the World Games held in Moscow in 1973 and third at the USA-USSR meet held at Berkeley, Calif., in 1971. She also competed in the Pan American Games in 1971 and the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games in 1970 and 1974. She won a gold medal at the Canada Games in 1969 and placed first at the Canadian Senior Championships in 1972 and 1973. At one time, Taylor held the Canadian 100 hurdle record of 13.8.
 
Vernacchia, new track surface, and James-led district dominance
 
Dr. Ralph Vernacchia coached men's track at Western for 14 years (1974-87). He worked with 26 All-Americans and his Vikings won six straight NAIA District 1 crowns from 1981 to 1986.
 
In 1985, a Rekortan surface was put down on the track facility located just north of WWU's Wade King Recreation Center (built in 2004). Vernacchia said the surface, the same type used at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, helped bring Western's program to the next level.
 
Vernacchia was a professor in the department of Physical Education, Health and Recreation at Western for nearly 40 years, directing undergraduate and graduate courses in sports psychology. He served as a performance consultant to athletes at the professional and Olympic levels, traveling internationally with USA teams to several world championships.
  (L-R): Allen James, Tony Engelhardt, Torry Lingbloom & Colin Peters

 
A number of Vernacchia's top athletes at Western were race walkers, an event he helped the NAIA become the collegiate home of. Heading that list was Allen James (Seattle/Shorecrest), a four-time All-American. He placed second at nationals in the 10,000-meter race walk in 1985, third in 1984 and fifth in 1983 and 1986.
 
Paced by James, the Vikings had a number of high placers in the 10-kilometer walk at the NAIA nationals. Herm Nelson (Seattle) finished 10th in 1986 and third in 1987; Torry Lingbloom (Ferndale) was among the top 10 from 1981 to 1983, being second in 1981; and Colin Peters (Anacortes) placed fourth in 1984. Tony Engelhardt (Seattle/Shorecrest), who was coached by Vernacchia and Halsell, was among the top five three times, being second in 1989.
 
After graduating from Western in 1987, James took his athletic career to new heights, becoming the leading figure in United States race walking. He won the 30-kilometer walk at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1992 and twice competed at the Olympic Games, placing 24th in the 50-kilometer (31 miles) walk in 1996 at Atlanta, and 30th in the 20-kilometer (12.5 miles) walk in 1992 at Barcelona, Spain.
 
James was a four-time USA champion in the 20-kilometer walk and a three-time winner in the 50-kilometer walk as well as a three-time gold medalist in the 5000-meter indoor walk. He was a three-time World Walk Cup U.S. Team member and winner of the United States Amateur Track & Field Captain Ron Zinn Memorial Award.
 
Western's Nelson also was an Olympic race walker in 1992 and 1996, competing both times in the 50-kilometer event.
 
Among other notable athletes coached by Vernacchia were left-handed javelin thrower Dave Reister (Olympia), who placed fourth nationally in 1977 (225-4/68.68) and second in 1979; Martin Rudy (Bellingham), who in 1980 broke the school record in the hammer (178-4/54.36) that had stood for 25 years and set a WWU standard in the discus (161-2/49.12) that was not broken for 30 years; and Blake Surina (Tacoma/Stadium), who was Western's first decathlon All-American, placing sixth at nationals in 1982 with a school-record point total of 6,678.
  (L-R): Dave Reister, Martin Rudy & Blake Surina

Another was Jeff Van Kleeck (Lynden), a distance runner at Western in the early 1990s, who set school records in the 3,000 and 5,000 meter events. Van Kleeck also was a champion snowboarder, who took top honors at the inaugural U.S. Amateur Snowboard Championships at Snow Valley, Calif., in May of 1990. He won the slalom, finished second in the halfpipe and placed ninth in the Super G to take the overall title, his victory earning him a spot on the unsanctioned U.S. amateur team.

Bartlett takes women to five top 10 national team finishes
  (L-R): Ralph Vernacchia & Tony Bartlett
 
For nine years (1979-87) Tony Bartlett coached women's track at Western. Five times his teams placed among the top 10 at national meets.
 
In 1981, his 4x800 meter relay quartet composed of Janis Swanson (Mount Vernon), sister of Shirley Swanson, Dawn Graham (North Bend/Mount Si), Carla Randall (Bothell/Inglemoor) and Bethany Ryals (Bellevue/Newport) was victorious at the AIAW Division III national meet in Hayward, Calif.
 
A school-record that stood for 32 years was set by Donna Larry (Mercer Island) in the women's long jump of 19-2 (5.84) in 1982.
  (L-R): Joan Williamson & Kristy Dees
 
In 1984, the Vikings, for the only time in school history, had two champions at the same national meet. Joan Williamson (Mount Baker) took the javelin title with a NAIA meet record throw of 166-6 (50.76), and Kristy Dees (Puyallup) captured the high jump at 5-8 1/4 (1.73), a school record that stood for 35 years.
 
When Williamson arrived at that meet, her javelin did not meet the required standards. She ended up borrowing an implement from defending national champion Maria Haley of Wayland Baptist (Texas).  Haley, who was the 1984 runner-up, later married Halsell, who was an assistant track coach for eight years at NAIA powerhouse Wayland Baptist before directing the program at Western.
 
In 1987, sprinter Hollie Watson (Port Orchard/South Kitsap) established 100-meter (11.93) and 200-meter (24.32) school records that still stand 36 years later.
  (L-R): Hollie Watson & Genevie Pfueller
 
A top distance runner for Bartlett was Genevie Pfueller (Bellingham/Sehome), who in 1985 placed third nationally in the 3,000 and fourth in the 5,000, and in 1987 was  fourth again at nationals in the 5,000.
 
Her father, Gale (Bellingham), was a hurdler at Western in the early 1960s and later a master's steeplechase runner who competed in national and world championships. He also was a founding member of the Greater Bellingham Running Club.
 
A Western teammate of Gale and lifelong friend was distance runner Jim Freeman (Ferndale), who placed 18th at the Boston Marathon in 1965, won the AAU Western Hemisphere Marathon in 1967 and competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1968. A teacher and coach at Mount Baker High School (Deming, WA) for 28 years. Freeman was inducted into the Washington State High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in cross country (1998), track & field (1999) and girls basketball (2018). Among the track and field athletes he sent to Western were Rick Buckenmeyer, Brent Golden, Joe Mitchell, Nels Postma, Janell Powers, and Joan Williamson.

   
Halsell's best of the best
 
Some of the finest athletes Halsell coached at Western were Sarah Porter Crouch (Hockinson), who turned professional after being a NCAA II champion in the women's 10,000 meters (2011) and a 12-time All-American; Ryan Brown (Bellingham/Squalicum), a four-time national champion men's pole vaulter, twice outdoor (2010 and 2011) and twice indoor (2010 and 2011); Katelyn Steen (Sammamish/Eastlake), a three-sport women's All-American; and women's javelin throwers Monika Gruszecki (Edmonds/Meadowdale) (2007 and 2011) and Bethany Drake (Sandy, OR) (2014 and 2017), both two-time national champions. Steen's father, Mark, was a Western distance runner.
  (L-R) Sarah Porter & Ryan Brown
 
In 2014, just one inch (165-3/50.29 to 165-2/50.29) separated the Vikings' Katie Reichert (Longview/Kelso) from the NCAA II javelin title won by teammate Drake. Reichert set the school record in 2016 with a toss of 180-4 (54.97).
 
The trio of Drake (177-10/54.20), Gruszecki (179-4/54.68) and Reichert competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016 at Eugene, Ore., Gruszecki five years following graduation.
  (L-R): Monika Gruszecki, Bethany Drake & Katie Reichert
 
Besides her two NCAA II national titles, Drake was runner-up in 2016. A four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic selection, she competed for Team USA in 2018, and finished fourth earlier that season at the USAF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
In 1988, Jerry Hopper (Stanwood) went 49-9.25 (12.12) in the men's triple jump. That mark stood for 35 years.
 
In 1994, Marc Hill (Kent/Kent-Meridian, a transfer the year before from Western Oregon, set school records in both the 200 (21.4) and 400 (47.25) meters and won both events at the final NAIA District 1 meet, the 39th for the men.
 
As a senior in 1997, Amy Cameron (Gresham, OR) won the NAIA national championship in the women's 100 hurdles (14.15), two years after transferring from Pacific Lutheran.
 
In 2009, Emily Warman (Sedro-Woolley) became the first Western athlete to win a NCAA II indoor track title, capturing the women's triple jump as a freshman with a school record effort of 39-3 (10.97).
  (L-R): Jerry Hopper, Marc Hill & Emily Warman
 
Bringing it home. Vikings dominate GNAC
  (L-R): Alex Donigian, Cordell Cummings & Mac Franks
 

Over the last 13 years (no league meet in 2020 because of COVID-19), Western dominated men's track in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), winning eight outdoor crowns and five indoor titles.
 
Sprinter Alex Donigian (Mission Viejo/Trabuco Hills) and hurdler Cordell Cummings (Lake Stevens/Arlington) upped the number of Viking tracksters named the school's Athlete of the Year two or more times to five. The others were Porter three times, Brown two and Drake two.
 
Donigian, who transferred from Northern Colorado, won the 100- and 200-meter dashes in back to back years (2015 and 2016) at the GNAC championships.
 
Cummings is Western's only runner to win both hurdle events in consecutive GNAC championships (2019 and 2021 – COVID-19 cancelled 2020). He owns Western's second fastest outdoor times behind Travis Milbrandt (Longview/Mark Morris) in the 110-meter hurdles (14.46) and Vorce in the 400-meter barriers (51.74).
 

Both Cummings' father, Trey (Federal Way), and mother, Denise Steele (Sumas/Nooksack Valley), were track athletes (hurdles/middle distance) at Western (also football for Trey), and his aunt Kym was a Viking basketball player.

 
In 2022, Mac Franks (Lake Forest Park/Shorecrest) set WWU records in the 1,500 meters, mile and 3,000-meter steeplechase. The next year, with a season of eligibility remaining, he transferred to attend graduate school at NCAA Division I University of North Florida. In 2023, he broke the four-minute barrier in the mile with a clocking of 3:58.56. His father, Robert (Bob), competed in track and basketball at Western.
 
A tribute to Bill Roe 
  Bill Roe

 
A part of Western's track and field program as an assistant coach for 35 years, Bill Roe, a legend both nationally and internationally in administration of the sport, passed away from a heart attack on Feb. 28, 2020.
 
Roe served two terms as President of USA Track and Field from 2000 to 2008. The founder in 1972 of Seattle's Club Northwest and in 1973 of the Pacific Northwest Association of USATF, Roe's resume included stellar work in nearly all capacities of the sport: as a coach, meet director, clinician, official, administrator, and executive.
 
The first 100 years of track and field at Western have certainly produced remarkable results due to the incredible hard work of its athletes and coaches, making for lasting friendships and wonderful memories.
 
More of the same is expected over the next century.
 

WWU HALL OF FAME (TRACK & FIELD)

Athletes
Norm Dahl, Kristy Dees, Chuck Erickson, Jim Freeman, Don Gagnon, Monika Gruszecki, John Hunt, Allen James, Jerry Joyce, Devin Kemper, Larry Nielson, Jim Pearson, Genevie Pfueller, Walt Schilaty, Brandi Stevenson, Ken Swalwell, Gerry Swan, Shirley Swanson, Wendy Taylor, Marilyn Thibodeau, Bob Tisdale, Don Trethewey, Dave VanderGriend, Mike Vorce, Jeff Van Kleeck, Hollie Watson, Joan Williamson.
 
Coaches
Sam Carver, Ray Ciszek, Lynda Goodrich, Boyde Long, Jim Lounsberry, C.W. McDonald, Bill Roe, Ralph Vernaachia.

Written by Paul Madison who served 48 years as sports information director at WWU from 1966 to 2015. He is in his eighth year as the school's athletics historian.