In the spring of 2009, Scott Slamp hurriedly pulled together a group of 19 athletes and several coaches to form a track and field team. The Evergreen Storm has been going full speed ahead since.
On Saturday, 10 runners will represent the Evergreen Storm Track Club at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics National Cross Country Championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Slamp believes several runners have a good shot at all-American honors by finishing among the top 25 in their age-group races.
Between cross country and track seasons (where top-8 national finish earns all-American), 19 athletes representing the Storm have earned individual all-American recognition.
“Going after All-American status has always been the goal,” Slamp said. “You’re always reaching for the top. When an athlete reaches the pinnacle, it’s pure satisfaction for everybody.”
Savanna Craig did that this summer. She became the sixth Storm national champion when she won the 2000-meter steeplechase for girls ages 15-16 at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics Nationals. Evergreen had eight all-American performers at this summer’s track nationals, including silver-medal performances from Trey Knight, Bailey King and Craig.
“The club is an excellent opportunity for the kids to compete and train with others their age,” said Karen Craig, Savanna’s mother. “The kids are never going to forget this experience.”
It was a shared experience for E’Lon Mack that first prompted Slamp to form a team. Mack, now a freshman on the football team at Western Oregon, won four 2008 AAU regional track championships. A year later, Slamp recalled, Mack was not excited about training alone. So at the end of Covington Middle School’s season Slamp started recruiting athletes willing to train for state championships and beyond.
Six seasons later, more than 250 students have competed for the Evergreen Storm at meets ranging from state-level to world competitions.
Slamp said it was a girls cross country team in 2010 that opened his eyes to the places the Storm could go. The team of girls ages 11-12 placed second in the region and seventh at nationals in Alabama. That team included Alexa Efraimson, now a professional runner. Alexis Fuller and Alissa Pudlitzke will attend Boise State to run track and cross country. Nicole Goecke, now at Oregon State on a track and cross country scholarship, ran at regionals but had to skip nationals because they conflict with high school basketball.
“I don’t think I would have gotten to where I am today without the Evergreen Storm,” Pudlitzke said. “That’s how I really got involved with running. It wasn’t until I made it to Junior Olympics nationals that I realized I could be pretty good at this.”
From the start, Slamp has been the driving force behind the Storm. But he credits committed, experienced coaches, for helping athletes accomplish big goals.
“I quickly found I could recruit kids, but coaching was a different matter,” Slamp said.
During track season, there are six coaches who focus on their specialties on the track and in the field. Distance coach Mike McKinney doubles as the Storm cross country coach.
Johanna Lawson, who has coached Storm throwers and jumpers for three years, said the Evergreen Storm provides an “amazing opportunity” for young athletes to be coached by top flight volunteers. Lawson said coaching is a way to repay the coaching she received as a young athlete.
“This is everything I believe in. This is everything that I’ve always wanted to do.”
None of this could have happened without Slamp’s drive and determination, athletes and coaches agree. After six years as the head coach, recruiter, and fundraiser Slamp is ready to throttle back. He will remain club president, but come summer, Scott Timmons will become the Evergreen Storm head coach.
“He’s the best recruit I’ve ever had in my mind because in so many ways he will do a better job than me,” Slamp said. “He has vision and an incredible love of providing this opportunity for kids. He’s someone who can take us to the next level in supporting kids.”
