Local track athletes land in Eagles' nest

Over the decades, interest shown to West Plains high school athletes from the school down the road - Eastern Washington University - could be described as tepid at best.

In the past 50 years or so the notable names of those from Cheney and Medical Lake appearing on rosters at Eastern is pretty short.

Gary Glasgow excelled at baseball out of Medical Lake in the early 1960s; Timm Shephard played football until an injury sidelined his career in the late 1960s; former Cardinal Paul Butorac exceled on the basketball court for Eastern in the early 2000s and Cheney's Matt Brunell earned a roster spot in the latter part of the decade. And Cheney's Keenan Williams got his share of playing time for Eastern's football team as a freshman in 2015.

But Eastern's track program, and its head coach Stan Kerr, certainly have upset the scale recently with six locals not only playing contributing roles, but starring for his Eagles too.

Pointing to the massive graphic of the football player that adorns the flip side of the scoreboard at Roos Field, Kerr hinted with a laugh that his team - and its population of Blackhawks and Cardinals - flies under the radar, "Because we don't wear helmets."

The group includes Cheney grads, Erin Clark, the Big Sky conference pole vault champ; sprinter Janessa Day; Johanna Sherman in hurdles and distance man Steaven Zachman. Sprinter Dawson Lack and distance runner Zeb Klemke are Eagles who were formerly Cardinals.

"If you are looking at the athletes, and the student part of it, these guys all excel in the classroom," Kerr said. "Their career ambitions match that," he added.

It's not unusual, for a lot of reasons, that EWU has a larger blip on the collegiate radar these days.

"Eastern is becoming a better and better fit for that academic kid that maybe when I first started as our women's coach 21 years ago, we battle some of that, 'Oh, it's Eastern,' mindset," Kerr said.

A number of notable academic programs such as computer science, or nursing, serve to lure students to Cheney, Kerr said.

Erin Clark:

Clark shocked the track community with her recent conference championship at Sacramento State in May with a vault of 13 feet, 3/4 inches.

"Coming out of Cheney, who's Erin Clark? And then she goes in and beats people on their home track in Sacramento," Kerr said. "That's a little bow on the package."

What drew Clark to simply venture across town versus the state or country?

"I really liked the team aspect of it," Clark, who got her start in the pole vault through training as a gymnast, said. "I like the campus size, it's not too big, but it's not too small."

Clark concluded her senior season, and finished with a degree in exercise science with a minor in administration, focusing on a sports nutrition career, specifically as a dietician. She will return for the 2018 outdoor season.

Janessa Day:

Day had many schools from which to pick, but among the many reasons she used to pass up offers from the University of Washington, Arizona State and Duke was familiarity with Eastern. Her dad Jay played football at the school from 1992–1995.

But in the end it was another aspect of family that sold her on Eastern.

Day visited all the schools that sought her speed in the 400 meters. "I went all over the place," she said. "Then I came to Eastern and it was everything I was looking for. The team was like a family, everyone treated each other like a family and actually hung out outside of practice."

"She's affectionately known as the 'mom' in the crowd," Kerr said. Day makes sure team members know if they have an appointment. Plus, "She's got that disarming smile," he added.

As for her academic track, "I'm a senior, kind of, I'm coming back for a fifth year, I have one more year left," she said. She's basically ready to graduate once a few classes for a minor are satisfied in communications and visual communications. "Actually I want to do party planning," Day said.

Johanna Sherman:

Like Day, Sherman's parents were once Eagles, but a lot of her decision to stay at home in Cheney rested with the fact that coaches and friends can follow her in person - not just on social media.

"Just practicing on runs you see people that you know from high school," Sherman said. "It's motivating, you feel so supported."

The 2014 CHS grad and academic junior has majored in nursing and exercise science with aspirations of becoming a nurse with further study at UW or WSU.

With one more year of eligibility remaining, Sherman plans to join her dad who is in South Korea working. She plans to take classes from the University of Maryland and train while across the ocean. When she does return, it will likely be in a new discipline, steeplechase.

"Johanna Sherman, a.k.a. 'Jo,' is just a thrill to work with,'" Kerr said.

Steaven Zachman:

While a calculating long-distance runner, Zachman has sprinted through the academic side of college.

Zachman did Running Start through high school and is academically a senior, despite being a 2015 Cheney High School grad. He hopes to expedite his course of study and graduate next spring, or worst case, in the summer of 2018.

If Zachman takes a bit longer to earn his computer science degree, understand that some course work has assignments that can take two to three hours apiece to complete.

But he's only two years into his athletic eligibility with a new-found specialty in the steeplechase, a grueling event 3,000 meters in length - roughly two miles - with 35 barriers, seven featuring water.

Zachman plans to take the fall cross country season off. "I might come back for indoor and outdoor (seasons)," he said. "It's just kind of up in the air right now with all the classes I'm taking."

The dedicated student and runner has another side his coach explained. "He's a creative force on our team," Kerr said. "He's quite a guitar player."

Zeb Klemke:

After coming to Eastern from Spokane Falls Community College, Klemke was injured and sat out his sophomore season. "That's 99-percent behind him and he will start cross country this fall," Kerr said.

Klemke, a junior, was part of Medical Lake's 2012 and 2013 state 1A cross country champion teams. He's a member of the Winter Big Sky Conference All-Academic team.

Dawson Lack:

Rare is the opportunity for an athlete from a 1A school to attract the attention of a Division I university. But Lack, a freshman computer science student, had all the tools.

"Dawson brings a great high school resume to the track, and academically," Kerr said.

For Lack, traveling the 10 miles from Medical Lake where he competed in football as well as track, appears etched in stone for a while. "It was kind of my dream to come here in the first place," Lack, a state champ in both 2015 and 2016 on his school's 4x100 team, said.

And Kerr has given Lack a great deal of responsibility as a new team member.

"He inherited a position on the 4x100 - he's leadoff now - which as a freshman made me a little nervous because I don't want anyone to false start," Kerr said. "He handled that all beautifully so he's got a spot for the next three years."

Over that time, particularly in the summer, Lack will fine-tune his skills, he said.

"I'm really explosive (but) those long (legged) kinds like to get me 70 meters in," Lack said of sprinters who are more lanky.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.