EDMONDS — Because he has been a coach for many years, Edmonds-Woodway’s Al Bonney has developed a pretty good eye for running talent.
And in the fall of 2014, Bonney spotted something special in Yukino Parle, then a freshman on the Warriors cross country team. Though she had been only a so-so runner in middle school — good, but not great — Parle’s potential jumped out at Bonney right away.
“I’ve been doing this for so long I can tell when a person is really going to be good, and I’m not usually wrong,” said Bonney, who has spent more than four decades in coaching, including a stint as the University of Washington’s head women’s coach in cross country and track and field in the 1970s and ’80s.
When he watched Parle run, what jumped out to Bonney “was how tremendously talented and gifted she is. And I knew how good she could be. So before track season (last spring) we sat down and I said, ‘You know what, if you get serious, you’re going to be really good.’ And as it’s turned out, she is really good.”
Parle took those words to heart and showed steady improvement throughout the track season. She qualified for state in the 3,200 meters at the District 1 championship meet, and in the process set an Edmonds-Woodway record of 11 minutes, 4.44 seconds. She went on to finish sixth at state the next week, and her time of 11:09.52 was the fastest for a Class 3A freshman girl at state and the second fastest for any freshman girl.
In cross country this fall Parle has not missed a step. Now a sophomore, she won the Western Conference South race Oct. 24, and at the district meet on Saturday she again placed first.
Even with all those accomplishments, Bonney said, “I think she can ramp it up another step. I don’t see any limit on this girl, and that’s really the bottom line. … There’s just no stopping her.”
A few years ago, Parle never really saw herself as a runner. She was a soccer player back then and running, in part, was a way to get in shape. Even now, she said, “sometimes I miss soccer,” a sport she stopped playing in high school. “But I’m glad I chose running over soccer. I just enjoy running more.”
Parle is excited about her own success in running, but even more excited about her team’s potential heading into this weekend’s state meet in Pasco. “Our goal this year was to make it to state as a team,” she said, which the Warriors accomplished on Saturday with their second-place finish at district.
First place at district went to Glacier Peak with Mountlake Terrace finishing third. All three are headed to state and all three should contend for top places, perhaps even a state title.
Edmonds-Woodway is young — No. 2 runner Olivia Meader-Yetter is a freshman — “and as an old-codger coach they drive me crazy,” Bonney said with a smile. “They’re always giggling and having fun. They’re having a great ol’ time when I’m trying to get their attention to just get through stuff.
“But I think that’s what’s been so magical for them. It’s kind of like, ‘We’re going to do this and we’re going to have fun doing it.’ So it’s been really cool to see.”
Indeed, Bonney had thoughts of retirement in recent years, “but then these guys showed up and I thought, ‘I’ve got to push that off a little bit.’” With determination, hard work and, of course, some talent, “they’ve kind of taken people by surprise, including me,” he said.
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