Grizzlies’ Cummings finds her calling

Published 12:06 am Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A spur-of-the-moment experiment turned into a path-altering breakthrough for speedy Stephenie Cummings.

Once a soccer-first athlete who focused on the shortest events — the 100- and 200-meter sprints — during track season, Cummings tried the 400 for the first time early in the 2009 track and field season.

Barely two months later, she nearly won a state championship.

Then a junior at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish, Cummings placed second at the Class 3A state meet in May, finishing less than four-tenths of a second behind Dyneeca Adams of Rainier Beach. That result was extra impressive considering Cummings had never run a 400 in competition until her coach, acting on a hunch that Cummings would excel in the event, asked her to try it on short notice during a meet in late March.

Coach was right. In her debut in the 400, Cummings ran a time that ranked among the state’s best and, in the process, found a new calling.

“She did so much last year in an event she had never run before,” Glacier Peak track and field coach Brannon Jackson said. “She was so competitive so quickly.”

That was just the beginning.

Adams of Rainier Beach, last year’s 3A 400 champion, was a senior, which makes Cummings the state’s No. 1 returnee in the event.

“It puts a nice little target on her back,” Jackson said, “but one that I’m sure that she’s both relishing and anxious about. I think she’s prepared to do the work that she needs to do to be a state champion.”

Cummings, who after high school plans to run track for the Community Colleges of Spokane, is one of many outstanding Glacier Peak girls track athletes. The Grizzlies’ roster also features 2009 state qualifiers Sarah Whybark and Brenna Condon, both juniors who excel in distance events.

The team’s best-known distance runner is a freshman: Amy-Eloise Neale, who this past fall won the 3A state cross country title, placed 14th at the Nike Cross Nationals Finals and was named the Gatorade Washington Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Cummings and Neale give Glacier Peak, a second-year school, two athletes who dominate on opposite ends of the track spectrum. While their running specialties differ, their leadership and enthusiasm are similar.

“Two great athletes who truly don’t have an ego,” Jackson said. “They are both so excited about the team aspect of Glacier Peak track.”

Cummings, a sprinter, and Neale, a distance ace, generally don’t train together but they will at some point this spring, Jackson said. Both girls will run the 800 at times — Cummings to gain endurance, Neale to improve her speed — and they might even go head-to-head in a regular-season meet. That, Jackson said, will be a must-see moment for track fans.

Neale has the potential to win both distance races (1,600 and 3,200) at state, Jackson said: “The sky is the limit for Amy-Eloise. She can be as good as she wants to be. She knows what it takes to be a champion. She knows what it takes to be great.”

Despite their age difference, Cummings has known Neale for several years. They were teammates during the summer in the Snohomish Track Club. Cummings, the upperclassman, admires the young, focused freshman.

“She’s always been a great person,” Cummings said, “and she’s always worked super hard in everything (sports and academics). I think she’ll do amazing this year.”

Plus, training alongside Neale makes Cummings better.

“It’s definitely going to push me harder,” Cummings said, “to try and keep up with her.”

Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.