Jim Linden’s legacy is about to get a major boost.
A longtime prep coach and Marysville School District athletic director, Linden will be honored next week in a manner that ensures his impact will endure: The building that contains the Marysville-Pilchuck High gym will soon be known as Jim Linden Fieldhouse. The dedication ceremony takes place Jan. 19 during M-P’s home wrestling meet against Stanwood.
Linden spent the bulk of his football and wrestling coaching career in the Marysville School District. A 1955 Everett High grad who played football for the University of Oregon and was drafted by the NFL’s Detroit Lions, Linden died of a heart attack in 1993 at age 56.
“Any time you name a facility after somebody, they obviously had a positive impact (on) the Marysville education community (and), especially (on) the athletic community,” Marysville School District athletic director Greg Erickson said.
Dedication festivities begin at 6 p.m. during the Stanwood/M-P junior-varsity wrestling meet. Visitors can enjoy a display of Linden memorabilia and refreshments will be available. The formal dedication ceremony begins at 6:45 p.m., followed by the varsity meet.
Dave Carpentier, a former teacher at M-P, and several of Linden’s former peers and admirers ignited the effort to name M-P’s fieldhouse after Linden. The attempt became official last spring when the Marysville School Board approved Carpentier’s written request.
Linden was big (6-foot-4 and size 14 shoes) and boisterous, according to his daughter, Christy Scott: “He was a huge presence.” The naming ceremony is a fitting tribute, said Scott, who teaches at Everett’s Whittier Elementary.
“It’s a huge honor and it means a lot to us that his co-workers and friends went through all the (effort) to make this happen,” Scott said. “They didn’t forget him.”
Spotlight on wrestling: For the second straight year, the Western Conference has shifted its standard athletic schedule to give local wrestlers some extra glory. Generally held on Tuesday and Thursday, Wesco wrestling meets jump this week to Wednesday and Friday. Friday is usually loaded with Wesco boys and girls basketball games, but this week most hoops events are held Thursday so wrestlers can enjoy the Friday spotlight. “It’s great. It’s a nice gesture. It’s been requested by the (wrestling) coaches and we’ve been happy with it,” said Erickson, who added that wrestling might get two spotlight weeks next season.
Growing up: Three freshmen and two sophomores play important roles on the Snohomish girls basketball team, and the youngsters are maturing quickly. After his Panthers soundly defeated the Monroe Bearcats 68-43 Friday night, Snohomish coach Ken Roberts said he will no longer cite inexperience as a hurdle for his squad. “Christmas (break) was the last time that I was going to refer to our freshmen as freshmen and our sophomores as sophomores. … We’re a team now, and we played like it.” Snohomish freshmen combined for 17 points against Monroe, led by starter Katie Benson’s eight.
Keo set the tone: Archbishop Murphy football coach Terry Ennis said Wildcats standout Shiloh Keo put in heaps of time and effort to prepare for his stellar senior season. “The time he invested in developing his strength and his speed – that made him a much more physical player,” Ennis said of Keo, a running back/defensive back who last week verbally accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Idaho. “On offense he became an outstanding blocker and ran with power. He was very self-motivated in his conditioning (and) as a result he was a great role model to the other kids.”
Keo will savor his memories from two productive years at Murphy. “The experience was great,” Keo said. “I came from a bigger school (Class 4A Woodinville) and turned to a smaller school for my junior year. It was totally worth it.” Keo praised Murphy’s knowledgeable, caring coaches: “They put so much dedication into (helping) their players. They keep them on top of their sport and their classes as well.”
Terrace’s Barnes picks Gonzaga: Bryan Barnes, a senior shortstop at Mountlake Terrace, signed an NCAA letter of intent to play baseball for Gonzaga. A left-handed hitter, Barnes batted .485 and was named an all-state second-team selection last season, helping Terrace earn the Wesco South championship and compile an 18-5 overall record. In a statement on Gonzaga’s Web site, Bulldogs coach Mark Machtolf said he expects Barnes “to be an outstanding player for us” who “could possibly hit in the top of our order.”
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