After pausing a moment, Tuck Gionet decides he’d rather not answer.
The question was: How much time have you spent over the years organizing the annual Meet of Champions?
The postseason all-star track and field event pits some of Washington’s top high school athletes against many of Oregon’s finest.
“I don’t even want to think about how much time it’s taken over the years. It is somewhat a labor of love,” Gionet said in a phone interview.
In 2001, Gionet, who coaches track at Snohomish High School, created the Meet of Champions to promote the sport and give prep competitors a unique, high-profile experience.
The seventh edition of the event, sponsored by Brooks Sports of Bothell, is today at King’s High School’s Woolsey Stadium in Shoreline. (The boys and girls hammer throws are at Goddard Stadium in Everett.) Earlier this week, Gionet was in the thick of putting the meet together. It’s a time-consuming task that he said sometimes frustrates him but always prove worthwhile.
By the time the meet rolls around, elite athletes finally get a chance to shine and develop new friendships. That’s when Gionet remembers why he does it every year.
“It’s kind of fun to sit back after all this planning,” he said, “and look down on the field and look at the thing we just created for these kids to do – the positive things for these athletes to do. To me, it’s just a lot of fun.” Gionet said he expects about 300 athletes to compete today, split evenly between Washington and Oregon.
For the first time in meet history, the action will take place in the Puget Sound region. Five of the first six competitions were in Oregon. The only previous Washington venue was Vancouver’s Mountain View High in 2003.
Organizers expect the site change to improve the meet’s visibility.
“We hope that by having it (near) Seattle that it’ll be a little bit more up front,” said Rob Phillips of the Washington State Track and Field Coaches Association, which supports the event.
This year’s group of athletes includes another impressive array of sprinters, jumpers and throwers. The Washington boys team features Garfield hurdler/sprinter Stephone Jordan, a three-event champion at the Class 4A state meet; and 3A state pole vault champ Sam Sampson of Squalicum. On the Washington girls squad, there’s Peninsula’s Amanda Peterson, who broke the 3A state meet javelin record last weekend.
Top local athletes expected to compete for Washington include:
Boys – Kamiak’s Sean Beighton (Kamiak), Everett’s Rendel Jones (triple jump), Mariner’s Dak Riek (3,200-meter run) and Monroe’s Zack Richards (hammer).
Girls – Snohomish teammates Jessica Yates (triple jump) and Alicia Fliger (hammer), Sultan’s Krystal Paszkeicz (shot put) and Oak Harbor’s Mietra Smollack (medley relay).
The boys pole vault should be particularly entertaining, Gionet said. Everyone has a realistic chance to clear 15 feet, 6 inches, he said.
For the fifth straight year, Brooks Sports of Bothell is the prime sponsor. Gionet estimates Brooks contributed $15,000 to pay for uniforms, awards and other costs.
Since he started the Meet of Champions, Gionet strived to include at least one athlete from every classification in both states. It’s important to give small-school kids a chance to perform in the spotlight, he said.
Gionet never did reveal how much time he puts into organizing the meet – he said that only he and his wife know for sure. But, clearly, his efforts are appreciated.
Said Phillips, of the Washington State Track and Field Coaches Association, “Tuck is really the guy who got this thing off the ground. He is kind of the mainstay.” “He had the vision for it.”
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