At long last, the playing surface on Everett Memorial Stadium’s football field has been replaced.
This summer workers removed worn-out AstroTurf and replaced it with another artificial material called Sprinturf.
Similar to the well-known FieldTurf surfaces, the Sprinturf will be ready when high school football practice begins Aug. 20.
Everett Memorial is the home football field for the district’s three high schools: Cascade, Everett and Jackson. Everett High’s gridiron team practices in the stadium. It’s also used for prep soccer.
The AstroTurf needed to go, Everett School District athletic director Robert Polk said: “That was here for 12 years and we got every inch out of it. I don’t think we could have milked it any longer.”
In recent years the deteriorated turf was more abrasive and increasingly less desirable for athletes, Polk said.
“It was becoming more and more evident that it was becoming too slick. Kids’ feet were sliding out from under them on cuts,” he said.
The turf replacement is part of a renovation project that cost $762,000 before sales tax, district facilities and planning construction coordinator Hal Beumel said in an e-mail response.
Workers are also replacing the track that surrounds the turf field, and they adjusted a retaining wall on the northwest end to fix an issue that affected the start area for boys 110-meter hurdle races during track season, said Polk.
Most of the money for the improvements came from a reserve replacement fund set up in 1997, Beumel said.
District coaches whose teams use the stadium are excited about the changes, Polk said.
Unlike the old turf, the previous track wasn’t in bad shape and could have lasted several more years, Polk said. But the district decided it was best to do both projects now.
“It just made sense to shut the whole thing down one time, do it all in one summer and get it over with,” said Polk.
Installation of the new track is scheduled to start next week and finish by Aug. 18. Other stadium improvements are in the works. The district plans to remodel restrooms and concession areas by April 2009, Polk said.
Kamiak golfer commits
Reid Martin, a senior-to-be at Kamiak High School, verbally committed this month to play golf for the University of Central Florida. Martin, who in May won the individual Class 4A state championship and helped lead Kamiak to its second consecutive team state title, said he plans to sign an NCAA National Letter of Intent in November.
Martin committed to Central Florida July 3 at the end of a visit to the school’s campus in Orlando. What did he like?
“First of all, the weather. You can’t get a better place for weather,” said Martin, who also visited Washington, Oregon, Oregon State and Idaho.
Martin, who said he received at least 10 scholarship offers, said he also likes Central Florida’s “unreal” golf facilities, its reputation for producing strong teams and head men’s golf coach Nick Clinard.
“The coach is pretty dang awesome. He’ll do anything for you,” Martin said.
Clinard’s interest in Martin surged, Martin said, after the Kamiak golfer placed fourth in the Future Collegians World Tour National Championship May 24-26 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Football teams shaping up
Six area teams competed this week at a four-day football camp in Wenatchee. The local squads that participated were Archbishop Murphy, Cascade, Meadowdale, Monroe, Oak Harbor and Snohomish.
Teams did a variety of drills and 7-on-7 scrimmages. Snohomish head coach Mark Perry, who took 60 players to the camp, said it was a chance to improve and experiment with lineups.
“We work lots of kids in and try to see who can do what,” Perry said.
High school football practices begin Aug. 20 and games begin Sept. 5.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
