Edmonds Community College athletic director Spencer Stark (left) and Everett Community College athletic director Garet Studer hold the “T” Trophy at Everett Community College on Thursday. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Edmonds Community College athletic director Spencer Stark (left) and Everett Community College athletic director Garet Studer hold the “T” Trophy at Everett Community College on Thursday. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

‘T’ Trophy gives extra juice to local NWAC rivalry

Their campuses? Separated by just 17 miles.

Their sports teams? Often adjacent to one another in the standings.

Their coaches? Usually recruiting the same players.

Their mascots? Sharing a first letter.

Get ready Snohomish County. The sports rivalry between the county’s two community colleges was just injected with a heavy dose of vitamin T.

Everett Community College and Edmonds Community College have long been rivals in the Northwest Athletic Conference’s North Region. However, the schools have something new to play for in 2018-19 with the introduction of the “T” Trophy.

The “T” Trophy is a new competition between the two schools. Named for the schools’ mascots (Everett’s Trojans and Edmonds’ Tritons), the trophy will be awarded at the end of the school year to the school that wins the most head-to-head meetings across all team sports. It’s adding some extra juice to what’s a natural rivalry.

“There are some rivalries within NWAC, but they’re not really publicized outside the confines of the athletic departments,” Everett athletic director Garet Studer said. “Rivalries are fun. I think it’s a good way to engage the campuses and the community members.”

The competition for the inaugural “T” Trophy began at the start of the school year. However, the actual trophy wasn’t delivered until late November. Therefore, Saturday’s basketball doubleheader between the Tritons and Trojans at the Walt Price Student Fitness Center on the campus of Everett CC is the first time the schools will meet having had a glimpse of the trophy.

“It looks good,” Studer said. “It’s got three tiers to it, plenty of space for I think almost 20 years that we can put on there before we have to get another tier or maybe a new base. You always see those trophy cases that have trophies since the 1940s. This is one of those things Spencer (Stark, Edmonds’ athletic director) and I hope stays a lasting tradition like that.”

The “T” Trophy is the brainchild of Studer and Stark, who are relatively new in their positions as both were hired as athletic directors in 2017. Looking for a new way to promote their programs, they drew inspiration from the schools’ baseball teams. The Edmonds and Everett baseball programs have traditionally been the strongest at each school, often going toe-to-toe for North Region supremacy as both have claimed NWAC championships since 2013. Therefore, Edmonds baseball coach Scott Kelly and former Everett baseball coach Levi Lacey came up with an informal “T” Cup for whichever team won the season series.

Studer and Stark latched onto that idea and brought it to the entire athletic departments.

“The trophy puts something tangible to the rivalry,” Studer said. “It’s always fun to have those bragging rights, and this is just that culmination. When you play a season and win a championship there’s a trophy at the end that puts a capstone on the season. As far as the rivalry is concerned, I foresee the ‘T’ Trophy doing the same thing.”

Every regular season game between the schools across seven team sports — volleyball and women’s and men’s soccer in the fall, women’s and men’s basketball in the winter, softball and baseball in the spring — will count toward the standings. Postseason meetings will only be used as a tiebreaker.

The schools have tended to be well matched in the past, and when Studer and Stark compiled the results from last season that proved to be the case again as Everett prevailed by the narrowest of possible margins, 11-9.

A page has been set up on the Everett athletics website to explain the “T” Trophy and track the results. So far Edmonds leads 6-2, with the Tritons going 3-0 in women’s soccer and 2-0 in volleyball, while the Trojans went 2-1 in men’s soccer. Twelve meetings remain, beginning with Saturday’s basketball games.

“I think we’re in a good position,” Stark said. “I think our women’s basketball team the last couple years has slowly built itself up; men’s basketball and baseball are always tough, I expect all those games to be really competitive; softball is a toss-up, too. I’m happy to have an early lead. I think it will play out pretty evenly after that.”

Studer and Stark know the challenges that come with community college athletics. It can be difficult building a sense of campus pride in athletic teams at community colleges. The students are only there for two years, and many of them are commuters who are only on campus for their classes.

With the “T” Trophy, they’re taking a step toward changing that.

“I know our school is starting to rally behind it,” Stark said. “I’ve talked to other departments on campus — student engagement and leadership, marketing — about doing things to promote it.

“My whole goal, even with this, is I want people in the community to realize junior college athletics is a good level of ball. If you look at the number of players we move on (to four-year schools), even if they’re just moving on for school, you see how it impacts the athletes’ lives. It’s a positive thing in the community.”

Follow Nick Patterson on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Sports

Shorewood senior Bridget Cox (11) elevates to get a shot over Everett senior Aimelie Hovde-Girard (21) in Shorewood's 41-30 win in the opening round of the District 1 3A Girls Tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025 in Shoreline, Washington. (Joe Pohoryles / The Herald)
Shorewood girls’ basketball avoids Everett upset bid in 41-30 win

Glasser’s ‘dagger’ 3 capped second-half run, pushed No. 5 Stormrays to 3A District 1 Quarterfinals

Prep roundup for Wednesday, Feb. 12

Area girls basketball teams tip off district action.

Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for Feb. 2-8

The Athlete of the Week nominees for Feb. 2-8. Voting closes at… Continue reading

Prep basketball roundup for Tuesday, Feb. 11

Tulalip Heritage finishes second in district tournament.

Vancouver Giants goalie Burke Hood makes a play for the puck against the Everett Silvertips, who lost 6-2 to the Giants at Langley Events Centre on Saturday, one day after clinching a WHL playoff spot. (Rob Wilton, Giants/Special to Black Press Media).
Tips Week in Review: Everett first in WHL to clinch playoff berth

The Silvertips defeated Kamloops on Friday to secure spot, but lost to Vancouver on Saturday

Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak (left) and head coach Mike Macdonald (right) spoke to the media at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 (Aaron Coe / The Herald)
New Seahawks OC excited to coach Geno Smith

Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has “a lot of respect” for Seahawks QB.

Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett (16) runs with after a catch against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks)
Tyler Lockett’s future with Seahawks remains unclear

Seattle coach Mike Macdonald noncommittal 1 month before a possible decision point.

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws a pass against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2024. (Photo courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks)
O’Neil: The Seahawks will keep Geno Smith

The reasons for the Seahawks quarterback sticking around are simple and obvious.

The Edmonds-Woodway bench reacts to a foul call during the game against Shorewood on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 in Shoreline, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Prep basketball roundup for Monday, Feb. 10

Warriors win battle of division champs.

Lake Stevens’ Kamryn Mason attempts to flip Glacier Peak’s Kyla Brown onto her back during 110-pound match at the 4A girls wrestling district tournament on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Vikings girls wrestling conquers 4A District 1 Tournament

Lake Stevens dominated with champions in six weight classes and 18 total state-qualifiers

Perfect week no help to Gonzaga

An unbeaten week against a pair of middle- to lower-tier West Coast… Continue reading

LeBron James (23) and Luka Doncic (77) of the Los Angeles Lakers look on as John Collins (20) of the Utah Jazz drives to the basket during the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images / Tribune News Services)
Lakers’ LeBron James and Luka Doncic hit the ground running

LeBron James and Luka Doncic represent different generations and… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.