Seth Pierson, Emmanuel Contreras and Drew Larson all followed different paths to Everett Community College, but each was drawn by a love of running and a desire to compete.
And all three freshmen have found success as members of the Everett CC distance track team.
Heading into next week’s Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges championships at Spokane Falls CC, Pierson, Contreras and Larson are ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3 among league runners in the 1,500 meters.
Pierson, who is from Cashmere, has a season-best time of 3:56.40. Contreras, who is from Yakima, has run a 3:57.62. And Larson, who is from Lake Stevens, has a 3:59.92 clocking. In addition, Contreras recently broke the Everett CC record in the 800 with a time of 1:52.99.
“All three have made huge strides,” Everett CC coach Matt Koenigs said. “We’ve got some talented guys who are working hard and running really well right now.”
Pierson and Contreras arrived as touted freshman, and they have both shaved seconds off their times from a year ago. But the biggest improvement has come from Larson, who has trimmed roughly eight seconds from his 1,500 time (which requires an adjusted-time calculation since high schoolers run the 1,600).
“I thought we could probably be 1 and 2 with Seth and Emmanuel,” Koenigs said, “but it was certainly not a sure thing because there are some talented athletes in NWAACC right now. But then when you have somebody like Drew who takes eight seconds off his (personal best) … it’s a surprise (having the top three), but not a shock.”
Koenigs attended Marysville-Pilchuck High School, where he was an outstanding cross country and track runner, and a top swimmer, too, before graduating in 1998. He went to Western Washington University, where he earned an undergraduate business degree while running cross country and track, and then on to get a law degree from the University of Washington.
But his career passion was running and coaching, and he is completing his fourth year at Everett CC. He is a determined recruiter, and he sells high school runners on the chance to save money on tuition costs compared to a four-year school, as well as being part of a top program and developing as runners.
“We’ve got a competitive program, we can save them some money and we’ve been able to demonstrate that we can bring fast runners in and help them get faster,” he said. “So it’s a combination of those three things that we talk about with (recruits).”
Pierson, who is 19, says he ended up at Everett CC in large part because “Matt is pretty persuasive. He started recruiting me in my junior year (of high school).”
Likewise, the 18-year-old Contreras said he “talked a lot” with Koenigs over the last two years of high school. Contreras admits he was unhappy his first few months in Everett “because I wasn’t at home, I guess. But the more I was here and the more I got comfortable with everything, the more at home I felt.”
Pierson, Contreras and Larson have rarely been in the same race since the cross country season, but that will change at next week’s NWAACC championships. All three will run the 1,500 and the 800, meaning they will be rivals in the season’s biggest meet.
But they are foremost teammates, the three agree.
“During the race, the goal is to beat everyone,” said the 19-year-old Larson. “But if your teammate beats you it’s not as bad as if somebody else beats you. Because at least it’s the person you’ve shared the blood, sweat and tears with.”
“I think I’d rather get third and lose to both of them than get second and lose to somebody else,” Contreras said. “And I see these races more as a chance for us to work together instead of going against my teammates. … We want to go 1, 2 and 3.”
As much as anyone, Koenigs is looking forward to the NWAACC championships and the chance to see Pierson, Contreras and Larson racing together.
“They haven’t really given each other their best races yet,” he said. “Drew has a really strong last 300 or 400 meters. Seth has just a devastating last 100 meters. And Emmanuel has an amazing ability to change gears in the last lap. So when we put all three of them together, it’s going to be really interesting to see who can win the 1,500.
“What I think will happen is this. They’ll work together for the first 900 meters, and then the last 600 it’ll be every man for himself. But if we can set all three of them up (with a chance to place first), that’s a win-win situation for everybody.”
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