Leading up to her 2A state high jump title last spring, current Sequim High sophomore Clare Turella and her teammates could only run on mats meticulously placed so as not to step in holes or cracks while training on Sequim School District’s track.

“The path was pretty set,” she said. “But now there’s more freedom to run.”

It’s been nearly four years since Sequim athletes could host a track meet or hold unimpeded practices. Sequim hosted its first track meet on March 20 after the track’s surface was found unfit for competitions in 2021. The last meet held in Sequim was March 31, 2021.

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Last summer, Beynon Sports of Oregon was hired to resurface the track and jumping areas, and relocate and resurface the pole vault runway for just over $400,000 from funds out of the voter-approved 2021 capital projects levy. Turella cut a ceremonial ribbon on the track at halftime of a Sept. 13 Sequim football game.

The track was last resurfaced in 1996, said Sequim High track and field coach Brad Moore, and professionals recommend it every 10 years.

Assistant track coach B.J. Schade said the new surface will be “transformational for our program and what we can do for training.”

The ruts were so bad, students couldn’t even do full laps at practices without needing to step on mats.

The new surface will help with injury prevention, Schade said, so athletes “won’t feel like they’re running on asphalt.”

“The track was awful with capital letters all the way across,” Moore said.

“One of our best girls tripped on a hole and even with (mats on) runways it still wasn’t good.

“It had to get done for the safety of our own kids.”

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Sequim’s Aspen Goldner, left, and Violet Ollerman run the 3200 meters on March 20 at Sequim School District’s track. They were the only competitors in the event, and the second event to go in nearly four years since the district stopped hosting meets due to safety concerns with the track before it was resurfaced last summer.

Future track

As discussions progressed around resurfacing the track, Sequim Schools superintendent Regan Nickels said in a previous interview district officials felt the track needed to be improved now even with a potential bond proposal on the horizon.

“We resurfaced it so that students could actually be on it and be safe,” she said.

Mike Santos, the district’s director of Facilities, Operations, and Security, said it was needed due to the daily school and community use.

District officials considered addressing other issues, such as properly sizing the soccer/football field and track to all fit but they didn’t have the budget in the capital levy, Moore said

“We needed a solution for our kids now,” he said. “There were no guarantees for a bond.”

In February, voters did approve an approximate $146 million, 20-year construction bond that includes building a new elementary school, high school buildings, renovations to the field and stadium and more.

Decisions have yet to been made on all design elements, such as what the field will be made of, and if there are enough funds to build covered bleachers. A Design Advisory Committee is still forming, with applications under “Bond Program” at sequimschools.org.

The track, despite being resurfaced, was included in the bond proposal because the soccer field barely meets the minimum requirement size for high school standards due to the width of the track, Santos said.

The stadium bleachers are also not Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.

Moore said the track’s main issue is that it has shorter corners and longer stretches that don’t allow for a proper soccer pitch. For matches, teams must setup and/or stand on the track because there isn’t enough room, he said.

The track and field teams also don’t have sufficient storage, Moore said, and they don’t store the pole vault setup on site.

“Hopefully (storage will be) incorporated into the new grandstands and have a much nicer and cleaner look,” he said.

Santos said adding storage is something they’d look into, along with new concessions facilities, and adding protective netting between the different sports.

Also part of the bond will be the replacement of wooden power poles, and overhead electrical lines will be grounded for safety concerns, he said.

Through the resurfacing project, Schade said the district’s administration has been great to work with as they’ve listened to needs.

With further improvements from the bond still years away, Moore finds the resurfacing to be a “solid investment.”

“It’s going to benefit the kids we have now and allow them to train and be safe,” he said.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Shalom Eaton hands off to Maia Brewer in the 4X200 meters on March 20. They participated in the first race on Sequim’s track since 2021. It was resurfaced in July 2024.

Feedback

Consensus among many athletes and coaches is that the new track “feels nice.”

Sequim senior Aspen Goldner, a mid- and long-distance runner, was one of the athletes who shared that sentiment, and that the new track has reduced her concern about injuries. She’s set a goal to reach districts in the 3,200 meters.

The March 20 home meet was also the first for four-year athletes and seniors Sean Southard and Mattias Hagedorn, both throwers and runners.

“It’s the first time in so long,” Southard said about the meet. “Having a new track is so nice.”

Hagedorn said the new track felt “bearable” compared to previous years as running on the old track five days a week could take a toll.

Sequim will host two more home meets this season, including April 17 and May 1, which Hagedorn said “makes life easier since we were traveling so much” in recent years.

He, Southard and coaches are also looking forward to properly recognizing seniors at the final home meet of the season, too.

For more information about Sequim School District’s bond and athletics, visit sequimschools.org.

Note: Matthew Nash has family employed and enrolled in Sequim School District.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Sequim’s Violet Ollerman runs the 3200 meters on March 20 at Sequim School District’s track. It had been nearly four years since the district stopped hosting meets due to safety concerns. Sequim’s girls won the meet over six other teams.