Things started to heat up with the arrival of Pat Tyson as Mead’s distance running coach. He provided the leadership that led to Mead’s first of 9 straight titles in 1988.
Tyson’s Shorecrest High School team had won back-to-back 3-A cross country titles in 1984 and 1985 before moving to Mead.
Tyson may be best known nationally as a running back for the University of Oregon under coach Bill Bowerman and former roommate of Steve “Pre” Prefontaine.
Pre was not only Oregon’s superstar champion, but also the greatest middle distance runner in American history and America’s greatest racing legend.
At the time of his tragic death in a car accident at the young age of 24, Pre held 14 US track records from 2,000 meters to 10,000 meters. For 5 years, no American runner could beat Pre over any distance over a mile.
Bowerman, one of the best middle distance coaches, had phenomenal success and Oregon became a national power.
What Tyson learned living and racing with Steve Prefontaine and from trainer Bowerman was brought to Mead and magnificently implemented.
The mead runners were asked to do nothing more and nothing less than agree to be part of Tyson’s “extended family” system. He wanted a group of guys who love to run, who are willing to train constantly (all year long), and who like to hang out together.
The Mead Panthers became a team of inseparable and almost unbeatable youngsters year after year. Rival coaches from other leagues and smaller schools were envious of Mead’s 80-plus member cross country and middle distance track teams.
While most schools were lucky to have half a dozen runners who could break 5 minutes in the mile, Mead apparently had more than 30 kids who could do it in each training session. Being a starting running back for Mead was a big deal, and an even bigger deal in a major contest.
In cross country, only 7 runners represent the team in a meet and only their first 5 runners are listed in the scoring, but all members of the 80+ team are allowed to run in the meet.
One great thing about cross country is that it is an inclusive sport, no one needs to sit on the bench while a team’s starters play.
Cross country, like track and field, swimming, and wrestling are also individual and team sports. Your team may not qualify for state competition, but you could qualify as an individual based on your completion at district or regional competitions.
Unlike most sports competitions, in cross country the low score wins. A team whose running backs finish 1-2-3-4-5 would score a perfect 15 points. His opponent could, at best, finish 6-7-8-9-10 with 40 points.
If a team finishes 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, the winning score would still be 15, but their opponent couldn’t do better than an 8-9-10-11-12 finish with 50 points. While the 6th and 7th place riders are not listed in their team’s scoring, they can determine which team wins by finishing ahead of the other team’s top 5 riders.
The mead runners became champions because when the stakes were highest, they gave it their all. The non-GSL riders who lined up against Mead had to feel like they were in for an excruciating test.
(Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a 4-part series on the success of Mead High School.)
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley