Pearson leads WCC cross country into second year

COLIN HOWSER

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BELLINGHAM - Whatcom Community College cross country coach Joel Pearson's biography on the school Web site states that he "aspires to be the greatest distance coach ever!"

At 22 and with one year of college coaching under his belt, he has a lot of time to achieve that goal.

Pearson became one of the youngest college coaches in the history of USA Track and Field history when the took the job at WCC last year. The two-year college had just started its cross country program as a member of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College North Region.

Pearson stepped in and learned quickly.

"I've had to, on the spot, figure (the particular problem out), spend two years learning it and make a decision in like five minutes," Pearson said. "A lot of the coaches are in their 30s and 40s and 50s, and so when we get down to a real mature decision I've got to make, I've got to catch up to speed."

Catching up to speed meant taking a program with zero athletes as of July 1, 2007, and building a full squad - five men and five women - in time for the fall season of 2007. This fall, the squad boasts 20 men and 10 women.

Here are Pearson's top three runners on the 2008 men's team:

? Damian Hill: Bristol Bay High School in Naknek, Alaska, who was sixth in the 2007 NWAACC Men's Cross Country Championships at Battle Ground with a time of 26.21.

? Cory Jenkins, a 2006 Lynden graduate.

"He improved his 5k time by three minutes in three months (last year)," Pearson said. "He's probably the most mentally tough athlete in the NWAACC."

? Josh Simpson, a Burlington-Edison graduate who was sixth at the 2007 Class 2A State Cross Country Meet for state champion Burlington-Edison with a time of 16:34.

Pearson's top three runners on the women's side:

? Laura Carlyle, a 2007 graduate of Mount Boucherie in Kelowna, B.C.

"Laura is one of the most talented athletes I've ever met in my life," Pearson said. "She started running in February for the team, and it's hard to explain. She's a sub-five minute miler."

? Paige Pearson, a 2008 graduate of Ferndale.

? Lauren North, a 2008 graduate of Bellingham.

The Orcas open the season with a home meet at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at Lake Padden. Seven region teams will run in the event along with Simon Fraser, Western Washington University and Northwest University.

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Saturday, Sep. 06, 2008

Pearson leads WCC cross country into second year

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