Kevin Eager: Head Coach
Kevin Eager is in his 24th season of track and field coaching. He started in 1987 as an assistant coach in the jumps for his high school alma mater, Washington High School in Parkland, Washington. While he was there, the Washington boy’s team won six Pierce County League titles and two Washington State AA titles. Individually, coach Eager tutored six league champions and eight individual state placers, and his athletes won four Washington State triple jump titles.
After nine seasons at Washington High, Eager moved on to coach the jumps at Pacific Lutheran University. While there he became decathlon/heptathlon coordinator in addition to his duties in the jumps. During this time, Pacific Lutheran won four men’s and three women’s Northwest Conference team titles and had several top five finishes in NAIA competition. In 1999, Pacific Lutheran became an NCAA Division III school, and both the men’s and women’s teams had their best showing nationally, finishing second and third respectively in the NCAA III national meet. Individually, Eager worked with 13 men’s and women’s Northwest Conference event champions, and 14 men’s and women’s All-Americans. (All-American status in the NAIA is earned with a top-6 finish at the national meet. At the NCAA III level, All-American status is earned with a top-8 finish.)
In 2004, coach Eager took over as head coach at Gig Harbor High, and after a transitional year where he was named Narrows League Girls’ Coach of the Year for that season, the Tides’ program began to excel. In 2005, the Gig Harbor boys won the Washington State 4A team championship. The team broke 13 separate school records that season, and Eager was named Narrows League Boys’ Coach of the Year. The Tides success continued in 2006 when, despite graduating most of their ’05 athletes, Gig Harbor’s boys track team finished as runner-up in the state team title race. 2007 was the best year yet, as the Gig Harbor program became only the third in state history to win both boys and girls team titles in the same season. The team broke seven school records en route, and Eager was named Narrows League Girls’ Coach of the Year, Washington State Boys Coach of the Year, and National Federation of High Schools' Northwest Regional Boys Coach of the Year, making him one of eight finalists for NFHS National Coach of the year. Since he has come to Gig Harbor, Tide athletes have won 11 individual state championship and been runner-up 11 other times while scoring 360 combined points in the state 4A meet. Since 2004, 34 Tide alumni have competed at various levels of college
Eager has also served as assistant coach the past seven seasons with the Gig Harbor cross-country program as official gopher and loud voice for head coach Patty Ley, whose girls teams have won three consecutive from 2004-2006 while adding runner-up finishes in ’04 and '08. The Tides boys got into the act in 2007, finishing second in the one of the closest team races in years. Eager has spoken at multiple local clinics involving track and field and has volunteered as an official at the high school and collegiate level. He is USATF Level I and II (jumps) certified, and eleven of his former athletes have become track and field coaches. Through 2011, Eager is serving as vice-president of the Washington State Track and Field Coaches Association
Aside from track and field, coach Eager is a Pacific Lutheran graduate in his 12th year teaching freshman social studies, English, math, and PE at Gig Harbor High School. His wife, Kristi, is a graphic and web designer and created this web site. They reside in Tacoma and enjoy mountain and road biking, sea kayaking, hiking, snow sports, watching sports, and trips to Border’s book store.
Kristi Eager: High Hurdles
Kristi Eager is a Peninsula High School product who came to track as a sophomore in high school after playing slowpitch softball as a freshman and becoming bored with it because Peninsula didn’t have fastpitch in those days. A three sport athlete at Peninsula, she was named All-Pierce County League as a forward in soccer while also playing goalkeeper, and her basketball team earned academic state champion honors in 1993.
In track and field, Kristi did many events, but came to focus on the triple jump and 4x100 and 4x200 relays. She ran on several of Peninsula’s fine state placing relays, but the highlight of her high school career was winning the AA state triple jump title on her last attempt in 1995, her senior year, with a leap of 37’ 3¾”.
Upon graduating, Kristi enrolled at Pacific Lutheran University and began using her ability to do a variety of events. Over four years of hard work and dedication, she ended up scoring very high in the heptathlon with PR’s of 14.31 in the 100 hurdles, 5’ 1¼” in the high jump, 35’ 10” in the shot put, 26.11 in the 200 meters, 18’ 8½” in the long jump, 117’ 11½” in the javelin, and 2:23.63 in the 800. She still holds the Northwest Conference meet record in the heptathlon of 4725 points, and her runner-up score of 4824 at the NCAA Division III National Meet that year remains the highest non-winning score in the history of NCAA III and a PLU school record. Her senior year, in addition to being named NCAA III All-American in the heptathlon, she was also named All-American in the 100 hurdles, the long jump, and ran on a 4x100 squad that set a school record of 46.96 in the finals of the national meet, getting second.
Kristi is still the only four event All-American in PLU history, and contributed 17 points to the team effort that resulted in a 3rd place finish for PLU nationally. She was named Northwest Conference Athlete of the Meet for her six event, 39.5 point performance at the Northwest Conference Meet, and was also named PLU’s senior athlete of the year for 1999. The PLU women won three Northwest Conference championships during Kristi’s time there. She also found time to play goalkeeper and forward for three seasons for the PLU soccer team.
Kristi is in her sixth year of coaching hurdles at Gig Harbor, and her knowledge and experience has led the hurdlers to be strong contributors to the Tides’ team effort. She has coached both school record holders in the sprint hurdles at Gig Harbor, including 2008 state 4A champion Bree LeRoy. She is still capable of getting out and running when prodded, and has recently been asked to demonstrate for track and field clinics at both Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound Universities.
Kristi majored in graphic arts with a minor in business while at PLU, and now designs websites and online learning software for Systems Engineering Incorporated. She is also the designer of this website, and her professional work can be found at www.raedesignstudio.com. She is an avid photographer, and was credentialed by the Gig Harbor/Peninsula Gateway as an official press photographer for the 2004 4A State Cross Country Championships. Her competitive track and field days done, she is an avid volleyball player who loves to mountain bike, road bike, hike, sea kayak, and hang out at Borders when she can drag her husband Kevin away from the track.
Rich Frazier: Head Cross Country and Track and Field Distances
Rich takes over the distances in the spring of 2010 after serving as sprint and hurdle coach for the previous three seasons. He began his coaching career in 2003 at Olympia High School as an assistant coach for both the track and field and cross country teams. In 2006, while Rich was a member of the OHS coaching staff, the Olympia girls' track and field team was crowned Washington State 4A team track and field champions. Rich joined the GHHS staff prior to the start of the 2007 season, and it didn't take long for him to become a valued assistant for both track and field and cross country.
Rich's presence was felt immediately, as Gig Harbor won both the boys' and girls' 2007 4A state track and field team championships in his first year coaching. His invaluable people skills and ability to do the little but necessary things were important aspects of the 2007 teams' success. He followed that up by assisting on the Tides XC team in the fall of 2007, helping the girls to their 3rd consecutive 4A state team title, while the boys were runners-up. It's no accident that the teams Rich has coached in recent years have had such success. He understands not just running but runners themselves, and cound be counted on to provide athlete-friendly advice to all.
Rich is a graduate of Eastern Washington University and lives with his wife and two daughters in Olympia, where he enjoys pretending to live life in the 19th century. The Tides XC team has already arranged for him to enter the 21st century by getting him a device called a "cell phone", which allows him to make phone calls from almost anywhere! Rich was apparently unfamiliar with such a device prior to coming to Gig Harbor. Furthermore, rumor has it that he gets up well before dawn every morning to hitch his horse and buggy together so he can make it to school on time. The team is presently working on getting him to move up to Gig Harbor to alleviate this problem. We will just have to take it one step at a time to "help" Rich live a normal and happy life in this confusing and disorienting modern world.
Mike Dahlstrom : Javelin
Mike is a retired police officer who is on the all-time top ten list for high school javelin throwers in Montana. A graduate of the University of Montana, where his PR exceeded 260 feet, Mike has coached intermittently since then. Mike's patience and extensive event knowlege are an asset to the program, with Javelin becoming a popular event due to his influence.
Taylor Hacker: Shot Put and Discus
A 2005 Tides Track and Field Alumnus, Taylor returns to the Gig Harbor Track and Field program after four years at Pacific Lutheran University. While at PLU, she threw the shot over 40 feet before focusing on the hammer. As a senior, Taylor destroyed the PLU school record in the hammer by nearly 13 feet, tossing it 184'8" before moving on to a 4th place finish in the NCAA III National Meet. Her 4th place finish earned her NCAA III All-American status. Taylor is working as an team manager for Pacific Lutheran this spring in addition to coaching at Gig Harbor. She is USATF Level I Certified as of January of 2010, and brings a wealth of knowledg and experience to our program that belies her age.
Mike Griffin: Sprints
Mike is a police officer who has previous coaching experience at Wilson High in Tacoma. He also serves as an assistant coach for the Gig Harbor boys basketball team. Mike was a 47.5 400m runner in high school who brings a wealth of experience to our program.
Jeremy Ashcraft: Pole Vault
Coach Ashcraft will be a stronger presence in the Tides program this year after helping coach Gig Harbor vaulters at Peninsula last year. He has coached for seven years previously at Peninsula High. With two previous boy vaulters exceeding 15' and two girls over 11' (not including the 15' state champion he coached in his two years at Naperville Central in Illinois) Coach Ashcraft has a wealth of experience with mentoring elite high school vaulters. His own experience as a vaulter began as a 16'1" state champion in Indiana, where he was 2nd nationally indoors and 5th at USATF Junior Nationals. He went on to reach 17'3" as a collegian at Purdue University, becoming Big Ten champion outdoors in 1999. He is USATF Level I certified and works locally in the internet technology field.
Ben Keith: Hammer Club, Shot Put and Discus Coach Emeritus
Ben begins his 21st year of coaching track and field, with experience at both the high school and collegiate levels. He will serve as a part time volunteer this season.
Ben started his coaching career in 1990 as an assistant football and track and field coach at Franklin Pierce High School in Parkland. While at FPHS, the boy’s team won one Pierce County League title in 1993 and was later crowned 1993 Boys 2A State Track and Field Champions. In 1992, Ben began a dual coaching role as he was hired at his alma mater, Pacific Lutheran University, as the Men’s and Women’s Hammer coach, as well as maintaining his duties at FPHS. At the conclusion of the 1993 season, Ben resigned at FPHS to be able to focus primarily on his responsibilities at PLU. In 1996, Ben took over coaching the Men’s and Women’s shot put and discus as well as the hammer throw. While on the staff at PLU, the Men’s and Women’s teams won a combined 7 Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships, along with numerous top 5 finishes at the NAIA National Championships. PLU joined the NCAA Division III ranks in 1999 and enjoyed the most successful season in program history as the Men’s team finished 2 nd place at the National Championships, with the Women’s team finishing 3 rd at the same National Championship meet. While at PLU, athletes under Ben’s direction earned a total of 11 Northwest Conference Individual Championships, with 19 athletes earning All-American status (top 8 in the nation), including three throwers who were crowned National Champions in an individual event.
In 1999, Ben resigned from PLU and joined the coaching staff at Steilacoom High School. While Ben was a part of the Steilacoom coaching staff, the SHS Boy’s team achieved back to back State Championship titles in 2000 and 2001, while the Girl’s team won a State Championship title in 2002. In his near two decades coaching high school track and field, Ben has been fortunate to work with a large number of excellent athletes, including 7 individual high school state champions and 28 state placers.
Ben joined the coaching staff at Gig Harbor High School prior to the start of the 2005 track and field season, and is responsible for coaching the Shot Put and Discus. He had an immediate impact as his athletes scored crucial points in both Gig Harbor’s ‘05 state boys’ team title and ’06 team runner-up. His male athletes already own the top two marks in both shot and discus in Gig Harbor history. Ben’s influence extends well outside those two events, however. As his record shows, Ben is committed to excellence. He provides a valuable voice for the direction of the Gig Harbor program and brings a level of energy to it that is unique and indispensible. He has spoken several times at locan clinics and can still throw the hammer if prodded. He works in Seattle and commutes to coach at Gig Harbor while living locally with his wife and three children.