North Central aiming for 10th straight 

Pat Tyson reflects on Spokane school's decade of dominance

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

One of the most consistently successful cross country teams in the U.S. will try to win a record 10th straight Washington Class 3A boys championship on Saturday in Pasco, Wash.

North Central of Spokane, an urban, no-frills kind of school that prides itself on a blue collar work ethic, can break a tie with the historic Mead dynasty of the 1990s with a win at Sun Willows Golf Course.

Pat Tyson, who coached those Mead teams and is currently at the helm of the cross country and track programs at Gonzaga University, credits North Central with “keeping the Greater Spokane League buzz alive” nationally for the past decade.

“Maintaining a streak like that is not easy to do,” Tyson said. “Washington is one of the best states there is for cross country. There are so many well-coached teams and that makes it challenging.”

Jon Knight, the architect and coach of the North Central team, brings an understated and reflective personality to the job. He quotes lines of literature to help illustrate points to his runners.  Assistant Len Long adds an additional layer of expertise that stretches back to his days as a teammate of Gerry Lindgren. 

Knight also studied Tyson’s years at Mead and asked questions over coffee or breakfast.

“What I appreciate (North Central’s) program is that they wanted to emulate us,” Tyson said. “They took some of what we did (at Mead) and tweaked it to fit what they want to do. North Central sets a very high standard. Their ability to want to work at this thing -- it does take a lot of energy – is impressive. Jon has built a year-round program.”

It's a run of success that has stood the test of time -- and the torch has been passed from Andrew Kimpel and Leon Dean to Ben Johnston and Vince Hamilton to Keith Williams to Kai Wilmot to  Tanner Anderson. 

North Central has one NXN championship during the streak (2008) and additional podium finishes. The school produced the individual race winner NXN in 2013 (Wilmot) and 2014 (Anderson).

This year’s team of runners, led by senior Justin Janke, is striving to maintain what its predecessors started when they were in grade school.

North Central has a good chance to get the 10th win Saturday, but challenges could come from Arlington and Kamiakin.

“Jon has worked so hard at it and is good at what he does,” Tyson said. “They’ve created a culture of excellence that’s become magical. It’s a little more challenging this year, but it’s still going.”