Tracy Walters

Historical Perspective on Tracy Walters courtesy of Eastern Washington University:

"After a running career at North Central High School in Spokane and Eastern Washington, Walters became a huge contributor to the distance running legacy of Spokane. A 1949 graduate of North Central, Walters finished fifth in the mile at the 1952 NAIA Championships and had a career best mile of 4:17. He graduated from Eastern in 1953 and was called by legendary Eastern coach Red Reese as "one of my best milers ever." Walters went on to coach at Rogers High School in Spokane in the 1960's, and his track teams had a 48-4 dual meet record in 10 years. Rogers won seven Spokane City League titles and a pair of cross country state championships, and in 1964 he was the Spokane Sportswriters and Broadcasters (SWABS) Coach of the Year. One of his athletes, Gerry Lindgren, set numerous national high school records and qualified for the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team as a high school senior. Walters left Rogers to coach San Jose State to third place in the 1966 NCAA cross country meet, but he returned to Spokane after just one year away. He twice served as a coach for U.S. national teams and helped train Don Kardong for the 1976 Olympics (he finished fourth). Kardong founded the Bloomsday road race in Spokane in 1977, and for more than 30 years Walters was the popular finish line voice of the race. In 1993, Walters was inducted into the Bloomsday Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 1995 was an inaugural inductee in the Washington Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Leta ('69 Eastern grad), were married on March 27, 1951, and lived in "Trailerville" during their time in Cheney attending Eastern. For 34 years they owned and operated the Walters Fruit Ranch in Green Bluff near Spokane, and from 1968-72 ran nearby Camp Reed for the YMCA of the Inland Northwest. They had four children, including son Kelly, who became head track and cross country coach at North Central and has since developed his own distance running legacy at the school. Tracy has served as an assistant coach for his son at North Central, helping the school win three recent State 3A track titles (boys in 2008 and 2009, girls in 2006) and three State 3A cross country championships (boys in 2006, 2007 and 2008)."