Steve Christilaw: Greatest Valley athletes are yet to come

It’s funny the things you think about while enjoying a tropical beach during a heat wave.

You ponder the irony of a Canadian restaurant (it actually has “Moose” in its name) serving Mexican food across the street from a sandy Maui beach being in the neighborhood when it comes time to watch World Cup soccer from Canada.

I mean, can it get any more Zen than that? When the viewer is ready, the sports bar will appear!

And why is it that one person wearing SPF 6 never comes close to getting sunburned, but another gets red and toasty wearing SPF 50?

These are some gnarly questions to contemplate whilst your toes play in the sugary sand.

Off and on (OK, more off than on), I kept returning to two simple questions that have no easy answer:

“Who are the greatest male and female athletes from the Spokane Valley?”

And “Is it sadistic if you find it funny when someone on a stand-up paddleboard wipes out while surfing?”

On the first question, there’s a list of names that come quickly to mind.

After leading the Tampa Bay Lightning into the Stanley Cup Finals, Tyler Johnson of Central Valley has to be part of the conversations – and if he stays on the track he’s thus far set for himself, he could end the conversation as well one day soon.

The Bears have sent other athletes off to play professionally. Kevin Stocker (class of 1988) was an All-American shortstop at Washington and had a nice career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays and Anaheim Angels, and some could argue that he’s had an even better career as a broadcaster. Bump Wills (class of ’70) won a national championship at Arizona State and had a brief career with the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs. And Mike Hollis (class of ’90) had a solid NFL career as a kicker with the Chicago Bears.

But is a pro career a prerequisite for consideration? Since it’s my list, I decided it wasn’t, which brought in some former coaches. Rick Seefried (class of ’70) was a three-sport standout and the first name a CV grad friend came up with when I posed the question. He was All-Border League in football and basketball and had a solid career at the University of Idaho, where he led the Vandals to their first Big Sky championship in 1971. And Rick Sloan (class of ’81) was a prolific quarterback who found success at Idaho and earned a tryout in Oakland before returning to CV to serve as long-time offensive coordinator under football coach Rick Giampietri and take over the boys basketball program from Terry Irwin in 1996.

My personal favorite CV athlete is Bob Keppel (class of ’62), who was one of the first area high jumpers to clear 7 feet. He had a standout career at Washington State, where he never lost a meet to Oregon’s great Dick Fosbury and won the 1966 Pac-8 championship. But what makes Keppel standout in my mind is his post-athletic work as a King County homicide detective where he helped catch and convict both Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgeway.

In the end, my choice was not from CV. It’s University graduate Brad Walker (class of ’99). I just think winning two World Championships in the pole vault, clearing 19 feet, 2 3/4 inches trumps all.

The best athlete among the girls is just as tough.

Emily Westerburg (class of ’03) is the career scoring leader at CV and was a standout at Arizona State, where she was a three-time All-Pac-10 selection. Angie Bjorkland (class of ’07) played college basketball for the legendary Pat Summit at Tennessee and enjoyed a brief stint with the Chicago Sky of the WNBA.

West Valley’s Lisa Comstock (class of ’81) set a record for assists during an All-America career at Eastern Washington that stood for 27 years. And she coached Lakeside to two state Class 1A state titles.

In the end, I decided the title had to go to CV’s Annette Hand (class of ’83). Not only did she lead the 1982 CV cross country team to a state championship, she won a state championship in the 1,600 meters as a senior. She still holds school records in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Collegiately she set records at Montana State and later at Oregon, where she was voted onto the Pac-10’s All-Decade Track Team after winning the NCAA 5,000 meter championship in 1988 and both the 1,500 and 3,000 meters in 1993. She competed in the 1990 Goodwill Games and the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

As to that second question? Yes. But stand-up paddleboarding generally looks pretty cool, so it evens out.

But ultimately, I reached two conclusions.

First, the greatest male and female athletes from the Spokane Valley have yet to surface. The best performances are yet to come.

And second, the local Maui favorite French toast with macadamia nuts, bananas and coconut syrup should probably come with a warning label that reads “caution, may cause diabetes.”