Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
In instructor Gary Clinton’s final year at Yelm High School, the Tornados’ sports medicine program has seen its most successful school year yet, and following the annual Washington sports medicine state championships from April 16-18 in Tacoma, YHS students have earned their teacher some more hardware.
At the state championship competition, the Tornados placed third in the large schools division, the team’s highest finish in program history. Yelm placed fifth overall out of all of the schools attending the competition.
Additionally, the YHS anatomage team — which includes Sofia Miera, Cali Stein, Ally Kincaid and Javier Eufracio — finished as champions to mark the program’s first ever first-place finish in that specific event.
Miera also completed the “trifecta” by winning the championship in the anatomage competition as team captain, placing first overall in the anatomy/physiology test and earning first overall in the student forum.
Her classmate, Noah Riutta, finished in sixth place in the medical terminology competition, while Somaly Yoeurth finished in eighth place in the speed taping event.
The students’ instructor, Clinton, was also recognized with the lifetime service award. He served on the WCTSMA board for 18 years and will retire at the end of this school year.
The sports medicine students competing in the state competition included Rylan Beaudin, Kinsley Corak, Javi Eufracio, Hayden Hahn, Falen Kelso, Ally Kincaid, Tyeyo Larson, Sofie Miera, Jaliyah Moseley, Logan Myers, Bruce Polley, Noah Riutta, Bella Ruiz and Cali Stein.
“The students met their goal, which was to finish in the top three,” Clinton told the Nisqually Valley News on Monday, April 20. “They had the best results that we’ve ever had as a team before. The fact those 14 kids worked together so well to accomplish what they did is incredible. They’ve had a lot of success this year. It’s been great to see.”
The instructor added that he was proud of Miera for completing the trifecta and earning a first place finish in three different events. He said the senior has meant a lot to the YHS sports medicine program since she joined as a sophomore.
“People would look at her and know she was a special person and a special student. She always gave 100% to everything she did,” Clinton said. “She put in just a lot of effort to be successful and represent our program and community in a great way. In my educational career, she’s the best student that I’ve ever had. What she achieves speaks volumes to why that statement is a factual one.”
The program instructor also spoke highly of all of the students in his program, and reflected on 18 years of work within Yelm Community Schools.
“In my 18 years at Yelm, I’ve been incredibly blessed with the support of our community, school district and school building. I sometimes get frustrated hearing the negativity come out about students. When I look and see the people that I interact with and the way that our district works so hard to provide opportunities to students, even with limited resources, it’s incredible and it’s a testament to how hard everyone in our district is working to provide opportunities to kids.”
Miera was the first student in YHS history to ever take first place as anatomage team captain, in the anatomy/physiology test and in the student forum. The idea of winning all three competitions seemed far-fetched at first, but after hours and hours of hardwork, Miera made her dream a reality.
“When he proposed it to me, I was like ‘oh yeah, haha. Imagine. What if?’ It seemed kind of, not impossible, but I didn’t know if I could do it,” Miera said. “It was that feeling of ‘I really don’t want to let the team down or Mr. Clinton down.’ I went into the competition and my biggest concerns as anatomage because that’s something, as Mr. Clinton said, we’ve never finished in first place before.”
She’s hopeful to go out with a bang next month in San Jose when her anatomage team competes for a national championship.
“Being Mr. Clinton’s last year, we want to live up to expectations and go out with a bang. This is our victory tour for Mr. Clinton, and we were more than happy to put in the work,” Miera said. “Mr. Clinton has said that we’ve shown the most dedication, resilience and commitment that he’s ever seen in his sports medicine program — which is some very, very high praise.”
Her classmate, Bella Ruiz, said the team felt some pressure going into the state competition — especially after achieving high success a month prior in California. She said it was a cool opportunity to place high, and that it felt good to see the hard work from her and her teammates pay off.
Ruiz also spoke highly of the anatomage team and Miera’s leadership in the classroom.
“The anatomage team is incredible. I have been with Sofie for the past three years in the same class, working side-by-side,” Miera said. “That team is something she’s passionate about. It’s really impressive. They work really hard after school every single day. To see her succeed and get what she wants has been really cool. She’s brought up these juniors and sophomores to carry it on. It’s been inspiring to see.”
Javier Eufracio, a junior, said he felt his anatomage team’s performance was really good at the state championship competition in Tacoma. He described the moment as a special one, and said he’s excited to see what his team can do in California at the national tournament.
The younger sports medicine student was also thankful for the leadership and mentorship from his classmate, Miera.
“It’s really nice (having Miera as a mentor),” he said. “It’s one of those things where you can learn without thinking that you’re actually learning. It’s really fun. Sometimes you don’t really understand, but Sofie is the type of person to help you understand and get through those things that may be difficult.”
