Boys Track & Field Coach of the Year

Clovis East's climb proves worthy hurdle for Farmer.

Posted at 08:17 AM on Tuesday, Jul. 03, 2007

Jim Farmer's coaching roller-coaster has him back on top now, but he doesn't forget the low ride.

In fact, The Bee's boys All-Star Track and Field Coach of the Year says it was the tough times when he first arrived at Clovis East that ultimately helped him guide the Timberwolves to a runaway Central Section team title this season.

"I went from the penthouse to absolutely being drilled," he says in reference to a transition that saw him go from Clovis West -- where he won a combination of four girls and boys section championships in the late '90s -- to Clovis East in 2000.

It was that spring that the Timberwolves began track and field with their first freshman class. The following year, they were shoved into the Tri-River Athletic Conference -- the section's best -- with only freshmen and sophomores.

"We got beat badly, it was really tough," Farmer says. "For me, personally, I had been spoiled at Clovis West with phenomenal athletes and a great staff. So this was a big wake-up call, it really was. But it made me a better coach, a better person, to appreciate more and not take anything for granted."

That partly explains why Farmer had only seven points separating the Timberwolves, Clovis and Edison when projecting -- "doping," in track and field parlance -- the section meet May 16 at Madera.

He was cautiously optimistic, balancing his talent with the fact the Clovis East boys had been beaten by Buchanan for the TRAC title two weeks earlier.

"We took it on the chin," Farmer says, "but I told our principal and athletic director we were going to answer the bell.

It was a knockout.

Further -- and most satisfying for Farmer -- the Timberwolves scored heavily with technical points while blowing away the field.

Clovis East finished with 73 points, Clovis 46 and Edison 45.

And 64 of the Timberwolves' points were delivered in technical events -- meaning, something other than basic running events like sprints and distance.

Powered by Kendrick Young's hurdles sweep, Alex Cabatic's second and third in the discus and shot put, and Jacob Mersino's gold in the pole vault, Clovis East got quite technical in the hurdles, throws and jumps.

To win so easily as a team without sprinting help is unusual because those are typically multiple-event athletes who contribute to relays.

The Timberwolves scored but two points total in the 100- and 200-meter sprints and 400 and 1,600 relays.

But, at the end of the day, there was the blue-clad team, hoisting the section-winning plaque while dancing into the dark in the Madera infield with spectators long gone.

This followed Clovis East team championships this year in football and boys basketball. A golf title would come soon after.

Many of the Timberwolves were holding up three fingers, which Farmer found puzzling.

"They usually hold up one, so I asked why," he says. "They said, 'Coach, it's for the three Valley championships.'

"They were also thinking about football and basketball, they were thinking the big picture, the school picture. And that goes to prove, for a school that has a stigma of being tough and hard-edged, our kids have a lot of pride."

The reporter can be reached at aboogaard@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6336.