Olympic, Klahowya taking care of their own

When it was all said and done, the final ankle taped, it was once again students from across Kitsap County proving to be among the best.

The South Kitsap sports medicine team took first place for the ninth time in 10 years at the recent state high school athletic medicine competition in Wenatchee. But Olympic and Klahowya weren’t far behind, taking sixth and seventh place respectively out of the 35 competing schools.

“It’s really nice to see schools in the area do well,” Oly trainer and sports medicine instructor Scott Peck said. “And the students at Olympic High School always do well.”

The success didn’t stop at the competition itself, as the Trojans were named the state’s academic champions as well, with North Kitsap taking second. NK finished ninth overall to round out a solid day for Kitsap schools.

In fact, Central Kitsap too would have figured into the mix had it not been for prom falling on the same weekend, Peck said.

“CK would have been up there, but they had prom,” he said.

While South Kitsap’s Brian Padmos won the individual title to make it a clean sweep for the Wolves, Klahowya’s Ariana Sheridan was a close third amongst the approximately 280 individuals competing. Amanda Snyder was the top finisher for Oly, taking 14th place overall. Alex Pulido was third overall in the speed taping contest.

“I’m always impressed with how well they do, how much fun they have,” Peck said. “It’s always a fun thing to be involved with. We always have fun. It’s more of a team-building, year-end type of thing.”

But even better than seeing his squad of student-trainers having fun is applying the knowledge gained through taking part in Oly’s sports medicine program.

“It’s nice to see what they learned and then compete and do it in a situation they’re not used to,” Peck said. “It’s nice to see what they’ve learned and what they can apply.”

While Central Kitsap School District has supported its sports management programs, Peck said other districts in the state aren’t as fortunate.

“We’re lucky to have the school district support sports management,” Peck said. “A lot of districts don’t even have a sports management program.”

In addition to the contest placements, Snyder and fellow Trojans Rachel Haas each won scholarships.

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