Mellor by-product of Colfax’s commitment

Sometimes, small-town athletic gems get lost in the spotlight cast by big-school glitter.

That is certainly the case for Colfax’s Lauren Mellor, who is proof that much value can be mined from smaller claims.

Colfax, despite an enrollment that has dipped to less than 170 in its top three grades, has been a fertile mine of team and individual gold. Mellor is one example of such a nugget.

She was a member of eight state championship teams and won two individual titles in track during her career at Colfax. This year, she has started every game as a freshman volleyball player at Southeast Conference Division I Auburn.

“She did things for the good of the team,” said Bulldogs coach Sue Doering. “She won’t do it for her own glory.”

Mellor is also an example of how success is a by-product of a community. Colfax has traditionally vested in athletics. The Bulldogs have made 33 trips to the state finals, winning 25 championships in eight sports.

Mellor was on the floor for the last four each in volleyball and basketball.

“We’ve always had good athletes, not always good exposure,” said Doering. “I always laugh and joke that it’s the growth hormones from the spray leaching into the ground.”

Actually, the titles likely have been a product of a school that promotes physical exercise. Doering teaches at the elementary school. She said that from grades K-through-5, students have 30 minutes of physical education daily. In middle school it is up to 55 minutes per day.

Classes provide many ball, racquet and playground games designed to improve body and mind, she said. They incorporate throwing, catching and conditioning that all lead to athletic development.

“I think kids need activity,” said Doering. “Most youngsters are active and have trouble sitting still. They need that outlet. They need fine-motor and large-motor development. It (also) helps with brain activity.”

The fifth in a family of eight children, Mellor said that the best thing about small-school activities is that everyone in town comes to the games to watch athletes who have been playing together since they were little.

“It helped me to develop athletic ability,” said Mellor, in a phone interview. “But especially, I played with the same people since third grade developing team and relationships.”

She spent only two years of club volleyball competing for the Spokane Splash and Wade Benson (who, to her surprise, left Eastern Washington to become an Auburn assistant).

Her parents, Mellor said, never pushed her to compete.

“It was never something I had to do,” she said. “That made me want to play. That’s why I like it.”

Lauren may not have shown the overt intensity of her older sister, Lizzy, one of several from Colfax to play at EWU, but her record speaks for itself. She won state titles in the 300- and 100-meter hurdles, besides enjoying all the team triumphs. Now she’s playing volleyball at Auburn with her eye on an apparel design degree.

It’s all because a tight-knit community has mined a wealth of gemstones by investing educationally in the physical well-being of its young.