Injury barely slows track team leader
MEDICAL LAKE – Medical Lake High School junior Marissa Propeck won’t be competing this weekend in the Washington State 2A Track and Field Championships, but that scarcely diminishes the outstanding season she just completed.
Propeck was a competitive and emotional leader for the Cardinal girls, who numbered only 10 by the end of the season, and she was among area leaders in the 200 and 400 meters and the high jump even after an early-season injury kept her out of action for a month.
“Marissa is a very mature athlete,” said her coach, Phil Tennison. “She knows which events she likes, and she knows when and how to push herself to improve. She’s very coachable as well – if we needed her to do something else and it would help the team be more successful, she’d do it.”
Propeck went to state in the 400 a year ago but says the 200 is her best event. It’s also the one in which she was injured, straining a hamstring as she was sprinting down the stretch in a nonleague meet in Ephrata. She had to crawl off the track, was on crutches for two days and out of competition for a month.
“I wasn’t 100 percent when I came back,” she said, “but I was glad I was able to come back so soon. The doctor said it might be six weeks. I sort of picked one event for my first three meets after that to take it easy.”
She was especially disappointed about the impact the injury had on her high-jumping. That’s probably her favorite event, she said, the one in which she is the most relaxed and has the most fun. She had established a PR of 5-1 the meet before her injury.
But for as much success as she’s had on the track, Propeck’s best sport of the three in which she competes is most likely basketball. As a result of her performance at an AAU event in Bellevue in March, she’s been invited to a junior national competition in Ohio this summer. At Medical Lake, she’s played in the post and at guard.
“Basketball is my favorite sport,” she said, “and the one I hope to play in college. Lots of college scouts will be in Ohio. Defense is probably my strength – I’m pretty quick on ‘D’ and can guard either a post or wing.
“My third sport is cross-country, which I do because the environment is enjoyable and to stay in shape, because I probably wouldn’t be as motivated to stay in shape for basketball if I didn’t.
“I see myself as pretty self-disciplined,” she said. “I take both my sports and my academics seriously.” She has a 4.0 GPA.
Tennison sees her that way, too.
“Marissa is a real team leader. The girls look up to her because of her ability, and I can trust her to help our younger kids in the high jump. I think that’s helped them and her too – the others benefit from her mentoring and she learns by teaching. She’s also one of our school leaders, so it’s a great benefit to have athletes like her on our team.”
Propeck is interested in a career as an athletic trainer, but she has many meets and games left before that commences. And whatever she decides to do, she’ll know how to get there. As Tennison says, her desire is her driving force, and she’ll always push herself to the limit of what she can do.
Anyone interested in making a donation to Marissa for her summer basketball trip may contact her at mpropeck12@hotmail.com.