On track to success

This is a first. The Spokesman- Review’s Idaho Male and Female Athletes of the Year are from the Intermountain League.

That’s not to say there weren’t any worthy candidates from the other classifications. But Nick Puckett of Timberlake and Lacy Hopkins of Priest River, both seniors, were at the head of the class in 2007-08.

Both Puckett and Hopkins collected four gold medals at the state track meet last weekend in Boise.

They’re equally talented in the classroom and above-reproach citizens. Those elements are just as important as athletic accomplishments.

Hopkins had one specific goal this year: She wanted to qualify for state in all three of her sports. She accomplished her mission.

Qualifying for state in track was a foregone conclusion for her since it’s largely an individual sport. It’s also the sport that will be her vehicle to a college education in the next phase of her life at Boise State University.

She wants to be a decathlete.

To qualify for state in her other sports, though, well that’s a whole different story. She was, no doubt, the best volleyball player on the Spartans’ team. She was a four-year starter at setter.

She wasn’t the best basketball player on her team, but her athleticism was valuable beyond measure. It’s the main reason why she was a four-year starter.

Hopkins, who will graduate with a 3.45 grade-point average, asked her BSU track coach if she should start learning how to do the events that comprise the decathlon. The outdoor decathlon includes the shot put, high jump, long jump, javelin, 200-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles and 800-meter run.

She’s done the high jump and 200, and she shouldn’t have any trouble adjusting to the 800 since she mastered the 400 at Priest River. She shouldn’t have any difficulty mastering the hurdles or long jump either. What she must learn is the shot put and javelin.

“He doesn’t want me to learn any of the events yet,” Hopkins said. “He doesn’t want me to pick up any bad habits. He said he will teach me. He said, ‘You’re a great athlete and I’m a good coach. We’ll make you into something.’ “

She will spend time doing fitness workouts in the evenings after working during the days at a restaurant in Priest River.

“I’m really looking forward to learning the new events,” she said. “I love learning new things.”

Hopkins finished up her prep career by defending her state title in the 400 and winning the 200. She also helped the medley and 1,600 relay teams defend titles as the anchor.

She wants to be an elementary teacher and eventually coach.

“I tutored this year at the elementary school and it really is my passion right now,” she said.

Puckett also is headed to college on a track scholarship at Montana State University.

He was known as a talker during his days at Timberlake. But most of the time he backed up the talk with performance.

He rewrote the Tigers’ record book in football, finishing with more than 5,000 yards rushing. He became the school’s first athlete to win four state titles in track when he captured the 100, 200 and 400 and anchored the 1,600 relay.

Puckett, who will graduate with a 3.2 GPA, will focus mainly on the 400 at MSU.

He will spend a third summer farming. He will work from sunup to sundown and sometimes sundown to sunup.

The country side of life is attractive to Puckett. This explains, to a degree, why he wants to study mechanical engineering at MSU.

“I want to go on an internship with John Deere and eventually work for them developing machinery,” Puckett said.

Among the many things he’s proud of is helping put Timberlake, which opened in 1998, on the state map in football and track. He was part of three state titles in track and played on three state-qualifying football teams.

“The school has made some big leaps in the last five years,” Puckett said. “It’s been fun taking Timberlake from a name on your chest (uniform) to a name that’s known statewide.”

Both Puckett and Hopkins leave behind siblings that will be outstanding athletes in their own rights.

In Puckett’s case, his brother, Derek, who will be a junior next fall, is a three-sport athlete who will make a name for himself in time.

“He’s better than me in some ways already,” Nick said. “He’s a lot better than me in the classroom. He’s a 4.0 student. I look up to him for that. What’s good is I was a running back and he’s a quarterback. Not to sound cocky, but I’ve set the bar so high that it would be unfair to compare us in football. We’re different people.”