Former EV star runner returns to alma mater as coach

Character is one of those great words that can have different meanings depending on the context in which it’s used.

Saying someone HAS character implies they have a wealth of qualities we find admirable. But if you say someone IS a character, you foster an image of someone whose personality ranges anywhere from quirky to downright odd.

When you find someone who’s both, you’ve found something special.

Some dozen years ago, East Valley had a young runner on its girls cross country team who definitely fell into that category. Before I ever met her, I noticed that longtime EV cross country coach Nick Lazanis got a twinkle in his eye when he talked about Joann Mayer.

Cross country coaches always seem to have a deep affection for all of their runners. Running 3 miles has a way of stripping away all pretense from its athletes, testing their will and desire on a level that frequently leaves them exhausted BEFORE they cross the finish line. Watch them run and you plainly see what drives them and what makes them tick.

Mayer had something special.

She was tough as nails and competed like a bulldog gnawing on a rawhide bone – she never let go and never gave in.

And she was never without a joke and was always either a second away from laughing or making someone else laugh.

The first conversation I had with her was in her junior year. “Please, please, please don’t call me Joann,” she laughed. “I hate that name. My middle initial is E and I like to be called Jo E.”

She even spelled it for me. J-O. E. But she pronounced it like the character from the TV series “Friends.”

Jo E. Mayer had a rude introduction to high school cross country. As she neared the finish line in her first meet, she explained at the time – pantomiming the story as she told it – she went into a case of oxygen debt.

For the record, oxygen debt isn’t life-threatening, but it can be scary – especially to a high school freshman. It took two seasons for Mayer to put that memory out of her mind so that she could focus on running. But once you’ve experienced just how bad it can get when you push yourself past your limits, you can stop fearing it.

She pushed her talent hard in a race, and she got more out of her talent than the vast majority of runners. She spent two seasons as the Lady Knights’ No. 1 runner and one of the best runners in the state, then went on to be a solid collegiate cross country runner at Whitworth.

The last time I talked to Lazanis about Mayer, it characteristically included a joke.

He explained that he had talked to his former No. 1 at the start of her freshman season with the Pirates.

“She sandbagged me a little when I talked to her,” he said at the time. “She said she ran 26th out of 25 runners. But when I saw race results, she ran fifth for Whitworth.”

Typical Jo E. Mayer.

Lazanis also said that his former runner had changed career goals.

“She originally told me she wanted to be a dentist, but now she says she wants to teach math and coach,” he said. “She’s trying to talk me into sticking around long enough so she can take over my job.”

So when Nick Lazanis hung up his whistle after four decades coaching cross country at East Valley, I took a look at the name of the new coach.

Joann Cook. Hmm.

I did a little checking and found a note from a proud uncle talking about his niece, who had just been hired to coach cross country at East Valley. Joann Mayer Cook.

Seems someone made up with that pesky first name. Somewhat.

But she still prefers Jo E.