Happy to be in Pullman
JESSE GELEYNSE
STAFF WRITER
Fresh from the training bike and dripping in sweat, the oft-injured, lanky cross country runner enters the office in Bohler Gym.
Senior Clay Hemlock is working through a problem with his Achilles tendon after injuring it last week. Though he's battled injuries for the last few years, Division 1 running is something he's grateful to have the opportunity to do.
"I didn't think I was going to go to college," Hemlock said. "I planned on joining the Marines, and then coach Robert Yates [of Highline Community College] talked to me. He turned me from an average runner into a better runner."
The modesty sounds genuine, especially coming from an athlete whose sport isn't known for producing inflated egomaniacs. But one look at his accomplishments and it becomes clear that "better runner" is hardly an accurate assessment.
Hemlock was named an All-American in cross country both his years at Highline, and an All-American in the 10,000-meter event his freshman year. He lettered four times in cross country at Ferndale High School, with second-team all-league honors as a freshman and first-team honors his sophomore and junior years. After winning the Northwest League and district titles as a senior, he "bombed at state," and Highline was the only school that came calling, Hemlock said.
He still doesn't act like a hotshot, even when his accomplishments are mentioned to him.
"Once I was at Highline I got a lot better," he said with a slight, knowing smile.
High school and community college success aside, the last few years have been fairly tumultuous for the prodigious runner. He transferred to Portland State University after Highline, but the school really didn't fit him.
"Portland State doesn't really have a campus feeling because it's more of a commuter school," Hemlock said. "The city is nice but Pullman's terrain is better."
At Portland State, he also began to experience injuries that hadn't bothered him before.
"It was too intense," he said of the program and training at Portland State. "We'd go on trails and the coach would get mad and say I didn't run hard enough. He'd drop me off in the middle of the city and I'd have to run four or five miles back. I wound up hurting myself."
Hemlock decided to transfer again after the coach left. He turned down scholarship offers from the University of Louisville and Boise State University to walk on at WSU last year, citing head coach Jason Drake as the primary reason.
"I don't know if I'm the reason," Drake said with a chuckle. "The Portland State coach grabbed me and told me about him. He told me [Hemlock] was very talented."
Hemlock's teammate Woody Favinger and Drake concur that bad luck seems to plague Hemlock.
"He has a reputation of bad things happening to him out of the blue," Drake said. "He will be struck by lightning twice before he dies."
Favinger added an anecdote about a night when Hemlock was sleeping at Favinger's place.
"One night I heard a loud banging sound at 3 a.m.," Favinger said. "It's Clay falling down the stairs."
Injuries and bad luck not withstanding, Hemlock is happy at WSU. The cross country team's closeness is his favorite aspect.
"The guys' team is really close and we all live together," Hemlock said. "Anything we do on the weekend we do together. We just hang out with the guys."
Hemlock's injured Achilles tendon will keep him out of tomorrow's season opener in Moscow, and Drake said Hemlock might sit out another meet before running in preparation for the postseason.
It's obvious Hemlock wants to compete as soon as possible. He said last year was tough.
"I wanted to run last year but Drake said they could use me more this year," he said. "We have a good team and I'm glad I didn't [compete last year]."
As the sweaty Hemlock heads out of the gym, one hopes he will overcome his bad luck and injuries to lead the Cougar men to the NCAA national championships. The team starts its journey, without Hemlock, at 5 p.m. Friday in Moscow for the Idaho Jamboree.