New Leader at the Helm for EvCC Track & Field/Cross Country

Trojan Cross Country and Track & Field will have a new leader at the helm for the 2019-2020 season.  Head Coach Tansey Lystad will be stepping down after serving as the head of the program for the last two seasons. Taking over will be former EvCC assistant coach Julian Bardwell.

Under Coach Lystad's leadership, the Trojans have had 10 men's and women's cross country runners finish inside the top 25 at the NWAC Championships, two men's XC northwest region championships, one women's XC northwest region championship and she was named regional coach of the year in 2018. 

In Track and Field, the Trojan's had 8 All Americans including Jakobe Ford who won the first ever Triple Crown in jumping events at the NWAC Championships, winning the Long Jump, High Jump, and Triple Jump (new NWAC record 15.53 m).  The Trojans also placed 20 different athletes on the podium (top 8) at the NWAC Championships in her time at EvCC.  

Tansey will continue her passion of competitive running at the elite level and is moving to Colorado to further her training.  "Tansey has been instrumental in helping us to build the type of track and field program we want here at EvCC," said Athletic Director Garet Studer.  "She's been a fantastic role model for our student athletes, and while she will be missed we know that she is following her passion that has helped her to become such a good coach."

"The past two years have been a great experience as a coach," said Lystad. " I'm so grateful to the Trojan Athletic Department, my wonderful coaching staff, and the student athletes who all worked so hard to re-establish our track and cross country programs these last two years.  It is bittersweet to leave, but the team is in great hands with Julian going forward, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the program."

Julian Bardwell was brought on by Tansey at the start of her tenure and has served as the assistant cross country and track and field coach the last two seasons where he worked primarily with the sprinters and jumpers.  Julian coached Jakobe Ford through his success as well as Dimeji Adekanbi who held the fastest 100m time in the NWAC for much of the 2019 season.  Dimeji went on to finish 2^nd at the NWAC Championship Meet.  A number of other athletes performed well under Julian's tutelage including Taylor Dewing (3^rd in 100m hurdles, 6^th in long jump), Courtney Ball (4^th in triple jump and set All Time EvCC record at 34'9"), Markell Carter (4^th in the triple jump), Jermiah Stone (8^th in the triple jump), and Langston Barlow (8^th in 100m). 

Julian first came to Everett CC with a tremendous background as a coach and athlete at the University of Washington.  He was an assistant coach with and was coached by Eric Metcalf, son of EvCC Hall of Famer and NFL star Terry Metcalf.  In his first year of coaching at UW he worked with Casey Burns who got the number 2 mark in school history in the triple jump and posted a 2^nd place finish at the Pac-12 Championships with a mark of 51' 8 ½".  After coaching at UW, Julian became the Garfield High School girls track and field coach, and lead the team to their first Metro League, District, and State Championship in over 20 years. 

As an athlete Julian specialized in the long jump and the triple jump with outdoor bests of 24'3 ¾" in the long jump and 49'0 ¾" in the triple jump.  His top finishes at the PAC – 12 Championships were 10^th place in the long jump his freshman year and 10^th place in the triple jump his senior season.  In 2011 he qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in the long jump.

"I'm thrilled to be taking over as the head coach of EvCC Track & Field and Cross Country," said Bardwell.  "It's an honor to have the opportunity to continue to coach such hard working and dedicated student-athletes."

When asked about the transition, Studer had this to say about Julian:  "We are ecstatic to keep Julian as a part of our program and even more excited to have him at the helm.  His knowledge and expertise far exceed his years, and our student athletes over the last two seasons have absolutely loved working with him.  Julian has what it takes to build this program into one of the most respected in the NWAC."