State track meet moving to Yakima

CHENEY—The WIAA State 1B, 2B and 1A Track and Field meet, usually held at Eastern Washington University, will be moved to Yakima for the 2023-24 cycle.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) submitted a request for a proposal to hold the meet to sports commissions all over Washington.

The Spokane Sports Commission did not submit a proposal.

“We distributed a request for proposal for the venue for the next two years to the Spokane Sports Commission,” said Justin Kesterson, assistant executive director of activities and eligibility for the WIAA. “We got a couple of bids back and Cheney was not among the cities to respond.”

When asked to speculate on why Cheney may not have submitted a bid, Kesterson said “When I talked to some folks in Cheney, they said that, for example, the track itself has had some issues. We were concerned about the safety of our students. The city didn’t submit a bid, but if they had we certainly would have considered that.”

West Plains Chamber of Commerce president Mark Losh said losing the state track meet will negatively affect local athletes and families.

“Whenever we lose a major sporting event, it’s always a sad day, but it also makes way for other opportunities,” Losh said. “It really hurts our local athletes also who would otherwise be able to see their family and friends cheer them on.”

That fact was reiterated by Owl Pharmacy owner Amanda Goyke.

“Everything is in Yakima,” she said. “My son plays and trying to figure out how to make the trip to Yakima work is just going to be awful.”

There is also local economic impact.

“For us, losing the contracts from those who usually stay in town for that event will represent a loss of more than $50,000,” said Holiday Inn Express owner Debbie Anderson.

Kesterson spoke of WIAA plans for future venue options after 2023.

“In 2023, we’d start examining options for 2024 and start the RFP process and have all the sites ready to go for 4-year intervals,” he said. “After 25 years it’s not lost on us, we understand that it’s a big change.”