Former Medical Lake athletics director and now school principal Chris Spring, vividly remembered Gene Blankenship’s interview for the school’s vacant cross country and track coach opening back in in 2010.
Blankenship came highly recommended from local coaching legend, West Valley’s Jim McLachlan. Blankenship spent seven seasons as Jim McLachlan’s assistant.
“No question he’s qualified, no question you should interview him,” McLachlan told Spring. “If Jim McLaughlin says that I’m all ears.”
McLachlan did, however, warn Spring of a few things.
“He’s an interesting man, he’s highly motivated and he has one arm,” Spring was informed. “And he’s also an older gentleman,” McLachlan added.
What Spring was not told about was Blankenship’s propensity to tell it like it is.
Hence, Blankenship, who on Jan. 24 was inducted into the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame, might have had his Cardinal career cut before it ever even started.
To close the interview, Spring asked Blankenship if he had any questions to which the reply was, “How much do I get paid?”
That was somewhat of a shock to Spring who reminded Blankenship in so many words that if this about money then Medical Lake might not be the place for him.
“He said, ‘Chris, time out, I shouldn’t have said that,’” explaining his reason for the question. “I donate half of my salary to the program and I want to know how much I’m going to have for the kids,” Blankenship explained.
The rest as the old saying goes is history — and some that is quite glorious at that.
Blankenship’s first season at Medical Lake came on a milestone for him, his 30th as a coach, 15 of those and the head guy and 14 in an assistant’s role.
It took a few years, but the Cardinals would go on put together an impressive run. Medical Lake won back-to-back 1A boys state championships in 2013 and 2014 — plus another in 2017 — with the gap filled in with runners-up in 2015 and 2016. The Cardinal girls were second in 2021 with 2022 a third place.
On the track side the Cardinals won a boy’s title in 2014 followed by a runner-up and third place in subsequent years — results worthy of Blankenship’s induction into his second hall-of-fame.
Blankenship’s work at Hart High School in California landed him in the Mt. SAC California Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2008. It was there Blankenship’s boys won 11 league championships, three sectional titles and were the state champions three years in a row.
The run at Hart was from 1982 to 1993 before a move to Washington where his wife Sue’s job took them in 1993.
While the soon-to-be 83-year-old Blankenship’s name is on a plaque and in the history books, he knows none of these honors would have happened without help.
“I just want to make it clear that I’m there because of some great coaches and some super kids that have given everything they have to give,” Blankenship said.
Some of those from Blankenship’s past were in the audience among about 32 people, including eight from California.
“They’re all in their 40s and early 50s,” he said of the Hart athletes. “They had forgotten how bad I really was,” Blankenship said with a laugh.
Blankenship began travel on cross country roads first as a record-setting runner for Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, California. He later ran at El Camino Jr. College where his team were state champs in 1961.
He got hooked on running and it likely saved his life.
“Seriously, I was on the way to being a school dropout and a troublemaker, and I’m not very tough so I probably wouldn’t have lived very long to be honest with you,” Blankenship said in a 2010 story about his hiring.
His missing left arm came while working for the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department. It is courtesy of a once-in-a-million encounter with a rattlesnake where a bite nearly took the limb, but not his life.
It was also while working for Parks and Rec that Blankenship took his first strides into
coaching at Canyon High School in 1981, also by accident. A group of athletes approached him to help as their coach who was retiring.
“My degree is in Recreation Leadership, not in education or physical education,” Blankenship said. “It was completely by accident.”
Unlike others that’s an accident with many happy endings.
— Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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