Photo by Jason Duchow Photography.
TYRONE LARSON:
Sixteen-year-old Tyrone Larson has been involved in sports since he first began to play baseball at just four years of age. He added football to his list at the age of 10 and has been involved in both sports ever since.
Tyrone has won two baseball state championships, one in 2013 and another in 2014 when his team took fifth in the Western Region.
Balancing sports and school has not always been easy, but Tyrone, now in his junior year, has a 3.4 GPA and is working to raise his grades even more.
“I am planning on going to a four-year college and hoping to get a scholarship to play football at the D1 level,” said Tyrone who has been looking at schools in both Washington and Oregon and said he would like to major in business and sports marketing.
While Tyrone said that it has been a challenge to play above his age group, he has reaped the benefits by having twice as many friends.
While he loves football, Tyrone said baseball is his favorite sport because it is just as much an individual sport as a team sport.
“My best friend Trey made me love the game that much more for always being there for me and always telling me to never quit and try to always be the best I can be,” said Tyrone who adds, “One life lesson I’ve learned from playing sports is you can always push yourself harder than you’ve ever thought you could.”
YEO YARNELL:
Senior Yeo Yarnell has played soccer since she was 7 years old. Her training and hard work over the years has paid off as she was invited to play on the Idaho ODP (Olympic Development Program) state team in Arizona earlier this year. She is hoping to repeat that again next spring. Also on the track team, Yeo has been to state for the 800 where she placed eighth overall.
As she looks ahead, Yeo said she would like to play soccer in college but is unsure of where she will attend. “As of now, I’m just trying to keep my options open by keeping my grades high and improving my skills,” she said.
Unsure of a career path, Yeo said she is interested in the field of psychology. “I love learning about how people think, why they do what they do, and the way our minds work,” she said.
One of the biggest challenges Yeo has had to overcome is an injury to her eye her freshman year which has left her eye permanently damaged with a blind spot in her peripheral vision. While it took some getting used to, she said she has not let it affect her play.
Yeo is grateful to her soccer coach, Conor Baranski, for teaching her confidence. He encouraged her and taught her the importance of positive thinking.
She credits her track coach, Angie Brass, with also teaching her the importance of positive thinking.
“Angie challenged me to think more positively and that is the reason I succeeded my freshman year of track and my sophomore season of soccer,” said Yeo.