Track & Field Head Coach: Amy Posner Wolff
I am very excited to start coaching my 22nd season, 2nd as co-head, for MIHS Track & Field. I am a local girl, who graduated from Lake Washington High School where my coach Roger recently retired. My senior year he said something that changed my life, "When you run in college..." Up until that point I had never considered running at the next level. He encouraged me to walk on the University of Washington track team where I ran the 400m Hurdles. I cannot imagine a spring without track in my life. I coach because of Roger.
After completing my Masters in Physical Ed/Sports Admin at Seattle Pacific University, I became the Recreation Director at the Bellevue Club. In 2001 I missed being part of a track program, so I reached out to local high schools. Mercer Island was the only one hiring. Fast forward, I ended up moving to MI, having three kids, and falling in love with the community. Pre-covid I managed the MI Orangetheory, where I currently coach classes a few days a week (come take my class:)
What I love about high school track & field is there is something for everyone at every level. As long as students commit, and work hard, they will improve their times/distances/heights. In doing so, they learn about being part of a team, work ethic, and new skills. There is no app for that. To me, That's winning!
Track & Field Head Coach: Stacy Edwards
Stacy is in his sixth season with the Mercer Island Track program and his tenth year with MIHS Athletics. Stacy is currently and assistant coach with the Mercer Island Boys Basketball team and spent six years coaching in the Girls program. Prior to joining Mercer Island athletics, Stacy coached multiple sports at the middle and high school levels, in addition to high level football coaching at the University of Montana and various Arena Football teams across the country.
Stacy has extensive athletic experience, competing in high school basketball, football, and track and field at Pasco High School. After high school, he went on to compete in track & field and play football collegiately at The University of Montana. After college, Stacy played professional football in the CFL, AFL and IFL. He also has extensive officiating experience in both basketball and football.
Stacy states his coaching philosophy as: An athlete′s character is more important than their talent! My goal is to create well-rounded players on the court/field/track as well as in the community and classroom. I strive to enhance the talents and confidence of my players, while developing their leadership skills, self-discipline, and work ethic.
Shot put, Discus & Javelin: Lindsey Blaine
Lindsey is excited to join the Track and Field coaching staff as the Throws coach for her first full, non-covid year at MIHS. While she has spent the last three years as the Head Girls Basketball Coach, she has a long career in Track and Field.
In High School, she was a Washington State Champion in the Javelin while also qualifying and placing twice in Discus and Shot put.
Javelin took her Purdue University, where she was a 4x D1 NCAA Championship qualifier, Big Ten Champion, Regional Champion, and NCAA Champion. Lindsey spent two years competing post-collegiately as a sponsored Nike Athlete before handing over her Spikes and becoming a sports performance trainer and coach. She qualified for the USATF Championships 7x and the Olympic trials twice during her career.
Lindsey spent time as the Volunteer Assistant Throws Coach for the University of Washington, helping with the shot, discus, hammer, and Javelin. She enjoyed her time in the Intercollegiate environment but found her true passion was coaching High School athletes and has spent the last nine years coaching Girls Basketball and Track. Lindsey is excited to bring her love for Throws to the Island!
Pole Vault: Mike Grady
Michael is a former Councilmember for Mercer Island, where his focus was on sustainability and parks and recreation issues. He is the founder Éireann Emerald Solutions, which works with Tribal Governments and First Nations to develop clean energy and green infrastructure.
He has a diverse sports background. In high school, he played football and basketball and ran track, high jumped and pole vaulted. In college he continued to pole vault, but also played rugby. His junior year he tried out for the U.S. Luge Team and continued with luge when he was a pilot in the Air Force.
Michael is the proud father of 5 children and actively volunteers and coaches for local schools, churches, the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club. He continues to run and pole vault in local masters’ meets and can be seen after a good snow storm luging with the neighborhood kids on the icy hills and roads of south Mercer Island!
Throws (Shot/Discus): John Janusson
John is excited to join the Track and Field staff as a Throws coach - focusing on the shot put and discus.
As an athlete, John was a successful age class competitor in Canada. He was the Canadian National Champion U16 in Shot Put, three year Alberta High School Provincial Shot Put Champion and 10 time Alberta Club Provincial champion. He attended the University of Calgary on athletic scholarship, but retired from the sport to focus on an engineering career.
He lives on Mercer Island and is the proud father of two girls in MISD. He has worked for many years as an engineering manager in tech, leading large teams of engineers to build technology such as consumer electronics and drone delivery services. He used many lessons learned from sport to develop his engineering teams, now hopes to return some of his leadership experience back to sport.
John believes the coach should identify the goals of the athlete and help them achieve that goal. Some athletes may be very focused on performance and achievement, while others may be looking to get involved in a fun activity. The challenge is to create a fun, inclusive environment for all, but also enough challenge and support to achieve performance goals.
Pole Vault Coach: Victor Yan
Victor recently moved to Mercer Island from the SF Bay Area, and is excited to help out the MIHS track and field team as a volunteer pole vault coach! Victor has previously worked with local high schools in California, in the horizontal jumps and pole vault.
As an athlete, he has been a part of the track team (primarily as a pole vaulter) from middle school through college. Career accomplishments include making the state meet his senior year of high school, and being voted as team captain his senior year at Carnegie Mellon University. As a coach, Victor focuses on developing proper form and technique to mitigate athlete injury, as well as making sure the kids are having a good time!
Long Distance Coach: Susan Empey
Susan Empey joined MIHS as a cross country assistant coach (boys and girls) in 2017 and became the head coach in 2018. She has coached distance track since 2018. MIXC recently completed a very successful season, with the boys winning KingCo for the first time since 2008, both girls and boys teams advancing to Districts, and boys finishing 9th at State.
While not a runner in high school she competed at the state level in swimming all four years at Kennedy High School but fell in love with running while a student at Santa Clara University. After eventually returning to Washington state she began running more competitively and qualified twice for the Olympic Trials in the marathon and won several national masters titles in XC, track and road racing. She also qualified twice for the Age-Group World Championships in the ½ Ironman distance.
Susan’s two children, Megan and Peter, graduated from MIHS and she and her husband, Gordon, happily still live on Mercer Island.
Sprints/Jumps: Nicole Nelson
Coach Nicole has been coaching the jumps (high, triple, and long) at MIHS for over 10 years. She competed in track and field, soccer, and basketball in high school and went on to play soccer for Willamette University. Nicole is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with board certification as a Sports Clinical Specialist, and she currently focuses on pediatrics. She and her MIHS alum husband Adam have three children. Nicole loves being part of the MIHS track and field team and is looking forward to a full length season this year!
Sprints/Jumps: Piper Casey
After volunteer coaching last year, Piper is back this season as an Assistant Coach. Piper graduated MIHS in 2016 and as a former track athlete, she broke the school record with her 4x400 team, winning the state title. Her favorite events are the 200, 400, relays, long jump and triple jump! She recently graduated from the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, works for Ridwell, and is currently training for her next marathon!
Sprints: Victor Gamboa
I believe that every team is only as good as its weakest link. This is why I seek them out; to work from the ground up. I try not to build a lane for my athletes, but rather have them find where they want to reside. Through encouragement and endless positivity my mission is to create leaders and the most telling trait of a leader, is their ability to decipher between a moment to lead and a moment to follow.
I went to Washington High School in Tacoma where I played Football and ran Track. I competed in the sprints, relays, hurdles, and the dreaded 400m sprint. Following graduation, I played football at Eastern Washington University, winning 3 Conference Championships. After College, I was fortunate enough to play in the CFL with the BC Lions for 3 seasons.
This is my first year here at MIHS, but my 6th year coaching sports altogether. I spent the beginning of this school year understanding the culture MIHS while coaching the Defensive Backs for The Islanders. I previously coached a season at North Central in Spokane. I've coached for a youth football program the Parkland Raiders, and am currently the Defensive Coordinator/DB Specialist for Rise Football Academy.
Throws (Shot/Discus): Enrique Hernandez
Enrique is a first-year coach, eager to begin working alongside the Mercer Island High School Track and Field Team. I am currently wrapping up a M.A. program to be certified in Secondary high school ELA. I was lucky to be chosen to be a student teacher in the MIHS English Department at the beginning of the school year up until Thanksgiving break of 2022. Shortly after that I began subbing in all departments for the high school eventually leading to a long-term subbing position as the Security Liaison for MIHS
I graduated from Mount Vernon high school, where I ran the 4x100 relay, participated in long jump, and shot put. I was not a competitive athlete beyond high school but chose to participate in many sports throughout my high school career for the provided structure, friendships, and life lessons my coaches were able to instill.
One of the goals I have for my time as a coach is to inspire young leaders and athletes to create healthy habits that set them up for long term success. Taking small steps that are practical and approachable ending with the student’s goals achieved or new PR’s met. Often, we rush to get to our end goal, with my time as throws coach I look forward to slowing down and taking the time to appreciate the mechanics and proper progression techniques that will lead to our athletes success.
2023 Brooks Inspiring Coach Award - Amy Posner Wolff
Coaches are the visionaries behind successful athletic programs and establish the culture, values and philosophies that inspire athletes to perform at their personal best. Mercer Island is proud to have the West Coast Winner of the Brooks “Inspiring Coaches Program”, Amy Posner Wolff, within its ranks. Out of a total pool of 486 candidates Brooks selected Amy as a finalist, representing the West Coast.
"Brooks established the Inspiring Coaches program in 2014 to shine a light on these incredible humans. If you’re lucky, you’ve had a coach that taught you more than running. Good coaches inspire, educate, discipline, and ultimately teach some of life’s greatest lessons. They help us to reach goals we might not have thought possible, buoy us up when we fall short, and give us the strength to get back up again. All this while serving as equal parts anchor and inspiration.1
The Brooks Inspiring Coaches program recognizes some of the high school coaches across the country who’ve made a big difference in the lives of their student athletes."
To learn more about Amy visit our coaches’ page: MIHS T&F Coaches | Mixctf
1 Inspiring Coaches | Runners’ Coaching Stars by Brooks Running | Brooks Running