Palmer standout to run at Western Washington

PALMER — Sophie Wright lost her junior year in track and field when the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But that didn’t slow the Palmer High standout down. Wright has been training steadily since March of 2020, and now the Palmer senior has an opportunity to run at the next level.

Wright has signed her National Letter of Intent to attend Western Washington University and will compete for the Division II Vikings.

“I”m so excited. I didn’t know if I’d be able to run for Western. They have such a well-known program, at least in the GNAC region,” Wright said of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference program. “I was kind of like, I don’t know if I can improve that much and I did my first time trial and PR’d in the 800 (meters). It just kinda went from there.”

Wright will compete in both cross-country and track and field at Western Washington. Wright capped her prep cross-country career as the top runner in the Valley. As a senior she swept the five Mat-Su races, finishing first at the Redington, Colony, Palmer and Wasilla meets, and the Region III North Championships. Wright posted a personal record time of 19:30.7 at the George Plumley Invitational at Palmer High. She was also 15th in the 4A girls championships at the state meet in Anchorage.

Wright said she has a primary goal for her senior season in track.

“Before I leave, I really want to win state in the 800,” Wright said.

As a sophomore, Wright was among the top runners in the region in the event. She finished as the runner-up in the 800 four times, including at the Region III Championships. She was also a runner-up in the 1,600 meters and the 3,200-meter relay as a sophomore.

Wright was a member of the Palmer High cross-country ski team as a freshman and sophomore.

“I got my fifth concussion, so I called it quits,” she said.

But she’s had a love for running.

“I started running in those small runs, like the Bill Mitchell run. I won the kids mile race when I was 8. I wanted to be a really good runner. I started running more and more,” Wright said. “I think I got into it in the fifth grade and started winning some races, and I got what it felt like to win. I kept training, and now it’s something I fell in love with.”

And it’s not just the track and the trail. Wright said she also loves mountain running.

In the classroom, Wright is an International Baccalaureate diploma candidate at PHS, and is interested in marine biology. Wright said she also considered the University of Hawaii, but Western Washington was a better fit in both academics and athletics.

Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz contributed to this story.