OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Jef Lucero attended Evergreen as a student on and off from the fall of 1992 through the spring of 1999. He spent a couple of the years gaining Washington residency and another year in Americorps. At various times as a student at Evergreen, Lucero was a sports editor for the Cooper Point Journal, hosted a radio show on KAOS, served as the recreational sports coordinator on campus, and was a member of Evergreen's first-ever intercollegiate tennis team (#1 doubles and #2 singles). Later, he was a radio announcer for Geoduck basketball in 2001-02 and was a public address announcer and webcast announcer for Evergreen from 2015-22. As part of our 45-year celebration of Evergreen Athletics, here are a few of Lucero's favorite sports memories as a student at Evergreen.

An Early Soccer Celebration

As a student, my first-ever soccer match was an unforgettable experience. My first roommate had tried out for and made the team that fall, so my other roommates and a few others ventured over from our dorm to watch him play.

We had such an amazing time together, and Evergreen won in overtime. We didn't know that it wasn't sudden-death, so we rushed the pitch after we scored in overtime, thinking it was over. We had to be waved back off by the referees, which was hilarious. I loved that day so much that I wrote a paper about it for my core program about a week later. 

(Note:  College soccer games later changed to sudden-death overtime. However, another change removed overtime from regular season games in 2022. Now, only postseason games go to overtime when the score is tied after 90 minutes).

Evergreen Starts Competing in Basketball

And then, I was a student when the basketball team first launched in the later 1990s. It was just so amazing to be able to go to those first-ever Evergreen basketball games as a student and fan. By then, I'd written yet another paper for a different class about why bringing basketball to Evergreen would add value to the school and to campus life.

Pete Steilberg Stands Out

First and foremost, the primary name absolutely has to be Pete Steilberg. He is the father of Evergreen athletics. His retirement as Evergreen's athletic director coincided with my last year as a student there, and the last story I wrote for the CPJ was a very long, earnest tribute to him.

He was there from before Evergreen even existed: He was on a planning committee that helped get Evergreen launched. He oversaw basically everything Evergreen did in relation to athletics and other outdoor activities (mountaineering, sailing, hiking, etc.).

In fact, the last interview we did for the story amounted to him and I just walking around campus, with him pointing out various buildings, fields, and other facilities that he helped get built. It was fascinating. There would be no such things as athletics and wellness at Evergreen if it weren't for Pete Steilberg.

Trelton Spencer Stands Out

One player who really stood out to me back in my time as a student was Trelton "Tuggie" Spencer. Not only was he a tremendous basketball player, he was a class act on and off the court. I remember watching him go through the post-game handshake line. He would look every person from the other team directly in the eye and shake their hand very sincerely, every single time. Most guys just sort of walk through it with barely a glance or a word, but he was so graceful about it.