June
To Clay Tarter, a lot of things didn’t matter.
That is what made him such a good coach.
Tarter, 67, died Sunday evening from an unexpected medical event. He was a legendary Guthrie track and field coach, and had a 44-year career.
He coached nine state championships, and made a career of pushing athletes to achieve things that mattered. Yet, Tarter’s key to success was not caring about things.
“One of his greatest sources of pride was coaching so many children of parents he also coached when they were in high school,” Guthrie Superintendent Mike Simpson said in the statement. “The number of lives he impacted in a positive way in this community and beyond are endless. I hurt and pray for Cheryl, the rest of the family and our studentathletes who also grieve his passing.”
He didn’t care if an athlete was slower than his or her peers. He didn’t care if an athlete had graduated and was not a member of the Guthrie track program. He treated everyone like they were his only mentee.
“He was always there whenever you just needed to talk or if you ever needed something,” 2019 Guthrie graduate Lauryn Downs said. “For me, I had gone off to college. I went back for the summer. And whenever summer workouts would come into play, I would ask him if he would open up the track for me.”
Not only would Downs, who ran under Tarter from sixth grade until she graduated high school in 2019, get access to the Guthrie track for personal use. She would get Tarter’s undivided attention.
“Sometimes he would time me while I’m doing my workout,” Downs said.
Downs’ story is not an anomaly. Amanda Fortney, the mother of Guthrie track athlete Eli Fortney, had a similar tale.
“(Tarter) went above and beyond for his students,” Fortney said on Facebook. “Eli ran an early Saturday morning race one time (not related to school at all) and (Tarter) was there to cheer him on. He really cared about his students, and I’m so thankful Eli got to be coached and cared for by him.”
Guthrie Track and Cross Country coach Jake Jensen coached with Tarter for two years. He said he spent countless hours with Tarter and learned much about cross country and coaching.
Tarter’s biggest impact on Jensen, though, came from being a good person.
“More importantly, I learned about the caring impact he has had on thousands of kids over the years,” Jensen said. “I could not go anywhere with him without a former athlete or student stopping him to say hi. The respect he earned from other coaches was obvious to sense as well.
“He was the best.” Stetson Harkness, who graduated from Guthrie in 2019, started running cross country under Tarter in 2016. Harkness saw Tarter’s well-rounded love play out in practice constantly.
“He would never make those seven-minute mile guys feel any less than the five-minute mile guys,” Harkness said.
Tarter would always bring a lawn chair to meets. He had bad knees, and needed to sit down. Downs said it became his signature move to camp out at the 200-meter mark, so all the athletes would know where they could find him throughout the day.
“He would have his backpack with him, with whatever we needed inside of it,” Downs said.
From his backpack, Tarter would dispense out Band-Aids and Biofreeze, a roll-on pain relief gel, to runners in need. In a way, the backpack was like Tarter’s heart. It was open to anyone.
“He never, ever gave up on an athlete,” Harkness said. “It didn’t matter. In track, there’s guys that are talented and then there’s guys who are not so talented. Regardless, he would never give up on an athlete. He would always adjust each athlete’s goals based on what they needed. It was always supporting each individual athlete the way they needed to be.”
Simpson shared the sentiment about Tarter’s love for not only the sport, but for the kids.
“One of his greatest sources of pride was coaching so many children of parents he also coached when they were in high school,” Simpson said in the statement. “The number of lives he impacted in a positive way in this community and beyond are endless. I hurt and pray for Cheryl, the rest of the family and our student-athletes who also grieve his passing.”