By Bill Reynolds
La Conner Community News
The ongoing summer facelift to the 54-year-old Whittaker Field oval, scene of countless smiles for La Conner High School track and field fans this year, has maintained a steady pace thus far.
The facility’s runways and long jump area have been sealed, and preliminary pressure washing and patch work on the aged track surface have been completed, La Conner Schools Facilities Maintenance Specialist Toby Walls said on Monday.
Walls added that work crews expect to start this week on installation of a new Navy Blue sealed top-coat polyurethane surface at the local track, a community resource used by persons of all ages, including the 2026 La Conner High State 2B Girls’ championship team.
“Pressure washing the track before graduation was a real key,” Walls, himself a competitive runner who often trains at Whittaker Field, said of the project timeline. “They were proactive and because of that were able to get right after it.”
Polyurethane track surfaces are engineered to withstand harsh freeze-thaw cycles without cracking and are universally praised by runners and walkers for sustaining an ideal balance of durability, shock absorption, and energy return.
Another selling point for polyurethane surfaces is their durability, regularly holding up for a decade or more.
The La Conner track has been closed since work began last month. School officials anticipate the project will be completed and the track re-opened by late July.
La Conner School Board members at their April 27 meeting accepted a bid of $233,000 from Beynon Sports Surfaces, part of Tarkett Sports Construction, to upgrade the district’s track, which opened in 1972.
Beynon has installed many track and field venues across North America, among them venerable Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, site of the U.S. Olympic Trials.
The bulk of funding for the La Conner Schools track improvements is being provided via a $200,000 donation from foundry10, a Seattle-based philanthropic education research organization.
The La Conner initiative appealed to foundry10 because the campus track here is made available for exercise by all school children and community members. A prime example, La Conner Schools Superintendent David Cram has noted, is the annual La Conner Elementary Walk-a-Thon fundraiser that welcomes students, parents, and grandparents alike.
The Whittaker Field track and La Conner thinclads garnered much attention this past spring. La Conner hosted a pair of meets in 2026, including the well-attended three-day Skagit County Track and Field Championships April 29-May 1.
Then, in Yakima on May 30, the La Conner girls secured the first State track crown in school history. Not surprisingly, interest in La Conner High track and field soared further.
Within a couple weeks, work began on the long-sought Whittaker Field upgrades.
“It’s been pretty amazing timing,” Walls said. “So far, everything has worked out pretty well.”
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
