Click for Easton Trakel Highlights
The offseason is still relatively young, but so far an athlete that has done a lot to make a name for himself is Easton Trakel (5’10” 165) of Tumwater High School. Don’t let his size fool you, his speed and overall athleticism can be eye popping at times, as he has a knack for making linebackers and defensive backs look foolish.
Last season Trakel rushed for 621 yards on 65 carries and 8 touchdowns, which was second on the team behind senior Christian Cummings.
He led the Thunderbirds in receiving with 32 receptions for 679 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 410 yards on kickoff returns, giving him 1,710 all-purpose yards and a second team All-Evergreen conference award.
The Thunderbirds have finished runner-up to the Lynden Lions the past two seasons, and look like they could be right back in the mix this season. They do lose a lot of production, mostly in the name of senior RB Christian Cummings, who finished with over 2,000 all-purpose yards.
“I feel like we aren’t losing too much and what we are losing, we have someone right behind them ready to compete,” Trakel told NEI. “Our senior class is really going to step up. Our leaders Trevor Davis and Addison Barrett hate to lose. I really don’t see much losing this season and hopefully repeat for the third time back to the Dome.”
Playing for legendary head coach Sid Otton, the Tacoma Dome is the expectation every season. He is the winningest coach in the State’s history, and always has his team’s in contention.
“You can’t argue with the coach, because he knows what he’s talking about,” Trakel said. “It really is a tradition, you have people come back who played 20 years ago everyday at practice and talk to us about how they were doing the same thing as us. Coach really puts Family in to our team and wants us to play as that and with T-Bird Class, and to keep our mouths shut.”
The offseason is packed tight for Trakel, who was recently invited to join our travelling 7-on-7 squad that will participate in a tournament in Las Vegas next month. He has also been invited to the 5 Star Showcase in March and Nike Camp this June in Oregon. “I am getting ready for these camps by doing Sparq training and heavy lifting to get good scores at the camps and catch people’s eye,” Trakel added.
Trakel also excels on the baseball diamond where he and the Thunderbirds finished as runner-up last season. He will start at Second Base this season for a Thunderbirds team that could again be one of the best.
While the ultimate goal for Trakel may be to play at the highest level of college football, he is focused right now on helping his team get back to the Tacoma Dome. He will again be one of the key pieces to a Tumwater team I may have ranked #1 to start the season.
