THE CHRISTIAN SPIRIT OF A VIKING CHAMPION

Although he can vividly recall crossing the finish line, it didn’t sink in for Garry Clark ’04 until the official handed him the shell from the starting pistol. But mixed in with the thrilling knowledge that he had just become the NAIA Indoor National Champion in the 600 meter dash, was a feeling of bittersweet irony.

“Isn’t it interesting that the very thing I was so afraid of when I was young was the same thing that symbolized the victory for me?” he later said about his souvenir shell.

Growing up in inner city Washington D.C., Clark loved playing basketball. His father, an avid runner, expected him to run in his footsteps, but Clark hated the pressure of racing and was afraid of the starting pistol. For a kid growing up in a world of violence and worried about two parents with drug problems, the pistol was a powerful symbol of his dangerous life. He remembers hiding under his bed before one race in fear of that gun.

Despite his fears, or unable to refuse his father’s prodding, Clark tried running. Some marveled at his natural talent. Even Clark could not ignore the first place finishes, but basketball was still his first love.

A turning point occurred when Clark was a sophomore in high school. Clark, wearing his beloved basketball shoes, challenged the track team’s best runner to a race and won. The confidence from that win carried him to a successful high school career, and prompted Clark to search for a college that would give him a scholarship to play basketball and run track.

“God knew Dana College was the best place for me,” he said.

From the moment he disembarked from the plane and saw what looked like endless areas of open space, Clark was free from all the expectations and dangers he had grown up with. After a couple of years riding the bench for basketball, Clark turned his full attention to running. Coaches Jay Birmingham and Allen Friesen believed in him and helped fine tune his natural ability. Training turned a time of 2:02 in the outdoor 800 into a 1:51:07. Teammates like Allen Wagner ’03 inspired him with their intensity and focus.

Clark returned from the national championships in Johnson City, Tenn., to find that his fellow students had posted “Garry Clark, National Champion” signs around campus. A special sign by his room was even signed by several of his friends.

With focus his father would admire, Garry looked immediately to the upcoming season, outdoor track, where the two-time conference champion will defend his outdoor 800 title in this his last season at Dana College.

Garry has considered running professionally in the future, but thinks it is more likely that he will use his degree in sociology to become a high school teacher or accept a full scholarship to the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Urban Studies program. He would like to give back to a community like the one he grew up in.

“Garry is a multi-talented student,” said Dr. Myrvin Christopherson ’61, president. “Not only is Garry an outstanding athlete, but an engaging student, and an inspired and inspiring writer and poet. What’s more, his Christian faith guides him as he seeks to lift up the dignity of each of God’s children.”