A football player, a soccer player, a basketball player, a softball player, and a track athlete all get on a bus…
 
No. This isn't the setup to a bad dad joke, but a spring weekend for a Pacific Lutheran University track & field program that's embraced having multi-sport athletes as part of the team.
 
Now in his seventh season on staff and second as the Head Coach, Trey Henderson's approach to multi-sport athletes is a direct result of his experience as a student-athlete at the University of Southern California.
 
"It starts with the fact that I was one (a two-sport athlete). I was one my entire life and being able to be a collegiate athlete— play football and do track & field— it was only a positive experience."
 
As a collegian, Henderson played on two Rose Bowl winning football teams for then Head Coach Pete Carroll at USC while also winning two Pac 10 Conference titles in the hammer throw. Henderson was a two-time All-American in the hammer throw, including finishing fourth at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships as a senior in 2011. 
 
"I've always been a believer that whatever sport you're in, to be an athlete, you need to be the most dynamic and multi-faceted mover you can be. If you're a soccer or football player and join the track team, you have the chance to get faster and develop a different skillset. But you also have a chance to go back to your primary sport and be better overall because of your track experience in addition to being competitive all year round."
 
Embracing multi-sport athletes have paid dividends for the Lutes with two of the program's last three national champions competing in more than just track & field. That includes 2018 javelin national champion Machaela Graddy (women's soccer) and 2022 javelin national champion Ava Nelson (volleyball).
 
This spring, 20 members of the men's track & field team also suit up for the PLU football team. Headlining that group is Carson Olmstead who ranks 12th in the nation in the javelin this spring.
 
"I think we have the best relationship between football and track. (Head Coach) Brant McAdams is passionate about track & field for his student-athletes. I think our relationship and our ability to manage that relationship is what makes us unique within our conference." 
 
On the track, those gridiron stars have added some serious speed to the program. Kellen Meade is the second fastest Lute in the 100-meters this year and ranks as the seventh fastest in the NWC. Meade along with fellow footballer Steele Swinton are a part of the Lutes' best 4x100-meter relay squad this spring. Meade has also teamed up with football buddies Davyn Waters, Jacob Schuh, and Jai Alapai to clock the program's fastest 4x400-meter relay time this year. Both relays head to the 2024 Northwest Conference Championships with a decent shot to contend for a league title. 
 
On the women's side, Georjina Soliai traded her bat and glove for a shot put, winning the event last weekend in Portland with a throw that currently sits as the 23rd best toss in Division III this season.
 
Soliai originally came to PLU for softball, playing just that sport during the 2020 and 2021 seasons before juggling both softball and track & field in 2022. Soliai eventually made the transition full-time to the throws and hasn't looked back as she looks to earn All-Conference honors for the third consecutive season this weekend. 
 
"Having been around the sport for such a long time, you can just watch an athlete walk across campus and realize they can do something. That's what happened with G. We were doing COVID testing and I was working with (Head Softball Coach) Traci Barrett and I was like, 'She can throw. I know she can throw.' Her first year she gets second in conference and is All-Conference."  
 
Elsewhere on the squad, women's soccer player Kyleigh Archer is having a tremendous debut for the Lutes, owning the second best triple jump in the NWC heading into Friday's conference meet while women's basketball's Kaylie Bracy ranks 14th in the NWC in the high jump. 
 
"There are a lot of kids that we recruit here for track that are really talented in what they do, and there are also athletes that are recruited for different sports here that also have potential. I think track is such a beautiful sport because any kind of dynamic skill can be successful if you put them in the right position." 
 
Performing at a high level, the multi-sport track & field student-athletes help fuel a competitive environment within the program.
 
"I can use Kyleigh Archer as an example. She comes over from soccer and she's been one of the best triple jumpers in the conference the entire season. She's had a great work ethic, taken on a large and intense schedule, and managed it beautifully. When you see that as a teammate, that rubs off on you.
 
Not to say that if you run track you don't have that, but when you have a unique approach from different sports, and you bring that to a track & field team and the different event groups, it can only enhance the competitive culture and competitive spirit."
 
Despite the success, Henderson realizes that doesn't come without having to navigate hurdles for student-athletes that are balancing being in-season for track, competing in a non-traditional season for their other sport, in addition to their daily lives as students on campus. 
 
"Managing a schedule is the number one thing. My job is to help manage their schedule and not make it more difficult for them. That plays into their mental, emotional, and physical health and it becomes my responsibility to give them a balanced schedule. If they miss something, we have to accommodate that because they're taking on a significantly heavier workload. At the end of the day, we have to take care of the mental, emotional, and then the physical health, because the physical health will be fine on its own if we take care of the first two.
 
To me that's our number one priority and if we are doing those things they will be successful in both of their sports because they have the capacity and talent to do it. If we lose sight of that and run them into the ground, we lose the entire benefit and purpose of a two-sport athlete." 
 
With the student-athletes well-being at the forefront, Henderson is in constant communication with their out of season sport coaches, ensuring each student-athletes workload is what it needs to be to achieve success in both sports. 
 
"I don't think we're unique that we have two-sport athletes, but our ability to have them compete at a high level, is what's unique. At the end of the day, that comes down to the coaching relationships and how you're able to trust each other."
 
The Lutes are back in action on Friday, competing in Newberg, Oregon at day one of the 2024 Northwest Conference Championships hosted by George Fox University. Field events begin at 10 a.m. with running events commencing at 11 a.m.