THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Gordon not afraid to dig in for his dreams

Wyatt Gordon isn’t afraid of getting dirty.

Whether that’s working in excavating, or in his free time, if there’s some ground to be found, he’s going to tear into it.

GORDON, WHO grew up in Coeur d'Alene, played different sports as a kid.

Baseball, football.

None of it caught on to him.

“My dad (Chris), he got me into motocross racing,” Wyatt Gordon said. “As a kid, I played baseball and T-ball, but wasn’t digging any of it. Sitting in the field, I wasn’t paying attention to anything going on in the game and just playing in the dirt by myself. My dad bought me my first bike, and I’ve been in love with it ever since.”

Gordon, 18, recently qualified for the AMA Amateur National Championships in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., to be held Aug. 3-8 at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch.

“It’s the biggest amateur race in the country,” Gordon said. “They only take four from each regional qualifier, and I went 5-2 to finish fourth overall. So it’s a big deal.”

Gordon qualified in the 450B Class this year.

“Everyone that I’m going to race has been to nationals before,” said Gordon, who qualified in the lower-level C class previously. “It's a much harder class and the guys are going to be going fast.”

Gordon, who attended Lake City High, is taking online classes through Kootenai Bridge Academy to complete his GED.

“Living here, we get to ride six months out of the year, and oftentimes have to travel in order to practice,” Gordon said. “Between traveling to California to race, and working 50 to 60 hours a week, it’s just a better fit for me to be taking online classes.”

As for qualifying for nationals, there were a lot of different emotions that came out.

“That last race, I just poured my heart out and went as fast as I could,” Gordon said. “It’s incredibly amazing. I’m really thankful and blessed that all my friends and family have poured their time into me. It was an insane achievement to go in this class.”

As for his expectations for nationals, it’s pretty simple.

“I’m just going to try my hardest,” Gordon said. “Realistically, to get a top 10, that would be my goal going into it. But it’s literally the fastest 42 kids in that B class in the nation, which is very hard. But I’m going to put my heart into it and do the best I can.”

AT SOME point in the coming weeks or months, the baseball connection between Northern Lakes and Timberlake High coach Bryce Johnson and Ethan Pecor will come to an end after five years.

“Not many kids I get to coach for five straight seasons between high school and legion,” Johnson said. “He’s just shown a massive amount of maturity, a kid who’s been there and done that. He’s everything a coach hopes his oldest kid would be, play and act.”

Last Friday, when it came down to clinching the Class A North Idaho League title, Pecor delivered the go-ahead hit and shutdown inning on the mound to clinch for the Mountaineers.

“He’s just the guy you want at the plate or on the mound when the game is hanging in the balance,” Johnson said. “He’s a kid that plays all over the field for me. He’s played everything from catcher to first base, to all three outfield spots this season. He’s a typical sandlot kid, who grew up just playing the game, and learned to play everywhere, and flourished in that role for me. There really aren’t many kids like that anymore, and that type of kid makes a coach's job really easy.”

Northern Lakes will compete in the Class A Area A (district) tournament July 17-19 at Harris Field in Lewiston, with two teams advancing to the state tournament the state tournament at Rodeo Park in Nampa beginning July 24.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1206 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.