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First there was the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, then a hip injury this spring.

But La Conner alum Matty Lagerwey, now a pre-med student at Western Washington University, remains on schedule to compete in national track and field trials within the next two years, she told the Weekly News July 5.

Lagerwey, a multiple State 2B title winner while at La Conner High School, had improved her speed, recorded an 18’3” long jump, and posted a 35’-9 ¼” triple jump during her freshman indoor track season at WWU.

Then came the pandemic.

COVID-19 quashed the 2020 outdoor season and Lagerwey and her teammates were limited to personal workouts. She returned to the Whittaker Field oval for some of those sessions, hopeful of hitting the ground running in 2021.

Lagerwey did just that, until she could not. A torn hip flexor sidelined her for over a month.

“Getting back to it was hard,” she recounted. “I felt a pressure to perform well because I was practicing really well right before my injury and had to stop all progress immediately once I was injured.”

Biding her time was difficult for Lagerwey, also a standout volleyball and basketball player at La Conner – capturing Most Valuable Player honors when the Lady Braves won the 2018 State 2B net crown.

“I felt like I was back to Square One,” the 5’-7” Lagerwey, whose parents are Darrel and Sunee Lagerwey, of La Conner, said in the aftermath of her injury. “Once I was back, I struggled a bit and I got back around to feeling how I was jumping pre-injury, but I wasn’t able to pull off a big jump this year, unfortunately.”

Despite the injury setback, Lagerwey has not lost sight of the goal she set two years ago upon signing her WWU letter of intent. She aims to advance from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) championships to nationals.

“I’m expecting, hopefully, a nationals performance here next year or in the next two years,” she said. “That’s my ultimate goal.”

To get there, Lagerwey is drawing upon the work ethic with which La Conner fans are accustomed to seeing from her both on the track and in the classroom.

She continues to take mostly on-line courses.

“It’s challenging,” Lagerwey said of her academic program, “as it probably is for most students. But things are slowly moving back to normal.”

That is equally true for Lagerwey on the track side.

“I’m just trying to maintain my fitness levels,” she said, “and keep up with the small details I worked on all year. I’m always trying to get stronger and faster.”

Time is certainly on her side. In more ways than one.

“The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) granted all track athletes this past year of eligibility back due to the circumstances,” said Lagerwey.

“So,” she added, “I may be back for another four years of track after this year.”