As an original Summit teacher and coach, Mike Carpenter remembers how Storm teams were routinely overmatched after the Bend school opened in 2001.
“The first two years were pretty lean,” said Carpenter, who started the softball program. “We opened with three grades, and our varsity teams were kind of getting hammered playing a JV schedule.”
Carpenter – who retired July 1 after 24 years at the school, the last seven as athletic director – has had an inside view to the evolution of Summit athletics into a state powerhouse. So he took extra pride when the baseball team won the school's 100th state championship this year.
“Our baseball team pulled through. Nice way to go out,” Carpenter said. “I'm just completely spoiled. I've seen it from the beginning. From the very first year that we opened, when there were more Mountain View and Bend High sweatshirts walking up and down the hallway, to this year, which was incredible.”
With the retirement of Carpenter, who became athletic director after two stints as softball coach that spanned 15 seasons, Summit's turnover from its inception is nearly complete. The only original teacher that remains on staff is track coach Dave Turnbull.
“I knew I wasn't going to be able to outlast him, so I thought I'd step down,” said Carpenter, who was named the 5A athletic director of the year for 2024-25.
Carpenter graduated in 1986 from Ontario, where he played baseball and basketball, and earned his college degree at Oregon State. He spent eight years at Forest Grove and two years at Mountain View before landing at Summit as a math teacher and softball coach.
Carpenter's first year as athletic director (2018-19) coincided with Summit moving up to 6A from 5A, where the Storm had dominated, winning nine state championships in one school year (2015-16). During Summit's four-year run in 6A, the Storm won four state titles in girls cross country and single championships in boys soccer (2021) and boys golf (2022).
The Storm returned to 5A in 2022-23 and resumed its domination.
“We're fortunate enough to be successful at whatever level we're at,” Carpenter said. “It's so hard to win a state championship. Every title, it's extremely meaningful. Being fortunate to win as many as we have – whether we won baseball, which was our 100th, or boys swimming, which was our first – they still mean just as much.”
As athletic director, Carpenter took a hands-off approach with coaches.
“From the very first time that I coached, I learned to stay out of the way and not interfere,” he said. “My biggest thing was to not make life more difficult for them, but try to make it easier. With the coaches I have, and the kids I have, it's easy to do.”
Summit has ruled the Intermountain Conference for years, but a new challenger has emerged with the opening of Caldera in Bend in 2021. The Wolfpack won its first state championships this year with titles in girls track and boys track, infringing on territory long held by Summit, which has won 14 titles in girls track and seven in boys track.
Carpenter sees similarities to Summit in the rise of Caldera's athletic programs.
“It's really kind of following the same path where the first few years they struggled, then all of the sudden, they got their culture going, and they have their coaches really set, and their teams are taking off,” Carpenter said. “It's just added more competition. By opening a fourth high school in Bend, it's increased the amount of kids that can participate in sports in this area by a lot.”
Carpenter is succeeded as athletic director by Quinn McAndrews, Summit's girls tennis coach for the last four seasons. McAndrews has taught at Baker Web Academy in recent years.
As for Carpenter, he is adjusting to having free time after hosting about 1,000 contests in the last seven years.
“I'm going to do all the things that I've been putting off for the last seven years around the house,” he said. “My wife has a huge list that I can finally get to. And also, just relax.”
Retirements
Carpenter is among a handful of Oregon athletic directors retiring this year.
The group includes Jerry Buzcynski, a fixture at Willamina for more than four decades. He coached multiple sports since he started at the school in 1983, including a 16-year run as head boys basketball coach (1984-2000). He became athletic director in 1996.
Former Amity athletic director Derek Barnett has been hired to replace Buczynski.
Bryan Sorenson has stepped down at Mountainside. He took over as athletic director when the school opened in 2017 after 15 years holding the same position at Southridge.
"It was just time. We had the opportunity to move over to Bend, and we jumped on it," said Sorenson, who got a job at Bend Golf Club. "It was a positive experience. As I look back now, we definitely put Mountainside on the map. To leave Southridge to start something fresh was kind of weird, but no regrets."
Sorenson is succeeded by track coach John Gaffney, the former athletic director at Glencoe.
Mike Forrester has left North Bend, where he held the position for the last 15 years. Forrester, a North Bend graduate, coached the school's girls basketball team for 12 seasons, leading the Bulldogs to a state title in 2005, before becoming athletic director in 2010.
North Bend has hired Brandon Standridge to fill the spot. Standridge has served as athletic director at Creswell (2019-25) and Bandon (2015-19).
Clay Rounsaville, Grants Pass' athletic director since 2007, also has retired. He coached softball and wrestling at the school from 1998 to 2007. The school has filled the spot with Robert Lingo.
Other athletic director changes:
Former (new)
Westview – Troy Christiansen (Matt Bailie)
Tigard – Ryan Taylor (Jason Ashley)
Central Catholic – Patrick Chapman (Chris Palmer)
Oregon City – Trinity Gibbons (TBA)
West Salem – Wendy Stradley (Josh Thorp)
Sprague – Josh Thorp (Jim Miller)
Central – Bret Baldwin (Brandis Piper)
The Dalles – Billy Brost (James Taylor)
Horizon Christian (Tualatin) – Craig Burgess (Gary Hull)
Yamhill-Carlton – Brad Post (TBA)
Santiam – Clint Fortse (TBA)
C.S Lewis Academy – Steve Wallo (Kim Eubanks)
jerryu@osaa.org
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