A three-sport star at Wapato, Mark Villegas has spent his life | Central Washington University Sports

Apr.28 – It’s less the years than the miles for Mark Villegas, who has racked up a lot despite never actually leaving Wapato.

“You know, I never hurt myself playing any of those sports in high school or college,” he said with a wry chuckle. “But now it’s catching up with me. It’s just time to slow down a little.”

Something.

With a reconstructed knee and following recent shoulder and foot surgeries, Villegas has decided that this will be his final season as Wapato’s boys’ and girls’ tennis coach, a position he has held for 25 years more as a passion than a profession enjoy. Turnout has always been high, league records always trended toward wins, and hundreds of kids who had never picked up a racquet before learned to compete and have fun.

“I wouldn’t mind being an assistant, but I’m getting older and the truth is the body is breaking down. I still love it so much though,” he said. “I still plan on coaching middle school (boys and girls) basketball because I really love it. I don’t want to lose that connection.”

58-year-old Villegas doesn’t just work in Wapato, he does Wapato. There was no one like him in Wolves’ rich sporting history, or possibly anywhere else, and after playing tennis at Yakima Valley College and Central Washington University, he finally came home.

It wasn’t a specific plan, but that kind of gravity was strong.

After a few years as a substitute teacher and coach in and around White Swan, Villegas returned to Wapato and spent nearly five years at the alternative PACE school. In autumn 1995 he switched to high school and took over the tennis program.

“People say it’s hard to go back because everyone knows you and the expectations are really high,” he recalled. “I felt that at first. It was a challenge working with all the teachers I had as a student. But ultimately, most of it works in your favor. I’ve loved it here ever since.”

As elitist as Villegas’ tennis game had become in college, he thrived with the grassroots nature of developing a tennis program in a less disadvantaged community. He was a good salesman.

“As a physical education teacher, I could see the kids running around and being exercised. However, kids have so many good opportunities in the spring that you really have to recruit,” said Villegas, who did very well, noting a growing turnout at times of 60 or more. “A lot of our kids have never played before and thought it was a country club sport. I would just say it’s fine, even if it’s tough and you have to help the family with the fields, play tennis and have fun before the summer with us. Once you get them out, keep them outside and watch them grow over the years – that’s definitely the part of it I love.

Occasionally, stories of their coach’s athletic legacy at Wapato have leaked out to these young athletes, who always enjoy the hometown stories. When they press for details, Villegas meets them with a smile and a bit of knowledge. But it’s difficult not to make it sound far-fetched, like an old fisherman describing the giants he caught years ago.

But the stories are true, children. For the record, here is the Villegas trilogy, an impressive string of achievements spanning three consecutive seasons:

– In the spring of 1981, after finishing fourth in his sophomore year the year before, Villegas became the Valley’s first state tennis champion in boys’ singles. It was actually an All Valley final as he avenged two previous losses to Toppenish’s Bill Treneer to win the Class AA state title 6-4, 6-4.

Villegas narrowly missed a senior repeat and finished third in the state, but that came at the end of an incredibly long senior year for Wolves.

— In game six of the football season later that year, Villegas set an all-time state record with 287 receiving yards in a game at Ellensburg. He caught touchdown passes from 72, 84, and 80 yards from Loren Hoppes, kicked a PAT, and caught a conversion pass. The state record stood for five years but remained a valley record for 27 years and still ranks third.

A week earlier, it had hit the 20s in Ellensburg, so Villega’s mother bought him thermal underwear for the game. But a warm Chinook breeze blew through that night and he shrugged off layers between his epic fangs.

– Then came basketball, and in the final game of the season, the 5-foot-9 guard broke Bill Douglas’ single-game record with 43 points in an 87-85 district loss to rival Toppenish. It was a tough road to end his senior season, but Villegas received a call from Douglas’ coach Russ Insley to say he had broken the venerable record by one point. So that helped.

This record was also stable for 35 years.

After graduating, Villegas was not done with several sports. He played basketball in Yakima Valley and won the NWAC’s 3rd singles title as a freshman. The next year, he started all season for the basketball team and finished runner-up at the NWAC tennis championships in #1 singles and #1 doubles. In Central Washington, his only focus was tennis, although Hall of Fame basketball coach Dean Nicholson tried to recruit him.

Throughout his life, these were the sporting pleasures that shaped him. Even now, as he’s slowing down, Villegas is as involved as he can be. He doesn’t have to worry about losing that “connection” because it will always be there.

“I’ve been doing basketball in middle school for 12 years and I absolutely love it,” he said. “It’s been eight weeks and the kids are so excited and energetic. Best of all, as they get older and into high school, I can watch them on the weekends. I’m enjoying it so much and it reminds me that this really was the place for me.”

Reach Scott Spruill at [email protected]

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