• VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/313087525/23409117c5
With nine All-American awards, it’s safe to say Kathie Cradduck Koch learned a lot about gymnastics during her many years as a competitor.
But it wasn’t until she got to Seattle Pacific when she learned about being a teammate. It’s the whole focus of the Falcons’ program, and once Cradduck understood it, she became an impactful part of that program.
“It took some time,” she acknowledged. “But by the end of (freshman) year, once we got into the postseason, it’s not about you. It’s about everybody.”
That freshman year ended with SPU taking third place in the national meet and Cradduck tying for fourth on the uneven parallel bars.
The next two years were a steady upward climb, reaching the apex in 1992 when the Falcons edged perennial national power Texas Women’s University for the national championship, and Cradduck earned a share of the all-around crown – the first Seattle Pacific gymnast to do so.
Now, she preaches that same team-first philosophy with a group of Falcons who wear the blue and green of nearby Woodinville High School.
“The one thing (SPU coach) Laurel Tindall really impressed upon me is a lot of teams have a good No. 1 and No. 2 – but that’s not what wins meets,” Cradduck said. “What wins meets is your No. 4 and No. 5.”
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (1990-93)
• Earned All-American at least once on each of the four individual events.
• Helped Falcons earn four national top-3 team finishes in her four years: a first, a second, and a pair of thirds.
• Two-time team MVP, as a junior in 1992 and again as a senior in 1993, and co-winner of SPU’s Ron Grady Athlete of the Year award in 1992.
• Guided nearby Woodinville High School to three straight Washington state team championships (2015, 2016, and 2017) and a second-place finish in 2018.
