Hall of Fame Inductees

BEN TUGEND
2007
FOOTBALL, TRACK

Ben Tugend completed an outstanding Cruiser career in 2007 after excelling in football and track. As a running back in football Ben carried 405 times for a total of 2637 yards and 19 touchdowns during his career. This total included an amazing game in 2006 where he carried the ball 48 times for 306 yards and 4 touchdowns in an Eatonville 42-
30 victory over Foster High School.

In track, Ben placed 5 th in state in 2004 as a member of the4x100 meter relay team. The following year Ben was the state champion in the 100 meter dash (11.6 seconds) and the 200 meter dash (23.3 seconds). He also finished 3 rd in the 400 meter dash as Eatonville finished 3 rd in the state track meet. In 2006 he finished 4 th in the 100 meter
dash and 5th in the 200 meter dash.

Holding the school record in the 200 meter dash and many accomplishments in football, Ben was named the Eatonville High school Athlete of the Year in 2007.

 

MATTHEW DUNNING

1987
FOOTBALL, TRACK

Matt Dunning was an outstanding athlete who played for the Cruisers during the mid- 1980s. In football Matt was an offensive and defensive lineman who was a key contributor on the 1985 state championship team. He was named to the all-league second team. The following year he was again a key contributor on the team that reached the state quarterfinals in football and he was named to the first team of the all-league team , the TNT All-Area Team, and to the first team of the All-State Team. In track, Matt qualified for the state track meet in the shot put.

Matt was offered football scholarships by Oregon, Oregon State, Boise State and Eastern Washington. Being also an excellent student, he was also recruited by Ivy League schools Princeton, Brown and Dartmouth. Matt accepted a scholarship to Dartmouth where he would earn Second Team All Ivy League honors as a junior before suffering an injury in his senior year.

Matt has enjoyed a career brokering sale of multi-hull sailboats. He currently lives in Tacoma and has helped launch the Nisqually League’s newest football program at Annie Wright High School. Matt is serving as the defensive and offensive line coach in this developing program.

 

JOHN NORDSTROM
1971
FOOTBALL, TRACK

John Nordstrom was an outstanding Eatonville athlete during the early 1970s. Captain of both the football and basketball teams in both his junior and senior years John was named to the all-league team in football in 1970 and to the all-league team in basketball and in track in 1971.

In football, John threw 16 touchdown passes in his senior year without throwing an interception as the Cruisers went 6-3 in an era before there were football playoffs. (He threw 6 touchdown passes in a single game) In basketball, John set a school career scoring record with 987 points in three years (before the advent of the three-point
shot). In track, he was the district shot put champion.

John passed away in 2023.

 

MACHAELA (GRADDY) SWARTOUT

2014
SOCCER, TRACK

Machaela Swartout was an outstanding soccer and Track athlete in the early part of the 2010s. In soccer she scored the second most goals in school history with 103. She also had 39 assists in her four-year varsity career. In her freshman year she sored the second most goals in the SPSL 2A League and was an SPSL all-league honorable
mention. In her sophomore year she a captain and team Offensive Player of the Year. She was named to the SPSL 2A all-league second team. By her junior year she was named the Nisqually League Offensive Player of the Year and to the first team of the WIAA all-state team. She was also named Athlete of the Month by the Tacoma Athletic Commission. In her senior year she was again named to the WIAA All-State First Team. She also repeated as the Nisqually Offensive Player of the Year as the Cruisers advanced to the state 1A quarterfinals. She was named the Tacoma Athletic
Commission Athlete of the Year and was named to the Tacoma News Tribune All-Area First Team. She was a league scholar athlete all four years of her career at EHS.

Machaela was equally outstanding in track and field. She was a four year letter winner and participant in district events at both the AA and A levels. As a sophomore she placed in the 100,200 and 400 meter sprints at the AA West Central District track meet and advanced to the AA State Championships in the 200 and 400 meter sprints.

Machaela placed in three events at the 1A Tri-District Track Meet and took 9 th place in the 400 at the state track meet and was a member of the 5 th place 4x100 relay team. In her senior year she placed in four events at the 1A Tri-District Track Meet and was a member of the sprint relay teams that took 5 th and 6 th at the WIAA 1A State
Championships.

During her career at Eatonville Machaela held school records in the 200, 400, 4x100 and 4x200 races. She was named the Tacoma Athletic Commission Athlete of the Year in 2014.

Following graduation, Machaela continued her athletic career at Pacific Lutheran University. In her first year of soccer she appeared in all 20 games, scoring 6 goals. She was named All-Northwest Conference Honorable Mention. Her sophomore year shestarted all 20 games, was named to the NWC First Team, was the NWC Offensive Player of the Year and was named to the NSCAA All West Region First Team. Her junior year she led the conference in goals scored, game-winning goals, and most points. Once again she made the All NWC First Team, was NWC Offensive Player of the
Year, made the NSCAA All West Region First Team. The Lutes made it to the first round of the NCAA Division III Soccer National Championships.

In her senior year the Lutes made it to the second round of the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. Machaela repeated all of the honors from her junior season and also became an NSCAA All-American.

In track, Machaela began her career competing in the heptathalon and qualified for the league championships in 8 different events and placed 8 th in the 400m and was on relay teams that placed 4 th . The following year she was a team captain and qualified for the league title competition and 4 other events. The Lutes finished 6 th in the 4x100
relay.

In her junior year she was named to the NWC All-Conference team as she finished 2nd in the javelin and qualified for the Division III national championships. She broke the PLU women’s javelin record and was named the PLU Field Athlete of the year. Machaela would cap off her track career at PLU repeating all the honors she won as a
junior and adding a NCAA Division III national championship in the javelin. She was also named the Lute Career Achievement Award Winner for 2017. She left PLU with 8 total varsity letters in soccer and track and field and the school record in the javelin.

Machaela currently teaches and coaches in the Puyallup School District. Machaela and her husband Erik live in the Eatonville district and help coach the track team.