Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
The opportunity to receive a quality education, be close to home, continue competing in track & field and play football were the factors that drew 2022 Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Sonté Wong to McMinnville.
His collegiate career began at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, where he set two track and field school records and won four Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. Needing a greater challenge, Sonte’ headed to Linfield, calling it “a great fit for me because of the class size, location close enough to drive home for holidays and the family atmosphere on campus.”
The finest triple jumper in Linfield track & field history also a developed into a magnificent football player. Sonté was not only a talented athlete, he also grew to understand the psychology of sport. He came to understand that it wasn’t enough for him to simply perform well as an individual. In order to be completely successful, he needed to perform well as a contributing member within the team dynamic.
Former football coach Jay Locey remembers the transformation his star wide receiver underwent prior to the start of his senior season, saying, “Perhaps more than anyone I have been around, Sonté made a change in his mindset to be a team first player. It changed his play in a big way. That season he focused on just being his best in the role assigned on every play. His performance elevated.”
Skillwise, Locey calls Sonté “perhaps the fastest and quickest receiver in my tenure. He was a mismatch in 1-on-1 coverage. A great team player.”
In 2000, with the Wildcats sitting unbeaten at 5-0, Locey remembers Sonté coming to his office, saying, “‘Coach, I know I should feel good about us being 5-0, but really I feel empty.’ I paused, and then said, ‘Sonté, so do I.’”
“We had been very focused on the tasks at hand and needed to get back to why we loved the game. We made a point to blend camaraderie with the tasks from then on to keep the fun in the journey. We finished with an incredible run and Sonté was a huge element in the process, both athletically and as a team leader. I’m forever grateful for his reset, focus and for teaching me.”
The Wildcats went on to win the NWC championship that season with Sonté pulling in 38 receptions and scoring five touchdowns and earning first team conference honors as both a receiver and a punt returner. He finished his football career with nearly 1,500 all-purpose yards.
In the spring, he led the Linfield track & field program, earning NAIA All-America recognition at the NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. At the 1998 NAIA championship meet, he turned in two top-10 national finishes, taking fifth place in the triple jump (48-0¾) and earning ninth place in the long jump (22-6½).
His track coach, Garry Killgore, gives Sonté very high praise, saying, “There’s no doubt in my mind that Sonté Wong was the best all-around sprinter/jumper/hurdler that Linfield ever had. He should be in any conversation for that honor within the NWC. All anyone had to do was challenge him by underestimating him. I absolutely loved that quality in Sonté.”
Over the course of his two seasons on the track, Sonté achieved the rarest of feats, claiming NWC championships in five events: the 100 dash, 200 dash, long jump, triple jump and 4x100 relay. He remains the current record holder in the triple jump and ranks among Linfield’s top 10 in six events. His leap of 49 feet, 1 inch has remained the best triple jump mark in history going on 25 years.
Sonté currently lives in Delaware, Ohio, where he owns and operates Fast Fam LLC, a performance-based training business that works with teams and athletes. He has created an online nutrition store for athletes that’s dedicated to improving cellular health.
Since graduating in 2000, as a means to give back to his community, Sonté has coached middle school, high school, collegiate and post-collegiate athletes. He takes pride in sharing the Linfield core values with others: “I learned how to strive to be a better person than I was yesterday. That growth mindset has set me apart from the competition. Twenty-five years later, my choice to attend Linfield is still the best decision I have made in my life.”
