Tomson Spink (foreground) is king of this court, at least for the time being. He is project engineer on Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center, and is showing it off to brother Scott (left, '94); wife Cara (Clark '96), with daughter Maddie; and sisterTheresa ('93) holding her daughter Alli.

By Dale Goodwin

Three of Tomson Spink's siblings left their marks on Gonzaga's athletic courts. Now Tomson ('96) is building a court of his own.

The affable 6-foot-8 civil engineer is project engineer for Garco Construction Co., the contractor building Gonzaga's new 6,000-seat McCarthey Athletic Center. Brothers Scott ('94) and Mark ('01) were part of teams that helped build a name for Gonzaga basketball. Sister Theresa ('98) was an outstanding volleyball player for the Zags. Tomson, a highly touted high school basketball player for Sehome in Bellingham, Wash., walked on at Gonzaga as a freshman, redshirted that year, and discovered that with the higher level of basketball talent being recruited that he'd be better off studying civil engineering full time. But he couldn't stay away from Gonzaga basketball.

As a sophomore he joined the Kennel Club, and by the time he was a senior he was the club's co-president.

"I just wanted to be close to the action. Being in the Kennel Club gave me the best seat in the house," Tomson said.

After graduating from Gonzaga, Tomson worked in Seattle for Bayley Construction as a project engineer, renovating high-end structures like Seattle's flagship Nordstrom store. Then he worked for Meridian Project Systems as an engineering software salesman in Northern California, which "I did not enjoy at all."

But his work put him in contact with Garco, which used Meridian's engineering software, and Tomson was hired as a project manager for the Spokane firm. He was finishing work on a project for Garco in East Wenatchee when the call came from headquarters to take on the Gonzaga arena project.

"I was just in the right place at the right time," Tomson said. "I couldn't ask for a better place to be. It has meant a lot to me to be a part of this project."

"And it couldn't have come at a better time," said brother Scott, who earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA from Gonzaga.

Tomson and his wife Cara (Clark '96) had just lost their 4-month-old son, Truman, to spinal muscular atrophy, a condition where the neuron cells don't develop properly, and fail to pass growth messages from the brain to the muscles.

"This project at Gonzaga was a godsend," said sister Theresa Dreves. "He was able to come home from Wenatchee, spend time with Cara and their 3-year-old daughter Maddie, and put his energy into a project that he really loved." On May 28, Cara gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Vivian Laine, who is thriving in the Spink household.

"Losing Truman, and now having a new baby in the family, it has really put everything into perspective," Tomson said. "We feel blessed to be right where we are."

And perhaps it may have a calming effect on Tomson.

"We have five kids in the family (oldest brother Joe graduated from University of Washington)," said Scott. "Tomson was right in the middle, and he was the rabble-rouser. He once picked a fight with Gonzaga Sports Information Director Oliver Pierce, who tried to calm down the rowdy Kennel Club one basketball night. Trainer Steve DeLong had to step in and break it up."

"I definitely instigated it," Tomson recalled. "I was out of control. Now that I'm older, I would probably have asked me to settle down, too."

In another Kennel Club escapade, Tomson was part of the infamous ZAG spell out, where students throw their bodies onto center court during a basketball timeout, and spell out ZAGS with their contortions. On this night, Tomson dove headfirst onto the court. He tore a sizeable gash in his chin, leaving blood on the floor and requiring a butterfly stitch by trainer DeLong, who by this time was getting to know Tomson pretty well.

But people couldn't help but love him.

"He is very strong-willed, but that said, he is the most loyal, loveable and huggable of all my siblings," said Scott. "He wears his emotions on his sleeve."

"He's not afraid to talk to anyone," continued Theresa. "In a society where it's often easier to look the other way, Tomson will greet any stranger regardless of their size, shape or color. All my friends love him."

So do those who have worked with him on the Gonzaga arena project.

"It's been fantastic to work on a project of this magnitude to the University with a Gonzaga grad who has such close ties to our program," said Athletic Director Mike Roth. "We know that Tomson not only is looking after the best interests of his employer, but he's also protecting the interests of his alma mater and something that his family has had a significant part in building."

So where will Tomson's seats be in the new arena?

"We won't have season tickets in the arena right away," Tomson said. "I still have student loans to pay off and, with a new baby in house, we'll take care of those things first. But we'll have them eventually."

And he can't wait. He says the building lays out perfectly for college basketball.

"It's intimate and designed to help Gonzaga win games," he said.

Ultimately, it's still the Kennel.