May Tornado Wrecked Field, Tries to Wreck Season

Darren Brown, News 9

GUTHRIE, Oklahoma -- When a large tornado touched down in west Guthrie last May, it tore up the city's only soccer field.  Now it's wrecking the season.

Guthrie's spring soccer league ended just a few days before the tornado hit, and the fields were empty.  They're still empty today, but not by choice.

A large container that held goals and the soccer club's newly-purchased paint machine was rolled over the field by the storm into some nearby trees.  When it rolled across, it left large ruts in the field.  The concession stand was also destroyed, along with some fence line and several bleachers. 

"We drove by it and saw it was destroyed," said twelve-year-old Larissa Collins, who played at the field.  "This was about 15 to 20 minutes after it started."

Those few minutes of destruction have turned into months of work for Guthrie's soccer club.  Several teams have been to the field and helped clean up what they could.  Only a couple of goals were salvageable and just one bleacher remains intact.

Kaitlyn High is sad about the field's condition because soccer was her distraction while her father has been serving in Afghanistan.

"He would help me at home for practice, for like the off season," Kaitlyn said.  "Now that he's gone I just have to practice alone."

Kaitlyn's mother, Sherrie, also is concerned about the upcoming fall season and the lack of a decent field.

"It gives 'em something else to concentrate on instead of concentrating on the fact that they're missing Dad," High said.  "You just have to find things to keep the kids busy."

The city of Guthrie owns the fields and plans on replacing the fencing, concession stand, and bleachers soon.  However, there's no timeline for the work, and they plan on using FEMA dollars for reimbursement.

Kaitlyn just wishes that her dad were here to help.

"He would actually be out here picking up probably every weekend without even thinking about it," Kaitlyn said.