Summerville’s Thorsted Stadium Is Open

Tuolumne, CA — Summerville’s Thorsted Stadium was officially declared open today at a ceremony held at the field. The public, including several school officials,  students, as well as the stadium’s namesake, longtime educator and former School Superintendent Richard “Doc” Thorsted and his wife Frankie attended.

Thorsted says, “This is a superb stadium. I think it is the best high school stadium I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of high school stadiums! This is beautiful — everybody should be proud.”

Summerville senior and varsity fullback/linebacker Humphrey Quirie helped lead the the “Go Bears” cheer on crutches from his injury earlier in the season. When asked about the new facility, Quirie immediately retorts, “Oh, I love it, it is great! It is perfect, it is what Summerville needs.”

Jill and Skip Anderson, of Mi Wuk, representing three generations of family who have attended Summerville came out to watch, decked out in vintage school colors. Graduates of the class of 1966, they remembered attending the opening of the stadium in 1965. Jill Anderson says, “We are so thankful that it is finally here. Yea!”

Summerville District Superintendent Robert Griffith notes that, by design, the field and entire stadium area are made of synthetic materials. He explains, “We had a lot of trouble with the previous stadium, every time it rained, every time teams got on it.  It just didn’t last, at all. Then, it was worn out the entire rest of the year. So, now with this field, it is always going to be pristine.”

Griffith adds, “We’ve got to be careful with trash and things like that. But it is a surface that is going to last many years.” The rules about using the new stadium are on Summerville’s website here.

The JV soccer team will be the first to use the new field tonight. The varsity football game against Argonaut will be at home tomorrow at 7 p.m.