Willamette Football Trio to Ride Coast-to-Coast in Honor of Beloved Friend

The group is also hoping to raise money and awareness for the ALS Association.

Willamette University student Kalan Morinaka died Nov 9th from ALS. Three of his friends will be taking part in a memorial bike ride across the country beginning next month. Photo Courtsey: www.coast2coast4kalan.net

(SALEM) - Willamette University student Kalan Morinaka was a devoted scholar, the valedictorian of his high school class and on a pre-med track in college.

He also was a longtime athlete, a high school football and wrestling star, a national competitor in judo, and a golfer.

Morinaka was an all league and all state selection at linebacker for the Nyssa Bulldogs three out his four years in high school.

He was also a four time state qualifier in wrestling for the Bulldogs and finished fourth in the state his senior year.

Morinaka was specifically gifted in Judo. He was a national champion in the sport at the age of eleven and faced a difficult decision at the end of high school.

Instead of pursuing the next level of involvement with Judo, Kalan chose to attend college and pursue his dream of becoming a doctor.

So when Morinaka’s friends at Willamette saw the 22-year-old go from a physically fit, active young man to someone who could barely move and talk in less than two years, it was a shock, and a heartbreak.

Morinaka, a senior from Nyssa, Ore., was past president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, supervisor of intramural sports on campus and a member of the psychology and chemistry clubs.

It was in the summer of 2005 when his mother noticed a slur in his speech, the first sign he had ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control.

ALS is a disease that typically hits people older than 40.

And when the cheerful, bright, Morinaka died Nov. 9th from the disease, his friends knew they had to honor him.

So his friends will be attempting a gargantuan feat of riding their bikes 3,300 miles coast-to-coast to raise awareness and money for the ALS Association.

Willamette seniors and football players Alex MacKenzie, Kevin Dean and Wesley Randall, all of whom were Morinaka’s fraternity brothers in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, will ride from San Diego to Miami starting Jan. 10th.

Jonathan Irizarry, also a senior, will serve as their coordinator at home, tracking their progress and overseeing their efforts from Salem.

Irizarry said that Morinaka was a phenomenal person and was always openhearted to everyone he met.

Kevin Dean, said Morinaka was one of a kind, always doing the right thing.

The group is currently training in Salem for the ride and collecting money to pay for their trip and donations to the ALS Association.

The trio hopes to compete their trip in 60 days.

Their goal is to raise $30,000 for the ALS Association; so far, they have collected $3,500.

The group has created a website, www.coast2coast4kalan.net, which includes bios of each of them, a description of Kalan, donation information and the trip itinerary.

The trio also plan to keep a blog on the site as they ride from sea to shining sea in honor of their beloved friend.