Mike Witt Lakeside Year: Senior Sport: Cross Country

Lakeside’s weekly goal has changed significantly since Mike Witt’s freshman year.

The Eagles of 1994 entered cross country meets hoping to have a runner crack the top seven.

This year’s top-ranked Eagles entered each Great Northern League meet with the chance to sweep the top seven. Lakeside capped a perfect GNL season at Deer Park on Tuesday.

“We’d be disappointed if we didn’t win the state title,” Witt said.

Witt turned out for cross country his freshman year to please baseball coach Matt Sullivan, also the cross country coach. Witt, a catcher, drifted from baseball after a bout with pneumonia while trying to run track and play baseball at the same time.

Witt and teammates Perry Welch, Trevor Blackwell, Brett Larson, Shawn Close, and Trevor and Derek Smith, began to develop into serious runners. Lakeside placed eighth at the State A/B meet last year with no seniors.

Witt also helped a group of Eagles to first place in Category A at Washington State’s Math Day V two years ago. Witt, on course for a 4.0 grade-point average, will soon retake the Scholastic Aptitude Test and attempt to increase on his 1,400 score.

“There’s no question who our leader is,” Sullivan said. “He’s never failed to live up to what he’s preached.”

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