Grant Baker '17 Recruiting Profile

I am an athlete that would be a great fit for many programs, due to my strong work ethic on and off the track and course.  After a strong sophomore year of xc and track,  I was stricken with mono just as my junior year track season was beginning.  While many would have decided to quit, I continued to put in grueling offseason training to prepare for the season ahead.  Now that I am back running senior year, I am one of the fastest runners in my league (KingCo 4A in Washington State, outside of Seattle), and am continuing to cut my times down this season.  I am healthy and confident that great things lie ahead in my running career. This past XC season, I qualified for the Washington 4A State Meet, with a PR of a 16:26 this season at the Nike Portland XC Invite. In Track, I plan on running below 4:20 in the 1600 meter, and below 9:15 in the 3200 meter.

As a college athlete, I plan to run at a program where I can be both academically engaged, as well as compete/run at a high level, regardless of what type of school I go to. Whether it's being a top placing athlete in the NAIA, or at the NCAA Division I-III levels, I want running and the sense of accomplishment that accompanies the sport to carry with me through college, and after college into my professional and working life, where I plan to change the world around me by going into a policy making type of job in the federal government (EPA, Congress, Senate, etc).

I know my teammates will agree that outside of working hard, I regularly display a high level of integrity and character, while making sure I have fun as well.  As a student, I take lots of academic risks, with my course load consisting of six AP classes and an honors class throughout my high school career. More importantly, however, is that I don't take a hard schedule to impress anyone, but rather to focus on the content and skills taught in my courses.  

If I sound like someone you would like on your team, feel free to contact me, and I will write you back as soon as I can.

-Grant