Kentridge’s Ryan Carter and Kentlake’s Greg Ikeda have become the first athletes in the history of their schools to earn 12 letters – one in each of the three sports seasons all four years.
Carter’s came in cross country, wrestling and track. Ikeda got his in cross country, swimming and track.
Ryan Carter, Kentridge
Carter started running on his letter trek on his very first day at KR when he became part of the cross country team.
“After I got my first one, I thought that was pretty cool,” Carter said. “It kind of fell in place with wrestling, and it happened in track. Since the end of freshman year, (12 letters) was my goal.”
His first sport as a Charger became his favorite.
“I think I’m better at distance running than all the other things, said Carter, who might try to walk onto the cross country team at the University of Washington in the fall. “We have a lot of team traditions, and it’s just a real fun season.”
Greg Ikeda, Kentlake
Some quick math by Ikeda as a ninth-grader clued him in to the possibility of making a little history.
“We figured it out at the end of my freshman year when I got three letters, which I wasn’t really expecting,” Ikeda said. “We figured that since my class was the first freshman class at Kentlake and I was the only freshman to get three letters, I was the only one with that opportunity.”
Ikeda certainly is enjoying the 12-letter feat. But he also maintains a sense of humility and perspective.
“In cross country and track, my running partners have always been quite a bit faster than I am. On our swim team, there are some really good guys who made it to state,” he said.
“I never considered myself the best, so it’s an accomplishment.”
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