For Woodland senior Garret Reynolds, there's a sport for every season

A 5-foot-10 frame buried beneath a bushel of short blonde hair, Garret Reynolds looks like your average high school kid.

But the Woodland senior has molded himself into something so much more.

For every season, there's a sport for Reynolds, and then some. A four-year letterman in baseball and basketball, a two-year all state runner in cross country and a member of the Cardinals' inaugural track and field team -- Reynolds has explored every boys sport Woodland has to offer. On top of that, he's maintained a 4.4 grade-point average and is the valedictorian of this year's class.

"It's difficult," Reynolds said. "It wears me out, and I like to think of myself as an Energizer Bunny, somebody that can't run out of energy. I'm always on the go and always on the move. It's tough, but I can balance it effectively. ... A lot of it came from my parents. My parents instilled in me to be the best in everything, no matter what I do. Academically and athletically, that's always my goal."

There's a fire and competitiveness that separates Reynolds from his opponents. Some love it while others hate it, but it's impossible to ignore.

"He wants to be able to beat everyone at everything, and people don't always love that. But it leads to excellence. That's definitely the case for him," Woodland cross country and track and field coach Ryan Layton said. "He's got this drive that he ought to be able to do anything that anyone else can do and maybe more. And it comes true a lot."

Competitive by nature

Garret Reynolds poses for a photo. (Glenn Landberg)

Reynolds started playing baseball and basketball at a young age. His brother, Kyle, played both sports for Woodland and went on to compete at the Division II level with Maryville University in St. Louis, and his father, Scott, was a 1981 graduate from Delta High School where the primary sport was basketball. He credits his brother and father as the origin of his ambitious nature.

"From them, I've been instilled a competitive mentality, no matter what I do," Reynolds said. "Heck, we had a kickball game out here [Thursday], and we got down 2-0. And I was mad. It doesn't matter what we do. If I'm playing video games with my friends, I want to win."

Woodland baseball coach John Craig said he's never seen a player like Reynolds, who possesses a wealth of knowledge regarding every sport he plays.

"If we went out here and played flag football, he'd be the man. It doesn't matter what it would be," said Craig, who's in his second year as the Cardinals' coach and also spent two seasons helping Reynolds on the basketball court. "He's a pretty special kid, and at the end of the basketball season, I told him I'd never seen a 5-foot-10 white kid who's just so good at everything he does."

Reynolds' accomplishments off the court have been carried into the classroom as well. He believes sports have opened the door to striving for excellence in all areas of his life.

"I've always believed that hard work can get you wherever you want it to. Whatever level you want to be, hard work will get you there," Reynolds said. "One of my favorite quotes comes from Tim Duncan. It says, 'Good, better, best. Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best.'"

For as much confidence Reynolds exhibits, there's still a humility he believes originates from his faith.

"I've always been told that to be good, you have to be confident in your abilities to succeed, but the humility comes from my religion," Reynolds said. "I'm a Christian, and I realize that I have everything due to God. I realize that everything I do is a tribute to him. I have to put him first on the pedestal, not me."

Becoming a leader

Woodland's Garret Reynolds finishes first in the boys cross country race of the Oak Ridge Invitational Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 in Oak Ridge. (Fred Lynch)

As a sophomore, Reynolds quickly emerged as a leader on the Cardinals' cross country team.

It was his first year on the team, and Reynolds finished as Woodland's top runner at the first meet of the season before the success continued into the next week. Layton said Reynolds' impact was felt immediately.

"We had a couple guys who had been to the state meet, but he immediately stepped in and was our top guy from the first race on," Layton said. "His work ethic just set a new level, a new expectation. The other guys just kind of followed his lead, and even as a sophomore, I would have called him our team leader."

It wasn't until Reynolds' junior year that Layton believes he became the Cardinals' "unquestioned leader."

"When we were making a push to try to make it to the state meet and were making our push to try to win our first conference championship, he was talking to the younger guys and trying to get them out there in the offseason running with them," said Layton, who's coached the Cardinals' cross country program for all nine years of its existence. "He was doing all those things for both of the last two offseasons."

Reynolds wrapped up his junior and senior seasons as conference champion and twice claimed all-state honors, finishing 25th and 21st, respectively, at the Class 2 state meet. He also helped lead Woodland to consecutive conference titles.

The leadership has also carried over to the baseball field where Reynolds has played a number of positions, including shortstop, catcher and pitcher.

Craig said Reynolds knows "just about everything" when it comes to baseball.

"He's like another coach on the field," Craig said. "I rely on him to even sometimes just call pitches for me from shortstop, just to make it easy so I can deal with the defense and not have to call pitches. But he just knows so much about everything, it doesn't matter what sport it is. He's kind of amazing.

Woodland's Garret Reynolds throws to first base for an out in the second inning against Advance Thursday, May 7, 2015 in Marble Hill, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

"If he wanted to be a coach, he'd be a great one, but he's going to do better things."

Reynolds and teammate Landon Johnson are the two senior leaders on this year's team, but being a leader is nothing new for Reynolds.

"It's kind of my role that I accept. I love being the leader," Reynolds said. "I love people looking to me for advice and guidance on the court and off the court."

Then there's basketball.

Reynolds earned first-team all-conference honors in his final varsity season and was named a boys basketball finalist for the Semoball Awards. One of the top scorers in Southeast Missouri, Reynolds averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in leading the Cardinals to the district title game, where they dropped a 71-62 decision against Charleston. Without one of its leading scorers in 6-foot-6 Zach Beel, Woodland faced a tall task against a Delfincko Bogan-led Charleston team, but Reynolds netted 20 points and kept the Cardinals in contention until the end.

Reynolds has also been able to develop throughout his high school career despite adapting to a new system from a new coach in each of his four seasons.

"Developing a new system every single season has been tough, but this group of seniors has a great attitude. That's the thing. Some of our past classes just haven't had the 'go-get-it' mentality that we have, and a lot of it started from when we were young. We wanted it at a young age, and it developed into our high school careers," Reynolds said. "When we did get new coaches every year, we still had that drive to win every time. Even though it was tough learning a new system, we still had that togetherness as a team and as a family."

The next journey

Woodland's Garret Reynolds drives down the court in the fourth quarter of a consolation championship game against Advance, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014, during the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. Woodland won 56-52. (Laura Simon)

It should come as no surprise that Reynolds isn't willing to give up sports at this point.

He plans to attend Southeast Missouri State on a full-ride academic scholarship and pursue a nursing degree to become a flight nurse, traveling in helicopters to help patients. Reynolds aspires to join the prestigious program, which accepts only 35 students every semester among hundreds of applicants.

Furthermore, Reynolds hopes to walk on as a member of the men's basketball team. He's been in contact with assistant coach Jamie Rosser and was able to meet new head coach Rick Ray on Saturday, during which he scrimmaged with some of the players.

"I don't necessarily need any scholarship dollars, and basketball has always been my top sport and favorite sport to play," Reynolds said. "I'd like to continue the journey at SEMO close to home where my family can come and support me."

Reynolds has also spent a lot of time working on improving in combined track and field events. He said he plans to work with Layton over the summer and would like to explore the possibility of competing in college.

Since coming to Woodland in the third grade, Reynolds departs as one of the school's most distinguished alumni. He graduated Friday and gave a speech for his fellow classmates to remember.

"I'm going to be excited to start my next journey and step in my life of going to college and getting a job and everything, but there's also the security the school has offered me. Now I've got to become an adult. That's tough," Reynolds said. "It's going to be a new transition. I'm going to be happy to start the new journey but also kind of sad that this will be the last time all of us are together as a senior class.

"I'm going to miss this school a lot."

Reynolds also leaves behind a handful of coaches who will undoubtedly miss everything they've grown to expect from Reynolds -- an unyielding presence that's nearly impossible to replace.

"He's just a complete individual, and he's going to succeed with everything he does for the rest of his life," Craig said. "It's going to be tough on all of us coaches to not have him around next year."