Pivot to track pays off for Cape's Jackson Witvoet

Cape Central graduate Jackson Witvoet's mid-spring pivot from baseball to track paid off as he signed a letter of intent to run track collegiately at Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday, June 5, at Cape Central High School.

"I think it's really cool that I grew up watching SEMO sports and finally working hard for the past years in the weight room and on the track, I can now be an athlete that the community gets to support," Witvoet said.

Witvoet chose SEMO over Indiana State and Xavier. He has been on the Redhawks' radar since the beginning of the season. He realized track was the sport with a future when he broke the school record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.85.

Witvoet was a key part of the Tigers' 4x100-meter relay that set a school record when they won the Class 5 District 1 championship. Witvoet also qualified for the state meet as a javelin thrower and finished 12th with a mark of 152-09. He was also in the 4x200m relay that finished 11th in Class 5.

At the conclusion of the spring, he leaves Cape Central with two school records, the team's MVP award and the program's silver ranking in the javelin and 4x200m relay. He won the SEMO Conference championship in the 100m and his two relays won both conference and district titles this season.

Witvoet entered the spring on both the track and baseball teams, where he was the only senior. He left the diamond after senior day with a 3.23 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. He could've left baseball behind sooner to focus more on track early on, but he has no regrets.

"A lot of people thought I would (leave) but they also commended me for sticking baseball out as long as possible and not bailing because I was having success in track and not in baseball," Witvoet said. "I'm very lucky that I got to have that chance because most athletes don't."