Thomas Crosley, a 15-year-old Redmond resident who is about to enter Redmond High School, enjoyed a three-year sports career at Redmond Junior High unlike any other.

Crosley was able to play all six sports offered by the school: Football, baseball, tennis, wrestling, basketball and track and field, at the varsity level.

Spurred on by a love for baseball and wanting to expand his horizons, Crosley was able to redefine the meaning of a “well-rounded” athlete.

“I just like trying new stuff,” explained Crosley. “I started out playing just baseball in seventh grade, and kind of got pushed into the other ones from some of my friends, my parents and coaches.”

Out of all the sports he played, Crosley said he was most comfortable on the baseball diamond. He currently plays in the Redmond Select League, and hopes to continue to excel in the sport through high school and college, but admits he struggled the most with wrestling.

“Wrestling was the most difficult because it’s the sport I’ve never really known at all before I tried it and joined the team,” Crosley said of his stints on the mat. “I made JV my first year, and I made varsity this year.”

Crosley, who won district championships in baseball and basketball during his tenure at Redmond Junior High completed his amazing feat by making the No. 1 doubles team this year on the tennis squad, under unusual circumstances.

He had suffered an injury to his right arm during the baseball season, which forced him to hold the racket left-handed.

That was not a problem for the ambidextrous Crosley, who can not only switch-hit, but switch-pitch.

The recent Grizzly graduate also served as an inspiration to other students by maintaining his status as an honor student in the face of numerous sports obligations, and is also well on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout for Troop 550, where Crosley serves as a Senior Patrol Leader.

“It’s just a lot of time working hard on both things, on school and on sports… a lot of dedication,” said Crosley, who puts in a lot of volunteer hours through his involvement with the school’s Leadership club. “This year I started a project where we’re building dugout roofs. Some softball players came up to us in a meeting and asked about it, so I managed that project and we have one of four built right now, and we’re going to finish the other three before the summer’s over.”

Looking forward to his upcoming years as a Mustang at Redmond High School, Crosley admits that trying to duplicate his feat of lettering in every sport is unrealistic, and has chosen to specialize in two.

“In high school I’m going to play just football and baseball,” he said. “I’m cutting back.”