Hamlet Nalbandyan
GLENDALE -- Kevin Witt has moved onto bigger and better things since
leaving the Glendale High boys' water polo program in 1998.
Not only has the 20-year-old, considered among the greatest athletes
ever from Glendale High, led his college team, Loyola Marymount
University, in scoring the past two years, but he's also made a big name
for himself in the international circuit as well.
Last summer, Witt was part of the U.S. team that participated in the
Pan American Junior Championships in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
It will be more of the same this summer as Witt, along with his U.S.
squad, will partake in the 11th annual Federation Internationale De
Natation Amateur (FINA) Junior Men's Water Polo World Championships in
Istanbul, Turkey, starting today.
The U.S., one of 24 countries participating, opens with Yugoslavia.
The event will conclude Aug. 19.
Witt left his home in Glendale Aug. 1 to begin training for the World
Championships with his U.S. teammates in Greece. The driver will be a key
member of the squad, like he has been with Loyola Marymount.
As a freshman with the Lions, Witt joined his brother, Kyle, in
leading Loyola Marymount to a school-best 22-9 season. He led the team
with 63 goals, 69 points -- which included six two-point goals -- and was
second in assists with 32 and added 43 steals.
The 69 points, which earned him second-team All-Western Water Polo
Assn. honors, ranked him ninth on the school's single-season list.
Witt's sophomore year included much of the same. Loyola Marymount went
17-11, thanks largely to the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder.
Witt led the team with 57 points, 43 steals and 36 assists, earning
him All-America and second-team All-WWPA honors.
Of course, all this success comes as no surprise to the Nitro faithful
who followed Witt's career at Glendale.
As a senior, Witt was named the CIF Southern Section Division III
co-Most Valuable Player after leading Glendale to a 21-6 record and its
first Pacific League title in school history.
The championship was also the first for the school since 1979, when it
participated in the Foothill League.
Witt's senior year highlights included 128 goals, 101 assists and 164
steals.
