Tyler Clark has built up quite a trophy case – not only for himself, but for Lisbon High School as well.

The senior has been part of four state championship teams and collected six individual state titles in three different sports.

He is a winner.

In his first three years, he contributed to three team titles in cross country and one in wrestling. He is the defending Class C cross country individual champion, as well as returning champion for his weight class in wrestling.

This past spring, he doubled up as 1,600 and 3,200 meter champion in outdoor track for the second year in a row.

Saturday he’s hoping to add a couple more crowns at the Maine cross country championships at Leavitt High School. He is the individual favorite, while his team is vying for its fourth consecutive title.

Clark has a chance to finish his high school career with 10 individual state titles and be the most decorated Greyhound when he graduates.

“When I was a kid, I was always competing with my brother Troy,” Clark said. “We’d wrestle, play football or race against each other. It was a serious game. I don’t want to lose anymore. I accomplished what I have and want to keep going.”

“For Tyler, whether it’s a practice or a meet, it’s a daily exercise in excellence,” said Lisbon cross country coach Hank Fuller. “He expects it of himself.”

Clark was a football player growing up and, to this day, still misses playing on the gridiron. His brother convinced him to give up football for the cross country trails.

“(Troy) was the one that made me start running,” said Clark, whose brother also collected an arsenal of hardware for the school’s trophy case. “He pretty much forced me to run cross country.”

He’s resigned to playing pick-up football on the weekends. For the rest of the week, it’s all business.

“He expects to excel,” Fuller said. “He’s demanding of himself and loves to be pushed. If he has a weak point, he’s hyper critical of himself. When he doesn’t have a good race, he can be a little moody at practice for a day or two.”

“When I lose to people I don’t think I should, I keep it inside and train harder,” Clark said. “I know pretty much every race or match I lost over the last two years. I know every second of what happened, and what I could have done better.”

Clark is not just satisfied with being victorious. He often challenges himself and strives to do better. He keeps tabs on the other runners in the state and studies their times on various courses. He doesn’t do this just for himself, but keeps his teammates informed on who they should be running with in future races.

“I’m kind of a computer geek with the results of races,” Clark said. “Before races, I point who (his teammates) should be able to beat. I think they’re more comfortable in the race.”

When he was looking at schools to continue his education and running career, Clark isn’t looking for a college where he can come in and be one of the school’s top runners right away. That’s not challenging enough for him. One school that interests him is the University of New Hampshire. The Wildcats recently won their fourth American East title in six years. Competing at UNH would put Tyler in a similar position he found himself in as a high school freshman.

“My first two years I was running behind my brother, Jarry Cloutier and Dan Suthers,” says Clark. “I looked up to them and tried to catch them.”

Now he’s leading the pack.

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