Mark Anderson, a Port Townsend High School graduate of the Class of 2022, enjoys sports of every kind, but his true passion lies in the flying disc sport of disc golf.

Whether it’s the process of throwing a perfect drive through the tree-lined disc golf course at H.J. Carroll Park or the gratifying, ringing sound one hears after gliding a putt into the basket, there’s nothing the senior loves more.

“My favorite thing to do is play disc golf; thats the goal in life for me. I really want to to be a professional disc golfer,” Anderson said.

As an athlete, competitor, and lover of the outdoors, the sport is the perfect fit for the young adult.

The disc golf enthusiast first got into the niche sport when his brother, Luke Anderson, invited him to try it out a couple years back.

“My brother got me into [disc golf] like two years ago; we went outside and there were some discs around,” he said.

Fast forward to today, and Anderson’s passion for the sport has expanded beyond a favorite hobby or pastime. He has real aspirations to keep at it in hopes of going pro.

On the weekends, he’s usually out on the course participating in local and regional tournaments and leagues.

Now that he has more free time, the graduation senior plans to pursue pro status full-time and work his way up the ranks.

Many days he can be found at H.J. Carroll Park gliding discs into the basket on his home course.

Anderson even dedicated his senior project to improve the disc golf course at the park.

“For my senior project, I remodeled the course,” he said. “The old sign (at the start of the course) was really beat up … I remodeled it, stained it, and made it more welcoming to people. It was a fun project.”

Although disc golf is Anderson’s cardinal passion, his second love in the athletic space has to be “the beautiful game,” otherwise known as soccer.

The graduate was a part of the East Jefferson Rivals this spring, playing as No. 9 in the midfield. 

“I’ve been playing soccer since about fifth grade; I’ve always had an interest for it,” Anderson said. “The high school team is great.”

“I really like the team here; everybody in it and the coach (Robert Cantley),” he said.

Beyond sports, Anderson enjoyed his time at Port Townsend High, though he attended many classes online through the school district’s OCEAN K-12 program.

“The teachers were really nice there and helped me throughout the whole year,” Anderson said of the OCEAN program. “I learned a lot of life skills in school and I learned a ton of information.”

“For me, it was a lot better [to do it] by myself … it was a lot easier and I learned a lot more,” he added.

Two of Anderson’s favorite teachers through the years have been Blue Heron Middle teacher Brett Navin and Port Townsend High teacher Tim Behrenfeld.

“I’d say they were both super nice people and always there to help,” the graduate said.

Now that high school is in the rear-view mirror, Anderson will continue to chase his dream to become Port Townsend’s first-ever professional disc golfer.