Performance: Brimley's Austin Plotkin
October 25, 2019
Austin Plotkin
Brimley senior – Cross Country
Plotkin finished an accomplishment Saturday that has been achieved in Michigan high school boys cross country only once before. By winning the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final championship for the fourth time, Plotkin joined Central Lake legend Ryan Shay as the only other four-time boys champion (LP Class D 1993-96), earning the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.”
Plotkin’s time of 17:20.7 was nearly 11 seconds ahead of the field at Gentz’s Golf Course in Marquette and capped an undefeated season that included for the first time a championship as well at the Mackinaw City Invitational on Sept. 26. Plotkin entered this fall with a personal record (PR) of 16:50 and lowered it to 16:32. This season’s Finals winning time actually was just the third-fastest of his four, further backing up Brimley athletic director Hugh Clarke, who called Plotkin arguably the school’s most dominant athlete over the course of a four-year high school career. Plotkin also owns an Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals track championship in the 3,200 from 2017 and will run that race plus the 800 and 1,600 in the spring. He holds all of his school’s cross country records and is part of two record-holding track relays. Plotkin also plans to play basketball this winter for the first time since freshman year.
Also worth applauding: After an admittedly disappointing freshman year academically, Plotkin has raised his grade-point average a full point over the last two years and is considering a number of options athletically and academically at the college level. He’s planning to study business administration and finance.
Coach Wilson Hester said: “When I first saw him as an eighth grader, I could tell right away he had ability, but he didn’t know pacing or how to run. He would just go out and run fast or slow with not a lot of pacing involved. Once we got him doing proper training and technique work, and he was learning how to pace, he flourished. … He’s brought lots of recognition to the school. He’s been leading the track and cross country teams for the past four years, and everybody in the region and Upper Peninsula knows who he is. … He’s just scratching the surface of what he can do. He has some tremendous potential. I think at the next level, with more mileage, more of a training season – our seasons are so short up here, it’s difficult to get them to where their absolute potential can be – I have no doubt (he’ll continue to improve).”
Performance Point: “In the last probably quarter mile of the race, I definitely thought back to what everyone had said to me when I won freshman year,” Plotkin recalled of Saturday. “They said, 'Oh my goodness, you have so much potential. You could probably do this four years.' And I remember I was scoffing, thinking no, there will be another up-and-comer, somebody who can beat me. And looking back I remember Mr. Clarke told me if I win four years in a row, as soon as possible I'll be in the Brimley Hall of Fame. And just one of the things that came to me in that quarter mile, I was just thinking, one, how wrong I was – I thought that I couldn't do it, and here I was doing it. And plus, also, I was just super-excited to have done it, because it was such a feat – only one other person has done it.”
No shot at putting: “Eighth grade track was my first time running. I actually wanted to do shot put because my summer job the summer before was moving split wood for my grandpa. And then my coach Justin Carrick asked me, he said ‘Hey, we've got nobody doing (the 3,200). You're scrawny. You can do it. We just need someone to run the 2-mile. I don't care what you get – you've just got to run it.’ In middle school it's the first event, and I won it. I ran like an 11:20 that day, which is really bad for eighth grade. He took me out of shot put and put me in the mile and 800, and I went undefeated all the way until the last two meets, which coincidentally were the only two meets we got medals for and Jimmy Storey from Pickford beat me in the 800 both of those meets. So I lost two races and by the end of the season I was down to 10:55 for my 2-mile time. … I fell in love with winning. Once I had a little bit of something to do it for really; now that I had a shoebox of medals, I was like yeah, I can do this. And then I got a text from my friend over the (eighth-grade summer) that was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you come do cross country? It’s like track in the woods.’”
Just getting started: “Coming into it as a freshman, I didn't know that I would have the potential to win. My coach told me first race, do top 20. And I won. From that point, there weren't too many races that I lost. And the ones I did, basically the meet that I lost consistently every year was the Mack(inaw) City Invitational where we ran against Harbor Springs, Petoskey and Gaylord St. Mary. And even at those meets I got second or third. And this year was my first year that I won it. … It came to me naturally as a freshman, and as the years went on I realized I had to do a lot more offseason work and I had to do a lot more in-season work not only to keep my speed, but to go faster. This was my first summer that I actually ran consistently all summer, so this season I came out and broke my PR first meet and then consistently stayed within the mid 16:30s.”
Bays on a run: “When I came in as a freshman, our cross country program was a club. Cross country was out of the picture for a lot of students, and a lot of people didn't want to participate. And track, the year that I was in eighth grade, high school track I think had 11 participants. So it's amazing to see not only how I, but how the entire cross country team has progressed. This season we had about 15 consistent runners for cross country, and last track season … I think by the end we had 25 participants, which is pretty impressive considering we had just 11 four years ago.”
Numbers games: “I think I want to run a business, or, I really like numbers; I’m in accounting right now, and I love balancing journals. So one thing I could do is be a financial officer at a bank, which is a pretty cool deal. … I definitely love in physics, when we have equations, just trying to figure out the mystery behind it and when you can’t make something add up.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Past honorees
Oct. 17: Jack Spamer, Brighton cross country - Report
Oct. 10: Kaylee Maat, Hudsonville volleyball - Report
Oct. 3: Emily Paupore, Negaunee cross country - Report
Sept. 26: Josh Mason, South Lyon soccer - Report
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Brimley's Austin Plotkin pushes toward the finish at Saturday's Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Middle) Plotkin runs with a pack earlier in the race. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
Speedy & Skilled, Krueger Again Boosting Niles' Cross Country, Tennis Teams
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
October 3, 2023
NILES – On any autumn weekday afternoon, Aiden Krueger can be found using his legs to carry him across the campus of Niles High School.
After cross country practice, the Vikings' senior literally runs over to the tennis courts to work out with the boys tennis team.
The fall dual-sport athlete has managed to make a significant impact on both programs during his career at Niles.
In cross country, Krueger is a two-time Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals qualifier and recently broke a long-standing school record in the 5,000-meter (3.1 mile) race.
In Saturday's Berrien County Meet held at Lake Township Park in Bridgman, Krueger's first-place time of 15:55.5 broke Jeff Ort's 33-year record of 16:05 set in 1992.
Breaking the school record was one of two main goals that Krueger, the Vikings' No. 1 runner, and his head coach Tony Todd and assistant coach Jason Todd set prior to the start of the 2023 season.
"It felt great to take down a school record that's been there for so long. On the day of the Berrien County Meet, my coaches and I talked about how I felt that day. They could tell I was feeling really good, so we went for it," Krueger said. "I felt great the entire race, and my body responded very well. My coaches were at the one and two-mile mark to let me know where I was at. I was able to squeeze out a record time, and the feeling of being able to share that moment with my family, coaches and teammates was unmatched. It's a day that I'll cherish for a very long time."
While Krueger always has shown a natural ability for running, he soon realized he needed to increase his offseason training in order to reach his career goals.
"Aiden is naturally gifted. He broke the eighth-grade two-mile record in cross country, so we knew he was going to be a special runner. What we didn't know at that time was how strong of a runner he was in terms of his mental preparedness. He was a quick study coming into the program as a freshman, but natural ability will only take you so far. There is a lot more that goes into becoming an elite distance runner," Tony Todd said.
Despite running very little over the summer prior to the start of his freshman season, Krueger still managed to post some respectable times in the 17:20s, but he narrowly missed qualifying for the Finals.
Following a couple of years of running track & field for Niles, and with running higher mileage the last three summers, Krueger feels he has prepared himself well enough to attain his ultimate goal of earning all-state (Top 30) at this year's Finals on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Michigan International Speedway.
"Aiden isn't afraid of hard work. He ran 55 miles per week this summer, and up to this point we haven't backed him off from that number very much," said Niles' head coach. "We've been concentrating on consistency, and once the state meet is about a month away we'll start him on more speedwork."
Krueger, a three-time all-Wolverine Conference and all-Regional runner as well, has the opportunity to graduate as one of Niles' most decorated athletes ever with 14 varsity letters.
Well-respected by his teammates, Krueger was selected as one of the Vikings' team captains this fall.
"Aiden is a very positive person and is always encouraging his teammates," said Niles' head coach.
Entering Tuesday's Wolverine Conference tri-meet in Sturgis with the host Trojans and Otsego, Krueger hadn't lost a league race yet and finished first individually in five of Niles' first eight meets. He ran 16:40 or better in five of those meets as well.
As the season progresses and Krueger prepares for this weekend's prestigious Portage Invitational, he knows what he has to do to reach those goals.
"Right now it's real important for me to get out fast and get into a good position so I can figure out when exactly I need to sit back and when I need to move up," Krueger said.
"As we reach the bigger meets like conference and Regionals, there are a lot of good runners. My coaches help me familiarize myself with who is at those races and who I need to go out and run with. I thank God who gave me the ability to run, along with the support of my coaches and family."
Krueger plans to end his competitive running career once he has finished high school. His parents, Robert and Korrie Krueger, own Milano's Pizza in Niles, and his future plans are to help out with the family business or attend trade school.
Krueger didn't play tennis as a freshman, but made an immediate impact as a doubles player the last two years on the varsity. Since cross country is Krueger's priority sport, Niles head boys tennis coach Jill Weber felt it would be more beneficial for the team if he played singles this fall.
"Aiden was real receptive to the change. As coaches, we just thought it would be easier to replace him in singles rather than have a doubles partner be forced to play with someone they weren't familiar with," said Weber, who has coached the Niles boys team the last 18 seasons and the girls squad for 20 years.
Krueger was sporting a record of 13-2 and was undefeated in the Wolverine at No. 2 singles at the end of last week. His only losses came in nonleague matches to Coldwater and Kalamazoo Christian.
"Aiden has an extraordinary work ethic. He works really hard, but at the same time he enjoys it and has fun. He usually only needs two or three games to figure out what he needs to do to win a match," Weber said. "I have so much confidence in him to get the job done."
Weber is amazed at how Krueger juggles his time off the court with school and cross country.
She used Saturday, Sept. 9, as an example of his commitment to both sports.
Krueger started that day competing with the cross country team at the Kalamazoo Loy-Norrix Mini-Meet, a race he won in a then personal-best time of 16:31.4. He then jumped in the car with his parents, who drove him to Mattawan where the Vikings' tennis team was competing in a tournament.
"Mattawan was gracious enough to put Aiden on one of the later courts so he could play all three of his matches once he was finished with his cross country meet," Weber explained.
Krueger won all three of his tennis matches.
"That was a pretty exciting day for Aiden. He just takes it all in stride and isn't a showboat on the court. When he's on the court he has a way of making friends with his opponents and makes good calls and shows good sportsmanship. A lot of people have nothing but good things to say about him," Weber said.
"As far as his ability on the court, Aiden is a very tricky player to figure out and has a lot of weapons. He has a good dropshot, can lob the ball, hit an angle shot or hit an approach shot and draw you out of position."
Krueger is well-respected by his tennis teammates as well.
"Everyone loves Aiden. He likes to joke around, but he truly enjoys every one of his teammates and respects them all equally. He's a good student and had the team over to his house for a team dinner recently," Weber said.
Knowing how important Krueger's senior season of running was to him, Weber spoke with Tony Todd before the year began about his role with the tennis and cross country teams.
"I understood how important running is to Aiden this year. The last thing I want to do is stress a kid out. He's done a nice job for us in tennis, but we're not expecting a great deal out of him. I want him to be able to concentrate on his cross country goals," Weber said.
Krueger's older brother Andrew Krueger played tennis for Niles a few years ago, and that sparked Aiden's interest in the game.
"I participated in some summer tennis camps back when I was in seventh grade. I liked my experience playing doubles the last couple years, but singles is a challenge because you have only yourself to rely on and the court is smaller," Krueger said.
Krueger describes himself as confident on the court, and he considers himself more of baseline player.
"I'm really comfortable on the baseline, and my tennis goals are to just try and finish the year with the best record I can in the conference and help my team do as well as we possibly can," Krueger said.
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Niles’ Aiden Krueger crosses the finish line after winning his race during a home meet this season against Edwardsburg. (Middle) Krueger follows through on a forehand shot during a Wolverine Conference match earlier this season. (Top photo by Scott Novak/Leader Publications. Middle photo by Kelly Sweeney/Leader Publications.)