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player ready...Naperville North coach Tom Champion is still young enough to wrestle with his team in practice, mainly against the upper-weight wrestlers in the room.
But he prefers they roll around with senior 132-pound Aaron Kruk.
“When I wrestle against Aaron, I hurt the next day,” Champion said. “He’s all sharp edges and he’s strong. Everything he does hurts.”
Toughness and strength have taken Kruk a long way in the sport he loves. He won 31 matches as a sectional qualifier last year and he’s aiming even higher in his senior year.
But it’s his smarts and his character that will take Kruk to Harvard next year.
“Harvard asked me to name three things I value about Aaron,” Champion said. “The first thing is that he’s honest and forthright; the second is he’s 100 percent accountable; and the third thing is that he takes care of other people. He has a lot of empathy for people.”
Kruk posted a perfect score of 36 on his ACT and considered Stanford, Johns Hopkins and other elite colleges before deciding on Harvard. Harvard coach Jay Weiss had a lot to do with that decision.
“He’s a phenomenal man with extremely high morals and he’s committed to making everyone around him the best they can be,” Kruk said. “He was the main deciding factor for me. And they have the top neurobiology and neuroscience undergraduate department in the world.”
Kruk plans to be a neurosurgeon someday. But don’t think of him as a typical goal-driven student.
“It’s not so much that I set goals, as that I don’t set limitations on myself,” Kruk said. “I don’t like to cap myself. For now, I’ll do the best I can to train like a state champion.
“And the team comes first for me. I have personal goals, too, but I want to help the team get as far as we can get this year.”
Fellow North senior Jake Hoffman is one of Kruk’s best friends and one of his practice partners. Hoffman appreciates the attention to detail in Kruk’s approach.
“What does he bring to the team? He brings the mentality you want from a captain,” Hoffman said. “They call (Blackhawks superstar) Jonathan Toews ‘Captain Serious’ and Aaron is like that.
“He believes that every part of what we’re doing in practice is important, and will be worth it in the end. I’m a captain, too, but that’s one thing I look up to from him. He values everything we do.”
As a wrestler, Kruk has always kept mistakes to a minimum and ridden hard in the top position, and during the offseason he worked to become a better scrambler.
“I put in a lot of work over the summer wrestling on my feet and on that scrambling aspect, moving and reacting from positions where I’m not usually comfortable,” Kruk said.
Kruk’s practice partner is happy to go against him in the room.
“He’s very quick and pound-for-pound, Aaron is one of the strongest kids I’ve ever met,” Hoffman said. “There’s really not much that Aaron can’t do.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.
TEAM OUTLOOKS
Metea Valley: The Mustangs graduated a handful of tough seniors and have some youth in their lower weights, but return veteran sectional qualifiers in Uri Ariza (120) and Dylan Ervin (195), plus a two-time sectional qualifier in Jake Toepfer (138). Other key contributors include Bobby Rouse (132), David Veitch (145), David Rojas (220), and heavyweight Bobby Papiernik.
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Naperville Central: First-year coach Noah Fitzenreider takes over a team that features a returning state qualifier in Jake Keating (120-126) and returning sectional qualifiers in Shuji Mizoguchi (113) and Cam Hayes (160). Christian Nussbaum (220) and Luc Jandt (126-132) will also contribute for a team with veteran leadership mixed with young talent.
Naperville North: The Huskies have a stable of upper-weight wrestlers vying for lineup spots and a quartet of returning sectional qualifiers in Lucas VanPoucke (113-120), Jake Hoffman (138-145), Aaron Kruk (132-138) and state qualifier Steve Schmult (160). Dalton Weber (170) returns from injury this year and North will also count on Jack Dirienzo and Tom Rizzi (220-285).
Neuqua Valley: Sectional qualifier Maurice Mitchell (126) leads a team that gained experience last year and aims to take a step forward. Three-year starters Austin Singer (152) and Jackson Modaff (160) are back, plus Zach Greenberg (170) and two-year varsity wrestlers Jett Schrey (120), Anthony Schoedel (285), and Danny Sanderson (138).
Waubonsie Valley: Senior Max Ihry placed fifth at 195 last year and won 44 matches, including a win against eventual state champion Tim Young of East Aurora. A fellow state qualifier in veteran senior heavyweight Tyler Caldwell returns and Waubonsie will also rely on the experience of Mason Kroening (182) and Nick Sondag (170).