Lake Orion Community Schools issued the following announcement on Sept 15.
Name: Clayton Kuiper
Class: Senior
GPA: 3.7
Parents: Amy and Jim Kuiper
Sports: Cross country and track and field
Possessing great talent and leadership among their senior class, the Dragon boys’ cross country team is off to a fast start in 2021, picking up victories in each of their first three races.
One of five members of the Class of 2022 currently in the team’s top-10 runners, Clayton Kuiper turned in a 16:37.7 in the September 2 season-opener at Anchor Bay High School, which was his new personal-best time and good for a second-place individual finish.
Nine days later, he followed this up with another second-place showing in the Averill Invitational at Kensington Metropark, helping Lake Orion secure a 10-point win over a strong Brighton Bulldogs program.
Success at the varsity level is nothing new to Kuiper, as he has been a four-year runner in head coach Stan Ford’s top group and done so while keeping a 3.7 grade point average.
“Coach (Ford), obviously, my mom, and my teammates have helped me a lot by pushing me to be competitive with them,” he said of the people that have been influential in his career.
“I only water the plant now and then, it’s up to them to do the growing,” the always humble Ford chimed in.
Outside of the five seniors, the other five runners in the Dragons’ top-10 are currently composed of three juniors and two freshmen.
Having these five seniors to uphold the standard of the program is a plus for these younger runners, and a responsibility Kuiper and his classmates do not take lightly.
“I feel like each of the seniors are leaders themselves,” Kuiper said. “I don’t feel like there’s a certain one of us that’s the best on the team, we have our top-five group and try to set an example for everyone else.”
Following his graduation from Lake Orion, Kuiper hopes to keep running at the collegiate level. He is still in the process of communicating with schools and trying to narrow down his decision.
As for what he is still shooting to accomplish individually as a Dragon, Kuiper wants his name on the program’s all-time top-25 board in the gymnasium, a feat he is under 18 seconds away from reaching, as 2009 graduate Doug Mack presently stands in the final spot at 16:20.
Coming full circle, Kuiper’s favorite cross country memory thus far was his freshman season, due in large part to the upperclassmen that showed him the way of the road.
“The seniors on that team made me feel welcomed on the team and kind of a part of high school,” he said.
Kuiper and his teammates will next be in action Saturday at Springfield Oaks County Park in Davisburg for the 53rd Annual Holly Invite/Duane Raffin Festival of Races, beginning at 11:20 a.m.
Where the Oakland County Fair is held each July, Springfield Oaks is one of the most unique tracks on the circuit and one Lake Orion runners routinely point to as one of their favorites.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Lake Orion Community Schools
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