Micah Krueger left it all on the mat at Ottawa High School, and Athletic Director Mike Cooper said it's going to take some hard work for another wrestler to pick up where his senior star left off.
"Micah has been a great student athlete at Ottawa High School and has set the standard for all future Pirate wrestlers," Cooper told the Illinois Valley Times.
Krueger has committed to Northwestern University, which Cooper thinks is the perfect choice.
"Micah has been a great student athlete at Ottawa High School," Cooper said. "Northwestern will be a great place for him to further his education and participate in intercollegiate athletics."
Northwestern's academic climate is just the place for Krueger to keep growing, Cooper said.
"Micah has been a true leader on and off the mat," he said. "He is the school valedictorian, which is truly amazing with all that is asked of him during wrestling season."
Krueger's accomplishments might seem pretty daunting to anyone trying to match him at Ottawa. In his junior season, he took sixth place at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 2A State Meet and finished the year with a 39-8 record.
He went further in his senior year, taking third at the Sterling Sectional as well as the state finals, finishing the year at 42-3.
After four years wrestling under head coach Peter Marx, Krueger can claim the all-time career and single-season win record for the Pirates. He also guided the squad to conference and regional titles this year and was twice named an All-Stater.
Of course, he succeed on the academic side as well. Besides being valedictorian, Krueger was named Illinois Scholastic Athlete of the Year, plus earned Unimin Corp. and U.S. Silica scholarships.
At Northwestern, Cooper plans to major in financial economics but is also exploring the idea of a double major with chemical engineering.
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