Clayton Kuiper

Year: Senior

GPA: 3.7

Parents: Amy and Jim Kuiper

Sports: Cross country and track and field

One of five members of the Class of 2022 currently in the varsity cross country team’s top-10 runners, Clayton Kuiper turned in a 16:37.7 in the Sept. 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 that 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,” Kuiper said. “I feel like each of the seniors are leaders themselves. 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, with 2009 graduate Doug Mack presently in the final spot at 16:20.