MONTAGUE — It’s been said that if you want something done, then give it to a busy person.
That helps to explain how Montague senior Christopher Aebig manages to juggle three sports in the fall and still carry a weighted GPA of 4.315, ranking him second in his class.
This fall, Aebig is playing soccer and football and he’s running cross country for the Wildcats. He wrestles in the winter and runs track in the spring.
Many people may not be able to handle the load of playing three sports in one season while still maintaining excellent grades, but the 18-year-old son of Chris and Julie Aebig seems to be getting by just fine.
“It’s definitely challenging. For me, if it was a different kid I don’t know if it would work,” Montague soccer coach Brandon Mahoney said about Aebig’s feat. “I mean, he works hard — day in and day out. You can definitely tell, there are weeks where it’s cross, soccer, football, and it can burn your tank.
“Each of those sports have done a pretty good job of (communicating). … I think it’s important if you’re going to have an athlete that’s going to try to do all three (sports in one season) is you’ve got to have three coaches that are willing to communicate and coordinate.”
On the soccer field, Aebig plays the left winger or left midfield spot. This season, he has scored seven goals and tallied five assists for a Montague squad (7-6-0, 3-3-0 West Michigan Conference) coming off an impressive 6-0 win over Manistee.
In football, he’s the team’s placekicker. Aebig is 8-for-11 on PATs and he averages 49.9 yards per kickoff for the Wildcats (2-2, 1-1 WMC Lakes), who host Ludington this Friday on homecoming night.
In cross country, he’s competed in two events. Aebig ran a 22:27.9 in the Hill and Bale Invitational at Fremont on Sept. 9 and posted a personal-record time of 21:21.3 in a WMC Lakes Division jamboree Tuesday at Whitehall.
“Even doing three sports, (Aebig’s soccer teammates) voted him as team captain,” Mahoney said.
Photo by Courtney Jimison | CatchMark
Aebig, whose unweighted GPA sits just below 4.0, plans to attend Muskegon Community College on the Muskegon Promise. He is considering construction, marketing, and business as areas of study.
Prior to last Friday’s “Battle for the Bell” football game against Whitehall, Aebig was presented a Great American Rivalry Series Scholar-Athlete award. He said his favorite class right now is probably AP Calculus.
Aebig dual-sported in soccer and football his freshman through junior years, then Montague track/cross country coach Joe Brunson asked if he would consider running cross. Aebig couldn’t say no.
“For us, he’s just always been that go-getter that’s willing to put in that extra effort on the field. It’s great to have that guy,” Mahoney said. “I wouldn’t say his tank’s endless, but a lot of times he will work until he’s completely cramped up. You know in that high-pressure situation that you can count on him. He’s going to do his best to get the goal when he has the opportunity, but he’s also willing to come back and help on defense so he’s not a one-sided player.”
Watch the video at the top of the story to hear from Aebig.
Montague’s Christopher Aebig, right, walks with cross country teammates during the Hill and Bale Invitational Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, in Fremont, Mich. (Brent Raeth | CatchMark)
