PEWAUKEE, Wis. — Carter Grossklaus leads with his actions.

First-year cross country coach Dan Held said he leaned on his captain, who brought the right attitude and effort into everything he did.

“He’s doing all the right things every day, day in, day out. He’s not a very outspoken. He’s very quiet. But when he speaks, everybody listens. And he knows the right things to do, so he’s a great leader on this team. And when we’re running, he’s working hard,” said Held.

AJ Sutter coached Grossklaus in cross country and track. He watched him evolve over multiple seasons.

“Over the last four years, I’ve watched him step out of his comfort zone and take on a vocal role, which is definitely not what he’d prefer to do but he also prefers to have a strong team and build strong relationships,” said Sutter.

As a middle schooler, Grossklaus chose cross country over another passion — soccer — because the team welcomed him with open arms. He said he tries to repay that kindness to younger runners.

“School and all of that is kind of stressful and nerve-wracking, but when you get here, all that’s out the window. It’s your time to relax. Yes, running can be stressful sometimes and nerve-wracking, but it’s good stress,” explained Grossklaus.

In the classroom, he carries a near 4.0 GPA. His culinary teacher, Ryan Demers, recalled a letter of recommendation he wrote for Grossklaus.

“I think it was due, November 15th, and he’s asking me in June. I’m like, oh I better get this written. That’s just the kind of guy he is. You just want to make sure you support him and that I can do anything that he might need or that can help him out,” said Demers.

Grossklaus will attend the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse next year. He once looked at pursuing a physical therapy degree, but then discovered nuclear medicine as a career path.

“The radioactive materials they use to find out like, what’s wrong with your organs inside. There’s imaging if there’s something wrong with your gallbladder, they’ll be able to give you eggs and you swallow it and it goes down into your stomach and they find out what’s wrong,” said Grossklaus.

He gives back to his community through volunteering with Key Club and his church. Grossklaus also fits in a part-time job at an auto shop.

“I was hired as a cleaner and every so often he says to me, "‘Hey you want to help this guy work on a car?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure, great life experience,’” said Grossklaus.

He’s learned to take advantage of opportunities while helping out others around him.

“Carter’s a one-of-a-kind kid,” said Sutter. “He’s just one of those kids that you want to be around. He’s embraced this mentality that how you treat people makes a difference and it changes the course of their lives.”

Grossklaus said he hopes to keep running at La Crosse next year, while continuing to make a difference in the classroom and beyond.