College Recruit Rankings Profile: Four-Star Karl Krug

PHOENIX, Arizona, May 28. IN the first of what will be an ongoing regular series of profiles putting some of the best and brightest recruits in the spotlight, Yucaipa High's Karl Krug has taken time out to chat with Swimming World.

Krug, who is a four-star in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings powered by Take Your Marks, has taken control of keeping his times updated for our fans to see via his profile.

Krug, Class of 2008, is headed to Auburn University in the fall after swimming for Glenn Perry of Yucaipa High and Chuck Riggs of the Redlands Swim Team. He has a pair of SCY times that would have already qualified him for the 2008 NCAA Championships in the 50 free (19.98) and 100 free (44.19). He also has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 50-meter free with a time of 23.05.

Where and when did you start swimming?
I started swimming when I was 10 years old; I only swam during the summers as conditioning for football and basketball. I started swimming year round when I was 14, training with my club team which was the Yucaipa Swim Team then.

Who would you name as the most influential person and/or coach in your swimming career?
My most Influential Coach is my club coach; Chuck Riggs. He is the one that I owe the credit for what I have accomplished so far, and providing the base for what I will accomplish in the future. I know he is pushing me to the max and is preparing me for my college career and beyond.

My most Influential Person is my Dad, Karl. He's always been there for me, in the good times and the hard times.

My Role Models in swimming are Jason Lezak and Gabe Woodward. Both Jason and Gabe have been the ultimate examples of hard work and dedication in the pursuit of your dreams, and in what you can accomplish if you believe in yourself and put in the HARD WORK.

What, to this point, is your best moment in the sport and why?
Breaking 20 (19.98) for the first time in the 50 free. Realizing only five other high school sprinters have broken 20.00 in history makes it really special. But, it is really great in that I have been training mid-distance, in trying to build up my base for college. I'm really looking forward to how fast I can go when I start focusing on the sprints.

Walk us through a day of practice:
Currently we only go afternoons; so after school and a snack; we have dryland; 300 easy, warm-up; hard kick set; hard pull set; warm-up; then we split into groups, and do our main set; cool down – I'm in the middle distance group and we go approx. 8 – 9,000 yards a practice; six days a week.

What is your favorite set?
Anything sprint oriented and race pace 25s, 50s and 100s; freestyle preferred, but also fly and backstroke. My favorite aspect is to see how fast I can go and for how long I can sustain the speed.

What is your least favorite set?
We call it the "Q" Meet for Time; we swim a practice of all events from the "Q" Meet; 50 – 1,650; 100 – 200 of all other strokes; along with 200 – 400 IM; all swam for time.

Why did you pick Auburn?
I felt really honored that I had the opportunity to be in a position to go to Auburn. It is, without a doubt, the MOST DOMINANT swim program in the country. The coaches and the team chemistry are fantastic; I couldn't think of a better place, I knew it was the choice immediately.

My sprint coach Brett Hawke is going to push me past my limits and make me the best that I can be, and I am really looking forward to being a part of bringing Auburn back the national championship, where it really belongs. All the great tradition and all the hard work really proves why Auburn has had all the great success. My goal is to be the best and to do that, you have to train and compete against and with the best, and I can't wait to get started.

What are your short-term goals?
Really ramp up my training so that I can perform the best I can unrested at Olympic Trials; and the U.S. Open and Junior Nationals, where we want to swim our best and go after the National Age Group Records in the 200 and 400 free relays, and perform our best as a team. Individually, I want to see how fast I can go in the sprints and get ready for Auburn and the start of my college career.

What are your long-term goals?
Be a part of multiple NCAA team championships, be part of the winning relays each year at NCAAs and compete to the best of my abilities and training throughout college.

Hopefully, with hard work, compete for several individual titles and go after the highest of standards already set at Auburn; train really hard and prepare for a shot at the 2012 & 2016 Olympics

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