CARLETON – Wrestling came first for Jack Mills.
Then came baseball.
Finally, he discovered football.
Mills continued in all three sports through his entire high school career.
And he excelled in all three.
The Airport senior made the All-Region team in all of his sports during the 2023-24 school year.
He was a runaway winner for the Monroe County Region Boys Athlete of the Year Award in combined voting from the fans and The Monroe News sports staff.
“I always thought being a jack-of-all-trades was better,” he said. “I never wanted to focus on just one sport. I like playing year round. It was a good mix, the sports helped each other out.”
Mills didn't just play three sports, he was a star in all of them.
“That's a tough thing to do,” said Airport football coach Jim Duffy.
No one knows that better than Duffy.
He is the only two-time winner of the award, wearing the crown in 2000 and 2001 as a football, basketball and baseball player at Airport.
“That is how Jack is wired,” Duffy said. “He wants sto be the best at everything he does. He goes as hard as he can all the time.
“Whether it is football, wrestling or baseball — whatever season he is in, that is the most important thing for him at the moment.”
Airport baseball coach Jeff Goins also had Mills in his position group as the running backs coach for the football team.
“Some of it is God-given talent,” Goins said. “The rest of it is his demeanor and competitiveness. He will run through a brick wall for you, but he has the coolest calmest demeanor.
“He is not really a vocal leader per se, but he is a leader by example.”
Wrestling coach Jon Morris was a standout in football and wrestling at Airport.
“In high school and college I was around a bunch of really good athletes, but I never met anyone like Jack,” he said. “Plus, he's top 10 in his class.
“He is so disciplined. He gives 100 percent in everything he does. I give a lot of credit to his parents to raise a kid with that kind of discpline. He's a special kid.”
The son of Holly and Dave Mills of Carleton comes from an athletic family. His father played football, basketball and baseball at Flat Rock High School then was a member of the baseball team at Ferris State. His mother was a member of the basketball and track and field teams at Flat Rock.
“I started wrestling the earliest, probably four years old,” Mills said. “Then, I started in T-Ball at five. Football was last. I think I was seven.”
Football came last, but became No. 1.
“I always liked all three, but once I got to high school, I realized football was the one I wanted to play at the next level,” he said.
Mills will do just that.
He has committed to play football next year at the Colorado School of Mines.
“I saw them on social media and reached out,” Mills said. “We connected really fast. … I always thought Colorado was a pretty cool state. I was a Denver Broncos fan when I was younger.”
Colorado School of Mines has played in the Division II national finals in each of the past two seasons.
The Orediggers are getting a great talent.
Mills was a standout at both running back and safety. He racked up 1,410 rushing yards and 323 receiving and scored 22 touchdowns on offense.
“I said this a couple of times through the football season, Jack is the best football player I've ever coached and that includes the time I spent as an assistant at a couple of other schools,” Duffy said. “He can do everything. He has a nose for the football and is a tough kid.”
Wrestling played a big role in Mills' success on the gridiron.
“I love wrestlers,” Duffy said. “Every year at the banquet I ask, 'How many of you playing basketball?' Then, I ask, 'How many of you are wrestling?' I tell the ones who don't raise the hands, 'You are wrestling.'”
Mills went 37-2 during his senior season on the mat.
“Consistency and attention to detail,” Morris said when asked the secret of Mills' wrestling success. “He concentrated on one or two things that he was good at and they really worked for him.”
Despite moving from the outfield to shortstop as a senior, Mills had the best year of his career at the plate. He hit .438 with 45 RBI, 12 doubles, 5 triples and 7 home runs.
“Nothing phases him,” Goins said. “If he had a bad game, he was calm, cool and collected. He never got too high or two low. He has the perfect demeanor.”
It's going to be strange for Mills next year when he pares down from three sports to one.
“I thought about doing dual sports, but I'm not going to,” he said. “I think it will be exciting to see how well I can do in one sport when I am focusing on it.”
BOYS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2023-24 VOTING
Jack Mills, Airport 49
Braiden Whitaker, Dundee 40
AJ Schrader, Ida 29
Ethan Layton, Dundee 24
Cooper Nye, Airport 24
Ryin Ruddy, Whiteford 24
Graham Junge, Flat Rock 22
Kolby Masserant, Whiteford 14
Cole Kreger, Erie Mason 10
Luke Beaudrie, Jefferson 8
Ryan Zanger, Dundee 7
Drew Bylow, SMCC/Dundee 7
Joe Krolak, Gibraltar Carlson 6
Breylon Richards, Monroe 5
Tyler Dafoe, Summerfield 4
Micah Smith, New Boston Huron 2
WINNERS
2024: Jack Mills, Airport
2023: Ben Przytula, Carlson
2022: Cole Geisige, Whiteford
2021: Chase Molnar, Huron
2020: Hunter Assenmacher, Ida
2019: Brendan Dafoe, Summerfield
2018: Thomas Eitniear, Whiteford
2017: Joey Wiemer, Bedford
2016: Zach Kohn, Gibraltar Carlson
2015: Bryce Windham, SMCC
2014: Colin Lake, Whiteford
2013: Scott McCormick, Airport
2012: Kyle Ready, Gibraltar Carlson
2011: Jared Kujawa, Bedford
2010: Zac Richardson, Huron
2009: David Box, Milan
2008: Josh DuPree, Whiteford
2007: Audie Cole, Monroe
2006: Josh Winter, Bedford
2005: Aaron Roelfs, Erie Mason
2004: Kyle Upchurch, Erie Mason
2003: Casey Steffen, Flat Rock
2002: Dan Fugate, Dundee
2001: Jim Duffy, Airport
2000: Jim Duffy, Airport
1999: Carl Ford, Monroe
1998: Adam Ruffner, Carlson
1997: Scott Ciacelli, Summerfield
1996: Myke Thom, SMCC
1995: Craig Maddux, Jefferson
1994: Corey Simpson, Whiteford
1993: Ryan Stahr, Flat Rock
1992: Jamie Mossburg, Airport
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Airport's Mills named Monroe County Region Boys Athlete of Year
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