High School Male Athlete of the Week: Dylan Plantinga setting the example at Huntington Beach

Growing up in the small town of Munster, Ind., Dylan Plantinga discovered an affinity for the outdoors.

He enjoys being on the water, no matter the activity. His hobbies include fishing, surfing, and occasionally, aquatic photography.

It took Plantinga longer to find his way into organized athletics. The Huntington Beach High senior confessed that his venture into track and field began as a means to an end. He wanted to avoid taking a run-of-the-mill physical education class.

Looking back on his early years, however, Plantinga recalled races at recess in elementary school as a pivotal moment that led to his interest in the sprints.

“I wasn’t involved in track too much back then, but there were definitely some fond memories of racing in the yard or at recess, my brothers or other little elementary school rivals,” Plantinga said. “I remember being the first or second fastest kid all the time, so that’s what sparked my interest.”

Plantinga has come into his own as a senior. The prototypical late-bloomer, Plantinga made his first varsity start as a junior.

This season, he is getting his first taste of what it is like to be on the invitational radar.

Plantinga found himself in the final heat of the 200- and 400-meter races in the Beach Cities Invitational. He did not disappoint the fans while running on his home track at Huntington Beach High, winning both races going away.

At the end of the weekend, Plantinga was ranked eighth in Orange County in both the 200 (22.29 seconds) and the 400 (50.09).

A tail wind cannot exceed 2.0 meters per second for record purposes. The boys’ 200 varsity race at the Beach Cities Invitational was run with a wind reading of 4.0 meters per second, but Plantinga’s time of 22.04 seconds is third in Orange County under all conditions.

“Finishing [third] in the county right now, that’s insane,” Plantinga said. “I didn’t shoot for that. I shot for being the best version of myself on the track, and that kind of came together.”

Oilers sprints coach Raul Guadarrama is not nearly as surprised about Plantinga’s breakthrough. He said that the senior has put in the work, and he has brought a level of accountability to the role of team captain.

“Dylan is just a hard-worker,” Guadarrama said. “I love his leadership out there on the track. He’s always motivating everybody. He’s one of those go-to guys where if you need him somewhere, he’s willing to do it.”

Guadarrama added that it was gratifying to see the results come to Plantinga with the effort that he has put forth.

“Seeing Dylan just come out and work as hard as he does, it’s a great experience to watch him, how he grows,” Guadarrama said. “His goal is to make it to Arcadia, and we’re not too sure if he qualified yet. That’s one of the goals that he had at the beginning of the season.”

Those comments were made on Thursday morning, and later in the day, Plantinga’s name appeared among the accepted entries into the Arcadia Invitational, which will be held from April 5-6.

An accomplishment-driven person, Plantinga may not have been around to see that goal come to fruition had it not been for his friend and co-captain Joaquin Browning.

“I had my heart in the wrong place,” Plantinga said. “I wanted to achieve something, and I felt like it wasn’t going to be in track.

“We weren’t recording times. I wasn’t seeing myself be somebody fast or somebody who was big and built.”

Before winter break, Plantinga confided in Browning, who told him to go home and take some time to think about it. When he returned, Plantinga was ready to commit to his senior season.

“He moves a lot of weight,” Plantinga said of Browning. “He moves the team. He and I have been blood brothers forever, since probably seventh grade. This kid has literally kept me moving.”

As the season got underway, Browning and Plantinga were on a short list of candidates for captain. They were recently named as co-captains in advance of the Beach Cities Invitational.

Plantinga has always gotten a rush out of personal achievement. At the age of 15, he caught a 210-pound California marlin with his friend Dylan Trieb off the coast of the Channel Islands using a six-foot rod.

A fitness fanatic, Plantinga’s friends can attest to his excitability in meeting personal goals, too.

“I was with a few buddies, so it was a little ego booster when my skinny 120-pound body benched 125 pounds,” Plantinga said. “I was excited. I was a freshman or sophomore, so [I was] getting exhilarated over that.

“My friend [JP Buntich] still tells me the story, ‘You were bugging me all day so that we could go back to the gym and just bench.’

“I fell in love with just work, kind of just putting in work and getting things out of it.”

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Dylan Plantinga

Born: May 2, 2001

Hometown: Huntington Beach

Height: 5 feet 11

Weight: 155 pounds

Sport: Track and field

Year: Senior

Coach: Kareen Shackelford and Raul Guadarrama

Favorite food: Grandma’s spaghetti

Favorite movie: “Forrest Gump”

Favorite athletic moment: Plantinga served as the anchor leg for Huntington Beach when it beat University in the 1,600 relay in a dual meet at home this season. The Oilers’ relay team also featured Lars Mitchel, Ethan Schultz and Michael Wells.

Week in review: Plantinga won the 200 and the 400 in the Beach Cities Invitational on March 23 at Huntington Beach High. He was ranked eighth in Orange County in both events following the meet.

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner