Mike Aubel was a force for all seasons.

A quick, powerful running back in the fall, he also was a tenacious wrestler in the winter and a fearsome hitter during the spring and summer.

Simply put: If he tried it, Aubel excelled at it.

Aubel, a 1988 Lowville graduate, rushed for 4,534 yards during his high school football career. In rankings released before the start of the 2007 season, that total stood 36th on the state's all-time list. His 2,136-yard season in '87 ranked 41st, and his top individual-game performances, 382 and 376 yards, ranked 40th and 48th, respectively. Those two efforts, featuring a combined total of 758 rushing yards, came in back-to-back games.

On the mat for Lowville, where he competed for his father, Neal, a longtime Red Raiders coach, Aubel went 143-31 for his career. In his final season, he posted a 40-1 mark, won a Section 3 title at 155 pounds and finished third in the state meet.

A highlight of his diamond career at Lowville came in '87, when he launched a home run over the roof of Lowville Academy during a game against South Jefferson. The shot to right field traveled about 400 feet before denting a car in the parking lot on the other side of the school.

The impressive numbers kept adding up for Aubel at St. Lawrence University. Aubel's career totals of 464 rushing attempts and 2,250 rushing yards still stand as Saints records.

He batted .333 with 23 RBIs as a senior for the SLU baseball team. As a junior, he finished at .380 and 24 RBIs. Over his last two seasons, he was successful on 29 of 34 attempted steals.

That production drew the attention of the Houston Astros organization, which signed Aubel to a free-agent contract.

Aubel played one season for the Auburn Astros of the Class A, short-season New York-Penn League. The outfielder hit .242 with four home runs and 24 RBIs in 62 games in 1992.

Although his competitive career essentially ended after his release from the Astros, Aubel never stopped challenging himself. In 2004, he entered a marathon in Corning. He finished in 3 hours, 39 minutes.

"That was probably as rewarding as anything I've ever done," Aubel said.

Aubel, who majored in biology and minored in education at SLU, graduated from the school in '92 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He also earned a master's in special education from Mercyhurst College and a Certificate of Advance Study from SUNY Cortland.

He coached varsity baseball for five seasons at Owego, where he also served as an assistant football coach for three years. He then worked as an assistant principal for three years at Maine-Endwell before becoming the school's director of auxiliary services, the position he currently holds.

Aubel, 38, and his wife of seven years, Melissa, have two daughters: Taylor, 6, and Alex, 2.

To read about previous selections to the Times' list of The North Country's Greatest 100 Athletes of All Time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com