Matt Levins - The Hawk Eye / John Gaines Photography
Sam Brueck and Gavin Kies were two well-known, accomplished athletes during their days at Notre Dame High School.
Bill Plein, on the other hand, already was known as one of the best high school wrestling coaches in the state before he came to Notre Dame in 2018.
All three, along with the state champion wrestling tams of 2022 and 2025, were inducted into the Notre Dame Wall of Fame on Saturday at Winegard Field.
Each individual made lasting impacts on Notre Dame and continue to do so.
“It feels great. It’s an honor to be selected by my school,” said Brueck, who played basketball and soccer for the Nikes before graduating in 2021. “There are people that are from my family and my school that are inducted, so it’s fun to be able to follow in their footsteps and get an honor like this.”
“There are a lot of great athletes in there and I’m glad I get to be a part of that, for sure,” said Kies, who played basketball and soccer for the Nikes and is an assistant boys basketball coach for Notre Dame. “It’s an honor for sure. I definitely didn’t expect it. I thought I had an okay career, but we never made it to state, never made it beyond districts.”
Plein, a graduate of Waukon High School and Central College, won five state team championships prior to coming to Notre Dame. He hasn’t skipped a beat with the Nikes, procuring a pair of state team titles and a runner-up finish in his eight seasons.
“It’s important that everybody understands that I’m only as successful as the people that are around me. I’ve had great kids and people to work with with school administrators and staff. I really think a lot of people should be alongside me in this,” Plein said. “It’s a really nice honor to be part of the Notre Dame lore. There are a lot of great people up on that wall and there are a lot of great people who will go up on that wall.”
Brueck was the all-time leading goal scorer in Notre Dame-West Burlington boys soccer history until sophomore Jordan Edgington eclipsed that mark this spring.
Brueck helped the Nikes win a state championship his senior year in 2021, then went on to play soccer for two years at Cornell College.
Brueck is back in Burlington working with area athletes.
“I’m out at the hospital working as a personal trainer with Health and Fitness with Great River,” Brueck said. “I work as a personal trainer. I teach group classes. I work with members of the public. I also work with athletes in the athletic training room. I get an opportunity to sit in and watch the athletic trainers work and I get to assist them, too. I get to see a lot of the current athletes in the area. That includes SCC. I work closely with SCC soccer and their strength and conditioning program.”
Kies, who graduated in 2019, helped the Nikes to a cumulative 69-26 record in his four seasons. He went on to play three seasons at Southeastern Community College before wrapping up his playing days at Monmouth College.
Kies is now an assistant boys basketball coach with his father, Dan Kies, who is the head coach. Gavin Kies coaches the junior varsity team.
“I can’t take any credit for the season we had. That’s all the boys and all the work they put into it. I’d like to say I helped guide them a certain way and use my experience to help get them to that point. But at the end of the day it’s all them,” Gavin Kies said. “It’s a lot of fun. I still miss playing. But to be a part of these kids’ careers and hopefully better their futures ... it’s a great feeling seeing them succeed.”
Plein, a member of the Iowa High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, led the 2022 and 2025 ND-WB boys wrestling teams to state championships and the 2023 team to a state runner-up finish.
The 2022 team edged Osage by a half-point for the title, while the 2025 team had a program-record 11 state qualifiers.
Plein has instilled a work ethic and solid fundamentals to help make the Nikes successful.
“Hard-working kids. Great kids. The team that qualified 11 kids — that’s just a testament of how hard they worked and the type of kids we had at that time and over the years. We were a runner-up team one year, too. We’ve had great teams. A lot of that has to do with the people that are associated with the program. That includes the wrestlers and their parents, the coaches and everybody who is a part of it,” Plein said. “We had a fund-raising golf tournament the other day and the support from the community has been overwhelming. It’s such a great thing to see all of the people who are willing to continue to support us and help us move forward. We’re really thankful for all of those people, as well.”