While a career ends with a meeting of champions, the future is bright for others

Already a high school graduate about 22 hours in, Santino D’Amelio showed up to the starting line at the Pennsauken High School track with a much different mindset than some of the runners around him.

“Once I finished my degree last night, it felt like a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and I have to admit it was tough to come back today and try to run ” the South Region senior said after his 3,200-meter run. at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions on June 12. “Of course I wanted to come back because I love this sport, but achieving a PR or a high place was really not on my mind. My coach and I talked earlier today, and he said if I came out here and had fun today, it would be a good day. I basically came here to finish high school and just enjoy racing.

After finishing 10th in the Group 4 competition four days earlier and sneaking into the Meet of Champions field as a wild card, D’Amelio knew that making the top eight would require a colossal effort. His heart and mind were simply not prepared for this kind of effort.

“As soon as I knew I had made it, I was like, ‘OK, great. One more shot to end my career. But then I found out it was the day after I graduated and I knew I wasn’t going to give 100 percent,” he said. “Mentally I’m a little exhausted, which worked against me today.”

Still, D’Amelio lined up perfectly in the 20-runner 2-mile race, taking position in the middle of the pack within the first 200 meters. D’Amelio stayed around 10th for the first few laps, but clearly had no desire to close in on the leaders as the split in the middle began to occur in the first half of the third lap.

Ranked 18th, D’Amelio sat in 13th position for several laps, simply moving around without any pressure from other riders. As the race entered its final 800 meters, D’Amelio was in 14th place, right alongside Roxbury’s Jared Weiss, but D’Amelio faded a bit during the home stretch of the seventh lap and fell back to 15th place, where he remained throughout the race. end, outpacing Monroe’s Stephen Barbera, who had trailed D’Amelio on the final turn, over the final 100 yards. D’Amelio finished in 9:42.15.

“I’m determined to go to college and I already know what I want to do beyond that,” said D’Amelio, who will attend Rider University to study film production and compete in athletics through a partial scholarship. “The track is important in the sense that it is part of my journey and a step towards the future, but it is not my main goal, so that was reflected in my performance today. But I can’t be upset. I had a great season and a great year. I’m happy with how everything went, and that’s all that matters.

South Region junior Samantha Cushing was very happy with how the spring season ended for her, as she set a new personal best by clearing 10 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault, good enough for 16th place behind a loaded field in which five girls succeeded. 12-footer and state champion Hannah Byrd-Leitner of Moorestown won at 13 feet, 2 inches.

“I started this season with a PR of 9 feet, and I got to 9-6 at first, then I got to 10 feet and was stagnant for a while,” said Cushing, who didn’t did not reach the Meet of Champions last season. “In training I had been working on some things and I knew I would get 10-6 soon. After my first attempt today I had to make sure I put my hands up and walk straight onto the track, just a few things to get over the bar.

After making some adjustments, Cushing cleared 10 feet on his second attempt, then missed the first two attempts at 10 feet, 6 inches. She cleared the bar on her third try, then missed all three attempts from 11 feet, as did eight others. Eleven outfielders cleared 11 feet as Cushing retreated.

“I’m really happy. It was really cool to get 10-6 here at the Meet of Champions,” she said. “I just have to fix a few things and hopefully get to 11 feet at the start next season’s goal is to come back here and clear 12 feet. I want to break (assistant coach Ashley) Furlong’s school record.

It remains to be seen whether the South women’s 4×400-meter relay team will break records next season, but the good news is that all four sprinters will be back, after junior Brielle Simon, sophomore Emma Ortiz and freshmen Carly Murray and Isabella Millard had a record-breaking run. combined time of 4:00.12 to place 22nd overall, again as part of a loaded field in which the difference between the Rams’ position and eighth was only five seconds.

“It’s really a comfort to know that we’re all going to come back,” Simon said. “We’ve come this far this season, so I can only imagine what it will be like for us next year. Each of us lost a few seconds compared to last year, so we are moving in the right direction. I’m super excited for next year.

The big downside for the Southern quartet is the fact that they haven’t run together much this spring, simply because the competition structure during the regular season doesn’t lend itself to coach Brian Zatorski running his best sprinters together all the time. Simon believes the experience she and her teammates gained in the second half of the season will pay off in a year’s time.

“All season we barely raced as a team,” she said. “In recent weeks we have gained a lot of experience and improved at every step. Next year we will have more experience in these races and we should be faster. Today we had a very good time and we now see that we can be in the top race at this competition next season.

Another athlete expected to return strong next spring resides in Barnegat. Freshman Amaya Afflick, who placed in the top six in three events at the South Jersey Group 2 sectional meet before qualifying for the 400-meter hurdles at the Meet of Champions on the weekend next end, finished 11th in the hurdles event with a time of 1:04.35. , less than a second away from a place in the top eight.

“It felt good, but it was scary. There’s a lot of good people here,” said Afflick, the only freshman among 20 competitors in the 400 hurdles. “The goal was to be in the top 10, but I’m going to continue to push hard and be better next year. I am happy with my success this season.

Unfortunately, success was not in store for the Southern boys 4×100 meter relay, which did not finish its race due to a missed handoff during the transition from first to second runner.

Cramer wins 100 Dash in Seattle

Despite qualifying in several events for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, Southern Regional sprinter Cole Cramer chose to compete in the Brooks PR National Invitational in Seattle on June 12. Running in the high school 100 meters, Cramer won the event by one time. by 10.35 seconds, 0.15 ahead of Le’ezra Brown of Greensboro, North Carolina, and 0.18 ahead of Langston Thomas of Columbia, Missouri.

—David Biggy

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