Senior Antonio Amaral faced adversity throughout his first three years at St. Joe’s, battling injuries that slowed his speed and spirit, only to come back running harder and faster. This hard work paid off as Amaral earned a bronze medal at the Delaware Invitational team title, coming in first among all Hawks.
The start to Amaral’s career on Hawk Hill was a rocky one. He said he couldn’t run in the winter of his first two years because of a stress reaction, putting him in a boot. Once he was able to rehabilitate and recover from these setbacks, Amaral said he’s only improved as a runner.
“I had a big jump,” Amaral said. “I think I PR’d [personal record] a little over two minutes in my 5k alone. I just used that and stayed patient and kept progressing with all my times each race.”
According to sophomore runner George Steinhoff, a teammate, Amaral handled his setback well.
“I saw him be very persistent in the way he took care of himself” Steinhoff said. “That’s always really difficult because it’s real easy to lose fitness when you’re in that position.
For Head Coach Mike Glavin, seeing athletes overcome strife is pretty normal.
“You really have to want to stay in sport, to find out you’re not gonna start at the top,” Glavin said. “And if you get hurt, you gotta start all over again. Antonio has weathered that well and now we get to see him reap the benefits.”
Glavin said he makes sure his athletes are training to the best of their ability and that every athlete’s workouts are personalized.
“I can train one guy and he’s running this many miles and I train a different guy the same amount of miles and he gets hurt,” Glavin said. “You have to find that place. He [Antonio] has grown so much to understand his body and expand his ability from that.”
Graduate student Tommy Higley ’19, the men’s team captain, knows Amaral well, having run several seasons together.
“He’s a really positive person and brings all the energy to practice,” Higley said. “Definitely the guy you want to work out with.”
Carrying this strong energy and dedication, Amaral and the rest of his team look forward to competing in important races that are approaching.
“I think we’re really gonna roll with it,” Amaral said. “We’re ready for this next championship season to start and use this momentum to roll right into conferences.”
