Deer Creek鈥檚 A.J. Antonelli鈥檚 competitive drive has helped him accomplish his goals
EDMOND, Okla. (BVM) 鈥� Oklahoma has produced some great cross country talent as of late, with Gabe Simonsen being one of those athletes. But the latest prep athlete to be recognized for his talent is A.J. Antonelli, who was awarded the 2021-22 Gatorade Oklahoma Cross Country Player of the Year.
鈥淲inning it鈥檚 pretty cool,鈥� Antonelli said. 鈥淭here are some good guys that have won it, so it鈥檚 pretty cool and meaningful [to be a part of that].鈥�
This past season, the 5-foot-10, 140-pound Deer Creek senior won his first-ever Class 6A title. He finished with a time of 15:14.80, 17 seconds faster than Josh Cherry, Winning this race helped the Antlers capture the team title, the third in four years and ninth overall.听
Deer Creek鈥檚 AJ Antonelli wins his first Class 6A state title. Edmond Memorial鈥檚 Josh Cherry places second, Deer Creek鈥檚 Gilbert Velez is third, Broken Arrow鈥檚 Blake Feron is fourth and Stillwater鈥檚 Keegan Thomas is fifth.
— Nick Sardis (@nick_sardis)
Antonelli also took sixth in the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championship Silver Race. He ran the Deer Creek program-best with 14:58.70.
鈥淎.J. ‘s very competitive,鈥� Deer Creek head cross country coach David Riden said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 so competitive that when we go on road trips and we鈥檙e in the hotel lobby and the kids are playing cards, this guy is the most competitive guy at the table. Whether you鈥檙e playing a card game or doing a workout. Competing really drives him.鈥�
Antonelli has proven he can compete at the highest level. However, the standout athlete never really noticed how good he could be at running until middle school.
鈥淚n middle school, I started out playing football,鈥� Antonelli said. 鈥淚 was in a muscle and fitness [a workout program] and I ran a timed mile every few weeks and I ended up winning the mile every time. And one of the kids in the program told me 鈥榊ou should try track.鈥欌��
That鈥檚 exactly what Antonelli did. He wasn鈥檛 the best from the start, but he continued to perfect his craft and the results have spoken for themselves.
鈥淚 never won any meets or anything, but I ran pretty fast,鈥� Antonelli said. 鈥淚 ended up running cross country my eighth-grade year and then Coach Riden started talking to me about doing it [running cross country] in high school.鈥�
Coach Riden knew he had a special athlete from the get-go.听
鈥淚 knew he was competitive in a special way from his freshman track season and on,鈥� Ridden said. 鈥淗e ran 4:29 in a regional meet when he was freshman and I was like 鈥榃oah, what just happened鈥his kid isn’t afraid of anything.鈥� He鈥檚 a fierce competitor, but I think he also has really shown himself to be somebody that can learn from disappointment and use it as motivation.鈥�
With the drive to get better, Antonelli continued to set his sights on breaking records set by former Deer Creek runner, Bryce Balenseifen. And being the competitor he is, Antonelli followed through on his goal.听
鈥淲e went down to a meet in early September [of 2021], in Texas,鈥� Riden said. 鈥淗e jumped up in the lead pack with guys who were nationally ranked. He never took his foot off the gas and ran 15:09 [previous record 15:10] that day. He rebroke it running 14:48 at the national meet.鈥澛�
Now, Antonelli and his competitive spirit are getting ready for the track and field season. Along with the preparation he also keeps his options open when it comes to his future as an athlete.听
鈥淚 might go to college,鈥� Antonelli said. 鈥淚 want to be a firefighter. I like to help people. [And] being a firefighter you get to help people. I like the comradery [being a firefighter brings]; it鈥檚 like a family that we have here.鈥�
With his senior year coming to a close, Antonelli has a great deal of memories to look back on and a whole lot of memories to make too. But running for the Deer Creek Antlers is something Antonelli and Coach Riden will look back on fondly.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 funny; you get a guy like Bryce Balenseifen seven or eight years ago and people think, 鈥榃ell, will anybody ever touch that again?,鈥欌�� Riden said. 鈥淸But] the effect that somebody like A.J. has had [on younger athletes] that’s come along, [has shown] barriers are meant to be broken.
鈥淎s accomplished as he鈥檚 been, at the end of the day he鈥檚 just another guy with the rest of the guys. That鈥檚 a powerful thing for a team to not feel like they鈥檙e in somebody鈥檚 shadow and they can enjoy their accolades with them.鈥澛�
