Sitting within the Birmingham Excessive bleachers carrying headphones earlier than operating the 400 meters on the Metropolis Part monitor and subject prelims, 17-year-old senior Nathan Santa Cruz appears to be like like an adolescent comfy and assured. Teammates gravitate to him. Possibly it’s his smile. Or possibly they need to be close to somebody having fun with each day.
A traumatic expertise modified his outlook on life within the fall of 2022 when he suffered a mind harm within the opening soccer recreation for Venice Excessive and underwent emergency surgical procedure to cease bleeding.
“We don’t know if he’s going to make it,” his mom, Crystal Clark, remembers being advised on the hospital.
Nathan Santa Cruz, who survived a mind harm in 2022, goes for a Metropolis Part title at 400 meters.
(Craig Weston)
Santa Cruz recovered so nicely that he performed two extra years of soccer, however his actual love was utilizing his velocity in monitor. Final season he completed second within the Metropolis Part 400. This yr, he ran a career-best time of 47.74 seconds on the Arcadia Invitational.
On Thursday, he’ll have a rematch towards Justin Hart of Granada Hills within the 400 ultimate. They ran one-two final season.
“I think it’s going to be a real competitive race,” Santa Cruz mentioned. “I’m going to try to come out on top.”
If he doesn’t end first, he’s already gained. He has a monitor scholarship ready for him at Cal Poly Pomona, the place he plans to check enterprise or criminology. And he has grown up quick due to what occurred to him. He’s no regular teenager if you hearken to what he believes.
“At the end of the day, it’s God giving you another chance to wake up,” he mentioned. “Make sure I’m better than yesterday. That’s what I do.”
Granada Hills’ Justin Hart, the son of former NBA participant Jason Hart, is favored within the Metropolis 400 and 200.
(Craig Weston)
His competitor, Hart, has his personal story to inform. He’s the son of Kentucky basketball assistant coach Jason Hart, who spent 10 years within the NBA. An older brother, Jason II, additionally performed basketball however Justin was totally different.
Justin performed a lot of sports activities, together with basketball, however when he was 7, he advised his father, “I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want you to waste your money.”
He needed to run.
“I didn’t want to be in my dad’s shadow. I wanted to create my own identity in my own sport,” he mentioned.
He gained the 400 and was second within the 200 ultimately yr’s Metropolis ultimate. He’s going for a sweep on Thursday and is simply getting began.
“I think the ceiling is really high,” Granada Hills coach Johnny Wiley mentioned.
He’ll welcome his father and mom within the bleachers cheering loudly.
There actually gained’t be any losers when Hart and Santa Cruz sq. off. They arrive from nice households and have realized classes that can assist them succeed for years to come back.
Santa Cruz makes it clear he runs to make his mom proud as a result of he’ll always remember a reminiscence from his hospital expertise.
“Seeing her cry at the hospital, I knew I had to go make an impact in her life, make it so she didn’t have to pay for her kid to go to college,” he mentioned. “Seeing her smile, that’s why I do it.”
And when days don’t go in addition to he would possibly like, Santa Cruz mentioned he has realized, “It’s just the way life goes. I think God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.”
