Sam Ambrocio, speed demon from Woodland Regional, participated in the Naugatuck Valley League Championship race against other runners to compete for the title of NVL Champion.

Ambrocio looks up to his past teammate, Alex Farr, who holds many school records.

“I ran with him over the summer,” said Ambrocio. “He was one of the only people I’ve ever ran over the summer with.”

The NVL Champion race was only two laps and whoever reached the finish line first, obtained the champion title. For Ambrocio, it started off great as he was focused and passed all the other runners except one: Jake Ferrari from Holy Cross.

“He had a huge gap on me. There was at one point a 14 second gap on me,” said Ambrocio.

However, things started to change for Ambrocio as that 14 second gap reduced to around five seconds when the first lap was done and was making progress near the end.

“As I got closer and closer to him, I saw him starting to slow down and I realized [that] I had a chance,” said Ambrocio.

He eventually surpassed him. Ambrocio’s friends initially didn’t believe he won because of the distance between him and Ferrari at the start, and were ecstatic when they came to the realization that Ambrocio had legitimately won.

“Honestly, I felt overwhelmed because it’s a huge achievement for me,” said Ambrocio.

After Ambrocio graduates from Woodland, he is unsure on what to study and pursue his career in. He wants cross country and track to be a part of his college journey.

The comeback of Ambrocio closing the distance between Ferrari can also show everyone how things can unexpectedly change when effort is put in. Whether it comes to a Championship or something outside of sports, things change.