Deer Creek’s A.J. Antonelli’s competitive drive has helped him accomplish his goals
EDMOND, Okla. (BVM) — 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.
“Winning it’s pretty cool,” Antonelli said. “There are some good guys that have won it, so it’s pretty cool and meaningful [to be a part of that].”
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.
Deer Creek’s AJ Antonelli wins his first Class 6A state title. Edmond Memorial’s Josh Cherry places second, Deer Creek’s Gilbert Velez is third, Broken Arrow’s Blake Feron is fourth and Stillwater’s Keegan Thomas is fifth. #OKPreps pic.twitter.com/c6wKUWEsNR
— Nick Sardis (@nick_sardis) October 30, 2021
Antonelli also took sixth in the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championship Silver Race. He ran the Deer Creek program-best with 14:58.70.
“A.J. ‘s very competitive,” Deer Creek head cross country coach David Riden said. “He’s so competitive that when we go on road trips and we’re in the hotel lobby and the kids are playing cards, this guy is the most competitive guy at the table. Whether you’re playing a card game or doing a workout. Competing really drives him.”
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.
“In middle school, I started out playing football,” Antonelli said. “I 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 ‘You should try track.’”
That’s exactly what Antonelli did. He wasn’t the best from the start, but he continued to perfect his craft and the results have spoken for themselves.
“I never won any meets or anything, but I ran pretty fast,” Antonelli said. “I 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.”
Coach Riden knew he had a special athlete from the get-go.
“I knew he was competitive in a special way from his freshman track season and on,” Ridden said. “He ran 4:29 in a regional meet when he was freshman and I was like ‘Woah, what just happened…This kid isn’t afraid of anything.’ He’s 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.”
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.
“We went down to a meet in early September [of 2021], in Texas,” Riden said. “He 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.”
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.
“I might go to college,” Antonelli said. “I 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’s like a family that we have here.”
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.
“It’s funny; you get a guy like Bryce Balenseifen seven or eight years ago and people think, ‘Well, will anybody ever touch that again?,’” Riden said. “[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.
“As accomplished as he’s been, at the end of the day he’s just another guy with the rest of the guys. That’s a powerful thing for a team to not feel like they’re in somebody’s shadow and they can enjoy their accolades with them.”
