Twin Valley’s Anthony Engle has cleared every hurdle in his path — including fear
Anthony Engle once was a linebacker, tackling running backs and quarterbacks.
Now he tackles fear.
As a runner it’s fear — the fear of the unknown pain which awaits when you push to new levels — that slows the mind and bogs the legs.
Engle, like all elite runners, knows that fear all too well. It once held him back from reaching the goals and achieving the times he eyed. At some point earlier this year the Twin Valley senior caught up with and then passed that fear. Now everyone’s chasing him.
“It’s all about pushing through the next barrier and getting to the next level when you’re tired,” said the Berks cross country champ and Player of the Year and Firing Meet 3200 champ. “You’ve gotta recognize that if you want to (reach) the goals you set for yourself it’s not going to be easy at all. You’ve got to learn how to get gritty with it and persevere through the pain.
“When that pain hits and you’re in that compromised state of mind, that’s when you might fall back. It’s learning to accept the pain, being prepared for it.”
Engle has prepared himself for it with rigorous year-round training sessions, pushing himself every inch of the way. He got a boost in the spring by competing head-to-head with Schuylkill Valley’s Penn State-bound Luke Seymour, the two dueling in the 800, 1600 and 3200. Seymour emerged with county titles in the two shorter races, Engle as champ in the two-mile. Each came out the better for it.
“It feels so much easier racing when you have someone to chase and someone to compete with it,” Engle said. “It makes a world of difference.”
Engle is not about easy; he’s about hard. He rarely takes a day off from training or competing. He goes right from cross country to indoor track to outdoor track to summer sessions and excels at all of them.
In between he pushes himself in the classroom, where he carries a 4.4 GPA. He tries to be involved in as many school activities as possible, such as the National Honor Society and Twin Valley’s Heroes program (high school students teaching at local elementary schools). On weekends, he works in the kitchen at Emily’s, in Mohnton.
“I try and challenge myself with every aspect of my life,” he said.
No wonder the military academies battled for his services. The U.S. Naval Academy won; Engle announced his commitment last week.
“He was that perfect candidate,” said Brian Holden, his coach in all three seasons. “Intelligent, dedicated, hard-working and obviously unbelievably talented.”
Engle could’ve been a football star. He played running back, quarterback and linebacker in junior high.
He also had early success running, winning county championships in seventh grade (in cross country) and in eighth grade (in cross country and track).
He decided to punt on football; his lane to success, he determined, would come on the track and as a runner.
Holden first coached him in eighth grade.
“You could tell he was that special kid,” Holden said. “He had that amazing combination of unbelievable talent, intelligence and dedication.
“You knew he was going to excel, and not just on the track. You knew this was a boy and an athlete who was going to go far.”
Engle already owns a pair of PIAA medals and five school records: The indoor 800, 1600 and 3000 and outdoor 800 and 1600. He’s eying the 3200 record of 9:24; he needs to trim eight seconds from last year’s best to get there.
He could end up as a four-way county champ come spring, in the 800, 1600, 3200 and 3200 relay. He helped the Raiders win the Class 3A championship last year at the Firing Meet with his anchor leg in the 3200. The Raiders finished second in the event, one spot (and two points) ahead of Wyomissing; they ended up edging the Spartans by 1 1/2 points for the overall title.
It’s too early to know which events Engle will concentrate on come spring. He can compete in any race from the 400 on up; he’s even one of the Raiders’ top javelin throwers.
“Whichever events he wants to focus on, he can be good at,” Holden said.
Engle’s grandfather, Clarence Stufflet, served with the Navy during World War II. He has other relatives who have served in the Marines. He’s long thought about a military career. As he grew as an athlete and student he saw that the academies were within reach; he made getting into one a goal.
“Once he started thinking about West Point and Annapolis, that was it, he was all-in,” Holden said. “He was determined that’s where he was going to go and did everything he could to get there.”
For someone with Engle’s discipline, mental toughness and athletic ability Plebe Summer upon arrival in Annapolis shouldn’t be much of a hurdle. He figures to have a mental edge over many of his classmates. He’s prepared for any challenge now.
“You’ve gotta remind yourself that the better you get the harder it’s gonna be,” Engle said.
