- April 20, 2024
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Sam Vazquez was one of the fastest high school runners in the nation when he was a senior at Flagler Palm Coast High School.
His speed landed him a scholarship to run for the University of Arkansas — one of the top track and cross-country programs in the nation. But Vazquez struggled in school and eventually flunked out.
He returned home, gave up running, and jumped around from part-time job to part-time job.
“When he came home, he went into a funk,” said Palm Coast resident Frank Zedar, Sam’s stepfather. “A lot of people would’ve just quit, but he didn’t. He kept at it.”
Vazquez reached out to Peter Hopfe, his former coach while at FPC, who was coaching at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Vazquez enrolled, joined the track and cross-country teams and began to get back in the groove.
Upon graduating, he was faced with a difficult decision: continue running or begin his professional working career.
At 27, Vazquez chose to keep running.
“The thing that has struck me is his tenacity,” Zedar said. “The young man just would not give up.”
The past year has been a memorable one for Vazquez. While running for ERAU, he was about 10 seconds off the pace for the Oylmpic standard. Not anymore. But there’s one last hurdle: Getting his family to London.
“Would we love to go to London? Absolutely,” Zedar said. “But I have a hard time with that because there are so many people who are in a financial situation where they’re worse off than we are.”
But either way, Vazquez is headed across the pond this summer thanks to his perseverance.
“To have it be rewarded kind of at the 11th hour like that was vindication for Sam,” Zedar said.
If you’d like to help Vazquez’s family get to London, contact Sam Vazquez via email at [email protected].
Eric LaVerne to play soccer at ERAU
Matanzas High School graduate Eric LaVerne has signed to play soccer at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in Daytona Beach.
ERAU is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and plays in the Sun Conference. Last season, the Eagles went 13-5-2 en route to a Sun Conference championship.
LaVerne plays central defender and was a three-year varsity player for the Pirates.
As a senior, LaVerne was team captain and named the Pirates’ MVP. He was also selected to the St. Johns River Athletic Conference First Team.
“I always knew I wanted to play college soccer, but it’s been a big goal of mine the past two seasons,” LaVerne said. “I’m excited to actually get the opportunity to play.”
LaVerne will get some academic scholarship money and intends on studying either computer sciences or business.
