Overcoming a series of hurdles, including illness and injury, sophomore Jessica DiLullo has risen to the challenge with another great track season.
With a personal record high jump of 5 feet on March 26 against Gonzales, Soledad and Pacific Grove, the sophomore jumper took the victory, while also battling shin splints, only to repeat the same height at the Avis Kelley invitational tournament on March 28, in which she placed fourth overall.
The young high jumper attributes parts of her success to the positive energy of her team and looks up to a few of them for various reasons.
“I would say that I look up to almost everyone on our team because everyone displays different attributes,” DiLullo says. “Delaney [King] shows really good technique, and Nick [Lombardi] is great overall.”
Shin splints have been a major factor for DiLullo this season, being her reason for missing multiple weeks at a time. Her resilience to the pain has been extremely impressive, and she overcame as a true competitor in King City.
On April 23 she won the Mission Trail Athletic League frosh/soph championship at King City for the second year in a row, clearing a height of 4-8. She looks to advance further with an MTAL championship and to make it all the way to the Central Coast Section championships.
In just her second year ever running track, DiLullo never ceases to impress her team and her coach, Tom Clifford, who takes notice of her accomplishments and her leadership and work ethic.
“She has an amazing attitude, and even though she’s just a sophomore, she brings great leadership and support to the entire program,” Clifford commends. “We really value everything she gives to us.”
Not only because of her statistics, but also because of her leadership, work ethic and determination to work through adversity, Jessica DiLullo is a worthy athlete for Padre of the Month.
-Lennie Rodriguez
