It’s hard enough for a student-athlete to participate in one sport, splitting time between a sport and the classroom.
But for Wantagh High School’s Isabella DelaCruz, playing on one team isn’t enough. Two? Try again. This young star is a three-sport athlete, and she’s truly one-of-a-kind.
DelaCruz’s top sport is soccer, where she’s become a leader on and off the field for the Warriors varsity girls soccer squad.
“Soccer is my favorite sport, even though I participate in two other sports,” she said. “There’s something about it that I just love. It’s physical and I’m able to run around the field for the whole game. It’s different than other sports.”
The midfielder started playing soccer in the fifth grade. From there, she joined a Wantagh-Seaford travel team before joining the district’s junior varsity group in the seventh grade.
But outside of soccer, the senior athlete is a star in track and field, specifically in hurdles.
This year, she’s attempting to break the school record in the 400-meter hurdles, which currently sits at 67 seconds. Her personal record is 69 seconds, and she feels it’s certainly doable.
And the best part about these two sports? Well, the skills she uses in one help the other.
“The running and being able to run so much from track,” DelaCruz explained. “I do hurdles, so that helps me not get so tight with the kicks.”
To top it off, DelaCruz is on a cheer team outside of school. This means after practice, she then heads over to another facility to work on her form for that sport as well. While soccer and track and field are after-school programs, this takes place in the early evening, a schedule she’s perfected over the years.
As this tri-sport star prepares to graduate, she looks to end her Wantagh career on a high note. DelaCruz previously been named to the All-Conference team in soccer, All-County in track and field and in her freshman year, she was All-County in gymnastics.
In college, DelaCruz will likely participate in acrobatics and tumbling, something a bit different from the sports she’s currently in. She’s deciding between multiple universities right now.
Until she heads off to start the next chapter of her life, she’s excited to lead Wantagh in many ways.
