Determination paying off for North Jersey Male Athlete of the Week

Tavi Victoria wasn't born to run the hurdles, but once he found the event, he ran them like he was.

"He picked up the three-step (approach) right away," Passaic Valley coach Eric Getz said of Victoria, who began to hurdle as a freshman. "He was pretty good by the end of his freshman year and just kept getting better."

Victoria placed second in the Big North Independence 55-meter hurdles in his first winter season (held outdoors because of COVID) and placed third in league and Passaic County competition at the traditional 110-meter distance that spring.

"I had always wanted to try the hurdles because my sister (Zuania) was good at them," Tavi Victoria said. "She taught about the trail leg and lead leg, so when I began to run them, I thought I'd be good too.''

Prior to high school, Tavi had played soccer and he continued his first two years at PV. But the limited soccer schedule as a freshman and his rapid improvement in track had him ready to become a full-time runner by the beginning of his junior year, even after a serious fall while warming up for the Passaic County 55-hurdles race two years ago.

He recovered quickly from his fall, which left him with a fractured clavicle, qualifying for the Group 2 state championship in the spring in both the 110 and 400 hurdles.

"I was getting a lot better in track than I was in soccer," Victoria said. "So I started to run cross-country."

"His dedication to track and field is second to none," Getz said. "He's so focused and dedicated on everything he does. And he handles adversity very well."

Victoria faced more adversity last spring when, after finishing second in both hurdles at sectionals, he pulled his hamstring in practice a few days before the group meet.

"I was hurdling really well and I decided that I'd do it a few more times that day," Victoria said. "On the last rep before I stopped, I felt a rip. Then I was in denial. How could this happen now?"

But it did and his season ended prematurely.

"Now I just try to end practices on a high note and not push too hard," he said. "I do more hip exercises and I'm always working on the stretching my hammies."

The results have been sensational. He is hundredths of a second away from the school record in the 55-hurdles and positioned the Hornets with a chance to win the team title in next week's sectional.

He's also essentially coaching himself this winter since PV doesn't have a hurdles coach this season, and is helping his teammates develop in the event.

"I help him with his steps and starts but he knows the event so well, and he watches tape of his own races and some great pros as well, trying to get better," Getz said.

"I need to be more aggressive attacking the hurdles," said Victoria, who is considering Caldwell, Ramapo, Rowan and Rider for college, where he hopes to major in computer science. "I know I can get faster."

Tavi Victoria

Sport: Indoor track and field

School: Passaic Valley

Class: Senior. Age: 17

Accomplishment: Victoria won the 55-hurdles in the Passaic County Indoor Track championships, ending two years of frustration at the meet. He also placed fifth in the open 400 and anchored the Hornets to a 4-x-400 relay in a school record time.

Also nominated: Nick Lewin of Tenafly, David Weidmuller of Pascack Hills, and Asya Akar of Lyndhurst for basketball; Matthew Chang of Leonia and Jaden Ellis of Hackensack for swimming; and Oumar Tounkara of Teaneck for wrestling.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Record Male Athlete of the Week: Tavi Victoria, Passaic Valley