TRACK & FIELD

Diverse Dello Russo rose to challenge

Jim Hague
Correspondent

As far back as Gina Dello Russo can remember, she’s been extremely busy and active when it came to sports. When the time came for Dello Russo to enroll at Whippany Park High School, she was certain that she was going to limit her activities to one sport: soccer.

“I always played soccer, basketball, softball, gymnastics, you name it,” said Dello Russo, who was part of the Wildcats’ soccer team for four years. “I always did them all.”

But Dello Russo also found out that she loved participating in track and field — and not just one event.

Dello Russo tried running sprints. And the high jump. And the pole vault.

Dello Russo is the 2015-16 All Daily Record Girls Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

“She’s talented, but she’s also the most driven and determined athlete I’ve ever coached in my 19 years,” Whippany Park coach Steve Manni said. “Put it all together: the drive, the determination, the motivation and the talent and you have Gina.”

Added Dello Russo, “For as long as I’ve been involved in track, I’ve done as many events as possible. ... It’s definitely not easy, but I’ve always done well under pressure. I try to compete in four events all the time, because if I’m not always doing something, it feels weird and I tend to get bored.”

Dello Russo won the pole vault three times, including the Morris County and North 2 Group I titles. She won the 300 three times, including defending her title at the Morris County Championships. She set a meet record in the 400 at the Back Invitational. She placed second in one meet in the 600 and second once in the 200.

Dello Russo ran the anchor leg on three gold-medal winning relays. She collected four silver medals in the high jump.

All totaled, Dello Russo earned 30 medals during the indoor season.

“It’s a combination of being gifted and being an extremely hard worker,” Manni said. “She has natural talent, but she has natural drive and determination in everything she does. I can’t ask for anything more than what she’s given us. I think if I asked her to run through a brick wall for me, she’d say, ‘OK.’ She did it all. She led the team. She led by example. It’s safe to say we don’t achieve what we did this year without her.”

Of all the events that Dello Russo competes in, she still works the hardest on the pole vault.

“I’m still learning,” Dello Russo said. “It’s time consuming, but with the pole vault, so many things can go wrong. I don’t spend that much time on the pole vault in the winter months, because we don’t have a place to practice.”

Dello Russo maintains a 4.4 grade-point average and scored a 2010 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. She plans to attend Stevens Tech in the fall. She doesn’t know what she wants to major in quite yet, but she would like to continue her track and field career there.

“I definitely made the right choice to concentrate on track,” Dello Russo said. “I just loved being with my teammates. We’re all so close. They all made it easier.”