HOUSTON - Emanuel Galdino put a golden finish on his high school running career under the state’s brightest lights.
In the same stadium that just a year ago, the Stratford senior raced to a third-place finish in the 1600-meter run, the Iowa State-signee kicked it into another gear in 2022. Coming down the home stretch of Mike A. Myers Stadium, Galdino raced across the line more than 10 seconds faster from 2021.
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Galdino crossed along at 4:06.40 - a personal best good enough for the Class 6A 1600-meter State Championship.
"This is what every runner has been working for is that state gold medal," Galdino said.
Emanuel Galdino from Houston Stratford takes the 6A boys 1600m win in a time of 4:06 ahead of Plano West’s Hudson Heikkinen. pic.twitter.com/bbZmksVLti
— Texas MileSplit (@TXMileSplit) May 15, 2022
The Stratford senior this spring finished in either first or second in every race he ran. Of his 19 races, Galdino took first in 15 of those.
His 1600-meter time went from a 4:20.95 in the opening race of the season at the Spring Branch ISD Will Taylor Relays in February to shaving off more than 14 seconds by this past weekend's UIL State Track & Field State Championships.
So, when did he know that a gold medal would be his destiny?
"The moment I woke up that morning," Galdino said. "I knew when I was going to step on that line, I was going to win."
As Galdino walks away from Stratford, he hopes that people remember him for being "exhilarating" and driven.
"If you want it and dream about it, go get it," Galdino said.
