“BRRRNNNG! BRRRNNNG!”
That was the sound of Andreas Quattrocchi’s alarm clock going off each early morning on a typical track or cross country practice day.
As much as he wanted to sleep in, the Bristol High School senior knew other young runners were counting on him to complete a talented roster.
So up and away the team captain went. And the diligence paid off, particularly when the Warriors eventually hoisted the Bicentennial Athletic League cross country team championship trophy. To top it off, he was first across the finish line as well.
Individually, Quattrocchi is raising his own personal hardware.
He, along with two other worthy scholar-sthletes, recently took home the Bucks County Roadrunners Club’s “Great Strides” Scholarship Award. Each received a check for $2,500.
Before that, in May, he was recipient of the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club’s Dick Dougherty Honorarium Award. He received $1,000.
Both checks should come in handy when Quattrocchi begins to attend the University of Pittsburgh this fall.
In his own words for a quote in the Kiwanis Scholar-Athlete Award annual yearbook, Quattrocchi wrote about his commitment to teamwork: “Knowing that these people worked hard for me causes me to work hard for them.”
That group work ethic could very well be the main reason why Bristol’s 4 x 800-meter relay team won the district championship title in 2023.
“I think getting these awards really helped to show me how it was valuable for me to be an athlete in high school,” he said. “A lot of people think sometimes being an athlete might take away from academics, that it might be a waste of time.
“But in this case it’s actually really helped me further my education by getting me money for college.”
Quattrocchi is a member of the National Honor Society and also was named Student of the Year. He was ranked No. 1 in his graduating class.
He acknowledges there’s a certain self-discipline which must be maintained to achieve these honors.
“It (other athletes/coaches’ expectations) also makes me want to run harder,” Quattrocchi explained. “Running alone, I feel, is always a lot harder than running with a group. I think you can just push yourself harder within a group. Everyone keeps improving off each other, rather than trying to improve off yourself.”
Other recipients for the Great Strides honor included Council Rock High School South’s Maeve Boyes and Central Bucks East High School’s Alexander Antonucci.
“The BCRR Great Strides Scholarship supports students like Alexander, Maeve and Andreas who embody the spirit of running both on and off the track,” said BCRR scholarship administrator Tim Bulat. “The scholarship honors their ability to apply lessons from running – such as discipline, leadership and perseverance – to overcome challenges and make meaningful contributions to their communities and future careers.”
Boyes is scheduled to start her classes at Millersville University in the fall and Antonucci is headed to Pitt.
Now if it seems like the name “Pitt” keeps popping up in this column, fret not, because we’re just getting started.
As it turns out, Quattrocchi’s classmate (and girlfriend) Heidi Brown, also will be attending Pitt in the fall.
She also received the Dick Dougherty Honorarium Award both for her accomplishments in track and cross country as well as in the classroom (distinguished honor roll, second in her class, etc.).
Andreas and Heidi should make for a great partnership in western Pennsylvania. He’s majoring in chemistry with hopes of becoming a doctor someday. She’s majoring in film making. Maybe the two can get together down the road and create a successor to the popular streaming TV series “The Pitt.”
When it came time to decide on colleges, there was an interesting conversation.
“I applied to BU (Boston University) and she applied to Emerson (in Massachusetts),” Quattrocchi recalled. “I told her about how much I loved Pittsburgh. Then she visited it and loved it as well.”
There are plenty of great places to run in the Three Rivers area so no doubt that played into the decision as well.
Quattrocchi, who ran a 9:47 for the 3200 in high school, plans to run only intramurals at Pitt but who knows? Maybe someone will put a stopwatch on him and recommend he get back into serious competition.
His commitment to running began back in ninth grade when he participated in the BCRR Winter Series at Tyler State Park.
“Running in the winter is what separates the serious cross country runners,” he said. “The Roadrunners definitely gave me the fortitude because they run in such cold temperatures, the hills, the long distances. They really improved my aerobic capacity. In general, just the toughness.”
All that is paying off now, that’s for sure.>Race calendar
That was the sound of Andreas Quattrocchi’s alarm clock going off each early morning on a typical track or cross country practice day.
As much as he wanted to sleep in, the Bristol High School senior knew other young runners were counting on him to complete a talented roster.
So up and away the team captain went. And the diligence paid off, particularly when the Warriors eventually hoisted the Bicentennial Athletic League cross country team championship trophy. To top it off, he was first across the finish line as well.
Individually, Quattrocchi is raising his own personal hardware.
He, along with two other worthy scholar-sthletes, recently took home the Bucks County Roadrunners Club’s “Great Strides” Scholarship Award. Each received a check for $2,500.
Before that, in May, he was recipient of the Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis Club’s Dick Dougherty Honorarium Award. He received $1,000.
Both checks should come in handy when Quattrocchi begins to attend the University of Pittsburgh this fall.
In his own words for a quote in the Kiwanis Scholar-Athlete Award annual yearbook, Quattrocchi wrote about his commitment to teamwork: “Knowing that these people worked hard for me causes me to work hard for them.”
That group work ethic could very well be the main reason why Bristol’s 4 x 800-meter relay team won the district championship title in 2023.
“I think getting these awards really helped to show me how it was valuable for me to be an athlete in high school,” he said. “A lot of people think sometimes being an athlete might take away from academics, that it might be a waste of time.
“But in this case it’s actually really helped me further my education by getting me money for college.”
Quattrocchi is a member of the National Honor Society and also was named Student of the Year. He was ranked No. 1 in his graduating class.
He acknowledges there’s a certain self-discipline which must be maintained to achieve these honors.
“It (other athletes/coaches’ expectations) also makes me want to run harder,” Quattrocchi explained. “Running alone, I feel, is always a lot harder than running with a group. I think you can just push yourself harder within a group. Everyone keeps improving off each other, rather than trying to improve off yourself.”
Other recipients for the Great Strides honor included Council Rock High School South’s Maeve Boyes and Central Bucks East High School’s Alexander Antonucci.
“The BCRR Great Strides Scholarship supports students like Alexander, Maeve and Andreas who embody the spirit of running both on and off the track,” said BCRR scholarship administrator Tim Bulat. “The scholarship honors their ability to apply lessons from running – such as discipline, leadership and perseverance – to overcome challenges and make meaningful contributions to their communities and future careers.”
Boyes is scheduled to start her classes at Millersville University in the fall and Antonucci is headed to Pitt.
Now if it seems like the name “Pitt” keeps popping up in this column, fret not, because we’re just getting started.
As it turns out, Quattrocchi’s classmate (and girlfriend) Heidi Brown, also will be attending Pitt in the fall.
She also received the Dick Dougherty Honorarium Award both for her accomplishments in track and cross country as well as in the classroom (distinguished honor roll, second in her class, etc.).
Andreas and Heidi should make for a great partnership in western Pennsylvania. He’s majoring in chemistry with hopes of becoming a doctor someday. She’s majoring in film making. Maybe the two can get together down the road and create a successor to the popular streaming TV series “The Pitt.”
When it came time to decide on colleges, there was an interesting conversation.
“I applied to BU (Boston University) and she applied to Emerson (in Massachusetts),” Quattrocchi recalled. “I told her about how much I loved Pittsburgh. Then she visited it and loved it as well.”
There are plenty of great places to run in the Three Rivers area so no doubt that played into the decision as well.
Quattrocchi, who ran a 9:47 for the 3200 in high school, plans to run only intramurals at Pitt but who knows? Maybe someone will put a stopwatch on him and recommend he get back into serious competition.
His commitment to running began back in ninth grade when he participated in the BCRR Winter Series at Tyler State Park.
“Running in the winter is what separates the serious cross country runners,” he said. “The Roadrunners definitely gave me the fortitude because they run in such cold temperatures, the hills, the long distances. They really improved my aerobic capacity. In general, just the toughness.”
All that is paying off now, that’s for sure.>Race calendar
Saturday, June 28
Dairy Air 5K/10K/13.1-Miles, 8:30 a.m., Doylestown. Contact www.scoogieevents.com
Sunday, June 29
OneNationRunning 4 on the Fourth, 8:30 a.m., Churchbille. Contact www.onenationrunning.com
Run for the Fallen 5K, 8:30 a.m., Penndel. Contact www.runsignup.com
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