HICKORY, Penn. (WKBN) – During the spring there are no days off for Hickory track and baseball star senior Luca Bertolasio.
“It’s taught me mentally to not overreact to things and just to focus and hunker down, trust in the process and just get to both on time and do the best that,” Bertolasio said.
Between indoor and outdoor track, Bertolasio is a two-time state champion in the long jump while racking up four all-state honors and six state medals. Luca has also excelled in the classroom, with a near-perfect grade point average.
“I’ve always been driven to have good grades because I like to succeed at the highest level,” Bertolasio said. “Especially because if you don’t have good grades, you’re failing class, and you hear all the time people getting kicked off of teams because they’re failing classes. I never wanted that to be me.”
By doing that, Luca knows that his athletic achievements are not the only thing that is inspiring future Hornets.
“That was the impact I was hoping to have. I wanted to leave something behind that people can look up to, to be a role model. And my main thing is lead by example,” Bertolasio said. “So, going out there performing under big pressure, big situations, that’s kind of the way I like to show everybody. That’s who I am.”
Next, Bertolasio plans to study accounting when he heads to St. Bonaventure in a few months to play division one baseball for the Bonnies.
“I’ve definitely got extreme satisfaction from that, but at the end of the day, I have to look at I still have four more years, so the work doesn’t just stop,” Bertolasio said. “I have to continue doing what I’ve been doing these past couple of years, training my butt off. And when I get there, I need to understand that I need to train even harder. I have to earn my spot, show them, show them how good I am, and just go out there and get it.”
Hickory senior Luca Bertolasio is the student athlete of the week.
