A young man for all seasons

ELDRED, NY — When Eldred senior Catlan Sardina looks up at the banner in his school’s gymnasium, the one that commemorates last spring’s Division V and Section 9 track championships, he beams with pride. He was a key part of that milestone 8-0 season, which will long be remembered in the annals of Eldred’s long and illustrious sports history.

“Someday I’ll come back here with my own kids, show them this banner and tell them about how their dad was a part of something special,” Sardina mused.

A three-season runner who works relentlessly to give his team every ounce of his effort throughout cross-country, indoor and outdoor track, Sardina is not the school’s fastest runner, but he is unquestionably vital to the team’s success.

Frank Schorling, Eldred’s coach throughout those three seasons, said, “I can call on Catlan for virtually any running or jumping event during the indoor or outdoor season. Whatever we need, he’ll give it to us.”

A state qualifier in cross-country this past fall for the first time with his time of 19:05.1, Sardina placed sixth among the section’s Class D runners and joined teammates Kieran Pierce and Max Gunther, who took second and fourth place respectively, to qualify for the state meet. It was an experience that left a lasting impression.

A series of injuries caused first-place Millbrook to be scratched, and Eldred, which finished behind Millbrook by a scant one point, went on to states as Section 9’s Class D boys team representative.

“It was amazing to be a part of something like that for a whole day and to be among the best runners in New York State,” Sardina said.

He and his teammates trained hard last summer and attended the Brookwood Five Star Cross-Country Camp in Glen Spey. They came into the fall intent on keeping Eldred in the running limelight.

Now, after his successes in cross-country, the focus of Sardina’s indoor efforts is to break the school high-jump record by leaping 5-10. His best indoor jump of 5-8 came at last year’s league meet. He has cleared 5-11 outdoors.

“I don’t have a high vertical leap so I have to work on my speed to get a great launch,” he said. Schorling has told Sardina, “You can jump as high as your body will take you.”

While setting his immediate sights on 5-10, Sardina aspires to an even loftier future, one that begins this fall at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach Florida. The institution awarded Sardina him with a $20,000 scholarship, and he will study civil engineering, a field that will allow him to pursue his love of mathematics.

Being in Florida will also reunite Sardina with his mother, Elaine, and two of his three brothers who live in Orlando. When Elaine moved to Orlando at the beginning of Sardina’s junior year, Catlan went with her, but he soon missed the familiarity and unique atmosphere of Eldred, the only school he had ever known. Moving from the intimacy of the Eldred campus to a Class AAAA school with 2,400 students didn’t suit him, so he returned in time for indoor track and has stayed ever since with his grandmother, Katherine, whom he refers to as Kappy.

“I come from the greatest family in the world,” Sardina said. “Kappy is 84. She raised four kids and whatever she did, she did it right.” One of the kids is Catlan’s uncle Don, who Sardina said he most resembles when it comes to his outgoing and affable nature.

Waxing eloquent about his mother, Sardina said, “My mom is the strongest person I have ever known. She raised four boys by herself and worked 50 to 60 hours a week as a licensed practical nurse. Anything that makes me a leader is due to my mom. I learned to appreciate everything from her.”

Sardina’s appreciation includes a love of music, especially ska bands such as Reel Big Fish and Sublime. He plays the saxophone, guitar, bass guitar and piano and cites music as an integral part of his life. He has tapped into his active mind and creativity to propel Eldred’s success in the Sullivan County Interacademic League (SCIL) competitions since seventh grade, where Eldred is currently in second place. He has danced in Eldred’s production of “The Music Man” and done the lighting for “Annie,” where the unassuming dynamo has spent his time shining the spotlight on his fellow schoolmates.

This week’s youth in focus is a seasoned runner, a talented musician, a creative thinker and a devoted son. Catlan Sardina is in every sense a young man for all seasons.