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Earned All-American honors for his 400-meter dash at the 2012 NCAA Division II Championships.

By Jeffrey Weisbord ’15

Considering the feats of All-American sprinter Mychael Fabio ’12, it is hard to believe that track and field wasn’t his first love.

Sprinting Ahead

As a football player at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, New York, Mr. Fabio only took up track to stay in shape between football seasons.

“I used it mainly to get faster for football, and it was a great way to stay active when I wasn’t playing football,” he says. After qualifying for the indoor and outdoor state and outdoor national championships and receiving All-Suffolk County, All-Division II and All-State accolades in his senior year, Mr. Fabio and his family realized that committing to track would present the best opportunity for a college scholarship. The scholarships eventually poured in, and Mr. Fabio was drawn to Adelphi. He says he “fell in love with the campus” and was impressed by the extracurricular opportunities.

Dashing 400 meters at top speed can be daunting to even the most accomplished sprinter, and, despite a decorated high school career, Mr. Fabio initially approached the 400-meter events like a hiker encountering a hungry grizzly. “I was always reluctant to run the 400-meter events. I was afraid of the possibility of not finishing the race because of fatigue,” he says. “The 400-meter was definitely my biggest obstacle.”

In spite of his fear, Mr. Fabio gave the event his best and managed to shave nearly 2.5 seconds off of his time over the course of his Adelphi career. The event that he had once dreaded became his specialty and the one in which he earned All-American honors. “The first time I was named an All-American was in my sophomore year, and that was truly a special experience,” Mr. Fabio says. “It was a goal that I had set from the outset, and it was very rewarding to accomplish it.” He won NCAA All-American honors again in his senior year, and last May, he was named East Region Male Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Mr. Fabio considers his Adelphi coaches as mentors and credits them, particularly assistant coach Kelvin Campbell, with guiding him to success both on and off the track. His coaches are similarly complimentary. In describing Mr. Fabio, Mr. Campbell says, “He is a very vibrant young man who loves life and has a willingness to succeed at all of his goals—both on the field and in life.”

This piece appeared in the Adelphi University Magazine Fall 2012 edition.

For further information, please contact:

Todd Wilson
Strategic Communications Director 
p – 516.237.8634
e – twilson@adelphi.edu

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