ERAU Favorite Alum Sam Vazquez Comes Back For Spikes Classic


Nearly 100 teams settled in to every available nook and cranny of the beautiful and spacious Embry Riddle Sports Complex, as competitors ranging from middle school to masters age groups pushed the limits of athletic performance. Included among them were national and international stars, not the least of which was ERAU alumnus (and Florida high school 4:02.46 1600 record holder) Sam Vazquez.

Here to support his alma mater, Sammy was admittedly not at 100%--he is in a recovery stage of his Olympic-level training--but toed the line in the college/open 800. After an inspiring intro over the PA system, and the boisterous response of the thousands in attendance, he left little doubts as to why he is everyone's favorite distance runner.

Sammy took the lead in the waning yards of the first lap, let it go in the final straightaway, and won in 1:52.44.

"Maybe it's just the nature of competition," he explained. "You come back, it's the home crowd, and I just want to perform. I was in the middle of the race with the Embry Riddle guys and I just wanted to do my best."

As he never fails to do.


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