(Photo by Jeff Adams)
Tyler Cardillo had the talent college coaches salivated over. He was the type of runner that could run 1:53 in the 800, 4:11 in the 1,600, and 15:10 for 5k. A state champion in the 1,600 in his senior year and top three finishes in the half mile and in cross country, his proudest achievement might have been on the Charlotte 4x800m relay team that ran a then US#2 time of 7:30.31 at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Cardillo chose the University of Florida to continue his track career and major in Biology with a pursuit in the medical field, but something was missing.
"The first year was great. I grew a lot mentally and physically and had to quickly learn how to balance academics and athletics. The maths and sciences at Florida are pretty challenging and being on the top track team in the nation took a lot of work. It is definitely a full-time job to be a student-athlete."
Cardillo placed fifth at SEC Indoors in the mile and finished up outdoors at the NCAA East Regional where he was 24th in the semifinals. He planned on trying to make the junior world team, but was sixth in the prelims of the 800m. The summer going into his sophomore year he started to have doubts about being able to balance athletics and academics.
"I thought about it for awhile and came back and started to train until the end of September and that's when I decided that I would have to step away from running so I could pursue the academics. It was tough to get the research, shadowing, clinicals and volunteering that I needed. It was a really tough choice to stop running, but I was set on what I wanted to pursue later on in life and the coaches were so understanding of that."
He spent his sophomore and junior years studying, getting involved with extracurricular activities such as medical clubs, logging clinical hours, and volunteering at local hospitals. To stay in shape, Cardillo would play intramural sports, everything from frisbee to flag football, indoor soccer, basketball, kickball, softball and tennis, but what about track?
"They had an intramural track event once a year so I ran events for fun and did the long jump. I'm not sure if the hunger to run was still there. I did the 200 and 4x200 and won both. I finished third in the long jump. I sort of missed it, but mostly because I think i'm a competitive person."
There is a saying, "Once a runner. Always a runner." For Cardillo, who started running when he was 14 and had been going competitively for five years, the spark had been lost, but was waiting to be rekindled.
"So my senior year, I was looking into doing a masters program before going into the medical field.I talked to my old coach from the summers in New York where I trained in high school (Cliff Clark) and I told him that I was thinking of running again since I still had a year of eligibility left."
The search led him to Harding University, a private liberal arts school located in Searcy, Arkansas about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock. Cardillo applied for the school's MBA program and was accepted. After visiting during one of his breaks he really enjoyed the coach and the team and decided to reignite his running career.
"I think I missed the sport. It has introduced me to some amazing people and Ii've made some of my closest friendships through the running community. I felt that I left a lot on the table when I stopped running after my freshman year, so when I had completed my classes and undergraduate degree, i thought that being more mature now and understanding what it takes to be a student-athlete would allow me to pursue running again while having a healthy balance in my academics."
From a D1 power in Florida competing for national championships on a year in and year out basis, to a small school D2 Bison program, will definitely be a change for Cardillo, but it's one he embraces.
"I wasn't looking at too many other schools because I wanted a program that wouldn't bring a lot of pressure. Don't get me wrong, there is pressure to perform well, but it's a different sort of pressure than going to a school that is known for producing national championships each year and has a 100 million dollar athletic budget."
Now that he's taken a back seat and watched friends like Ryan Schnulle and gator teammates Jimmy Clark and others enjoy success, he's ready to get back in the game, ready for his turn.
"I did miss it when I would watch the championships because a little part of me felt that I could have been there. But that's the path that I decided to take so I was just enjoying getting to see my friends doing really well. The goal at harding is the finish up my MBA degree, help out the team as much as I can in cross country, and make it to nationals on the track. We have a lot of talented guys here which is neat to see."
Cardillo landed on campus in August and admits that training has been going well with what he calls a pretty tight group of guys. As one of the more experienced members of the team, he is embracing that role as a leader.
"Everyone has been pushing everyone to be the best they can be. We're trying to bring home the conference championship in xc this year so that has been a goal we all have been training for. The program is good. We have a lot of talented guys that are in great shape right now. Many of them don't realize how great they can be and i'm trying to help them see that. Running is a very mental sport, and confidence is such a big part of it. Once these guys believe in their training and put the nerves behind them they'll be seeing some incredible improvements."It's just the beginning of a new chapter for Cardillo on a journey that has come full circle.
It has been pretty incredible. I've enjoyed getting back into the swing of it after being away from the sport for a few years. Like I said before, I've made some great friendships through running that will last me the rest of my life. You're never too old to get into running. It's a sport that you can pursue for the rest of your life. Sure there might be some physical limitations as you get older, but you don't necessarily have to be a runner to be involved and change lives."
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"So my senior year, I was looking into doing a masters program before going into the medical field.I talked to my old coach from the summers in New York where I trained in high school (Cliff Clark) and I told him that I was thinking of running again since I still had a year of eligibility left."
