Ka’Deem Wynn | Writer

 

 

The Athlete

It’s no surprise that Flagler Palm Coast junior Justin Pacifico is as good of an athlete as he is. Pacifico grew up in sports, playing baseball and football. Football however was more of his sport. He was already a tough and gritty kid by the time he reached high school.

 

Pacifico played Varsity football his freshman year, continuing what he thought was going to be his thing in high school. Once the season was over, Pacifico was persuaded to run track by a few seniors, who ran track as well.

The Sprinter

 

Like most football players in high school, Pacifico ran track as a sprinter. “Coach put me in the 100 meter dash,” he said. “That’s how it all started.” Running the 200 and 400 meters mostly, Pacifico was showing promise. However, as the season had only begun, Pacifico became slightly injured. His Iliotibial band (commonly known as IT band) had been strained, and he was forced to miss most of the season’s meets. Once healed a few weeks prior to the start of the post-season, Pacifico made sure that he made every race count.

 

At the district meet, Pacifico ran a PR of 51.63 in the prelims of the 400 meters, placing fourth. He however, fell short in the finals, running 52.20 and placing seventh. In the 200 meters, he ran 23.75 finishing 12th. He did however qualify to the region meet with the 4x100 meter relay team.

 

 

The following week, Pacifico gave it his all as he ran the leadoff leg of the 4x100 meter relay. The relay finished seventh, and didn’t qualify to the state meet.

 

Pacifico was in luck however. Due to his impressive runs in the 400 meters, he was taken as an alternate to the state meet for Flagler’s  4x400 meter relay. Though he didn’t run, Pacifico now knew what it was like at the state meet experience and atmosphere.

 

Pacifico was no doubt one of the top freshman on his team, as well as in his class, only to be slightly outranked if not equal with then freshman rival, Ka’Deem Wynn. The only difference between the two was that Pacifico was a sprinter, while Wynn was a distance runner.

 

The two rivals would later become close teammates the following year.

Change In Direction

 

Even though he was thrilled with a great first track season, Pacifico itched to play football again. However, once the season was done, he was back on the track.

 

Flagler Palm Coast coach Dave Halliday has been known to take his 400 meter runners and bump them up to mid-distance events, such as the 800 meters or the 4x800 meter relay. It was only a matter of time before Pacifico would be running one of these. And it just so happened that he was good at it. As Pacifico swapped roles as a sprinter and a mid-distance runner, he became both stronger and faster.

Pacifico qualified to the region meet as an individual, but missed qualifying for states in the 400 meters. However, his efforts as the leadoff leg on the 4x800 meter relay earned him a spot at the state meet by the skin of his teeth━with the relay making it by two-tenths of a second. He was also the leadoff leg on the 4x400 meter relay, which finished third, and qualified.

 

After a ninth and fourth place finish at the state meet, Pacifico continued to run at a few summer track meets. Once that was over, it was no surprise when coach Halliday wanted him to run cross country, something he was reluctant about initially.

 

After careful consideration, Pacifico decided to leave football to run cross country in the fall.

 

At that point, Pacifico declared, “The beast is coming out junior year.”

The Beast

 

Pacifico is one who will be on the leash, only to learn. Once the leash is off, there’s no stopping him. After completing summer practices with the cross country team, Pacifico was on fire and ready for the season.

 

Pacifico’s first 5,000 meter run was ran with him finishing in 17:33.55. Teammate Ka’Deem Wynn admitted to his close friend’s performance initially got to him a little bit. He said having someone new beat you by a lot kind of gets in your head. “Don’t get me wrong, I was more than proud of Justin and still am,” he said. “But at the time, I hadn’t ran my best in a long time.”

Wynn explained that he had a rough cross country season the previous year, and that this would be his third year of cross country, and Pacifico was doing far better with only two months of summer training.

 

And he just kept getting better. At FPC’s Spikes and Spurs Classic, Pacifico ran 16:36.80, placing 11th. At the team’s trip to Carrollton, Georgia, he ran 17:59.33. When the teams headed to New York City to run in the Reebok Manhattan Invitational, Pacifico ran 13:49.80 in the 4,000 meters. Later at their conference meet, he ran 16:47.00 to get the runner-up position behind teammate Markell Pack. His performances at the district, region, and the state meet were no surprise. Districts he ran 16:39.00, regionals a PR of 16:16.63, and at the state meet, he ran 16:25.00, placing 27th in the state.

 

The Beast had been let out, and it’s only fall.

 

“I made a big improvement from last year,” Pacifico said.

 

“Running was secondary and football was my big issue. This year it’s my life, and I love it.”

Eyes On A State Ring

 

The ultimate motto each year is to make it to states and get a state championship ring on your finger. That’s for any team. Pacifico, now having made it to three state meets, has a true shot at making that happen.

 

“I’m just going to try to keep improving and getting better,” Pacifico said. “Me and Ka’Deem, we try to get better everyday and that’s our mindset.”

Flagler’s track team is looking like, as some say, coach Halliday’s 2007 or 2009 state championship teams. Pacifico loves being a part of that and says that though him and the others like to look at the stats, it all comes down to how hard they work over the next couple of months to get ready for it. Pacifico will also be able to help out his team tremendously, as he can virtually run any event. Great news for Flagler, bad news for teams like Dr. Philips, Miami Northwestern and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Pacifico knows the importance of off-season training, and doesn’t waste any time. Luckily for him, he loves the weight room, something that Halliday strongly recommends to all of his athletes, especially during the off-season. “I don’t run a lot, but I do love the weight room.”

Young But Wise

 

Justin Pacifico doesn’t pretend to have all of the answers; he doesn’t pretend that he’s better than anyone, whether it be friend or foe. He just takes what he’s given and runs with it, leaving no excuses.

 

“If you really want it, you have to give in, and you have to be all in,” he said. “Give one-hundred percent all the time.”

 

Though it may sound a bit cliche, as many great athletes have said something similar, Justin doesn’t base his life and performance off of a pre-scripted note cards or anecdotes and good quotes. He truly lives it, and his times reflect that.

A Look In The Mirror And The Future

 

When he initially thought about quitting football, and eventually did, Pacifico received a lot of hate and criticism, causing him to rethink his decision. Everyone asked him why running.

 

“I ask myself that everyday,” Pacifico said. “Running gives me something that I never felt doing anything in life. I love it.”

 

Pacifico aspires to continue running in

college. College is something he’s always dreamed about, and sees no reason why he can’t take running with him. It’s no surprise that he’s on top of things, as he’s emailed several coaches from schools

like Oregon, Florida State University, and the University of Florida. They’ve sent him their standards, and he aims to meet them. Of course, no one can go to college just for athletics. School must come first, and Pacifico realizes that.

 

“Before high school, my grades were okay; they were secondary,” he said. “But you can’t have that when you get to high school, so I’ve just been taking honors classes, which I want to continue doing.”

 

Justin Pacifico is a guy who not only cares about school, or running, or his team. He’s a guy who cares about his life and his future, and he’ll make sure to do whatever he has to in order to make it a successful one.