FORT MILL – If there is one thing that is hard for Nation Ford grad Anthony Frattaroli to do, it would be slow down.
Frattaroli, 18, hasn’t let much of anything slow him down over the years when it comes to running. Certainly, his Type I diabetes hasn’t slowed him down as he has signed to run both track and cross-country at Berry College in Rome, Ga.
Diagnosed at 9-months-old with Type I diabetes, Frattaroli has been living with the idea of making sure his blood sugar is not too high or too low. It’s something he even has to monitor during competitions. Exercise like running and swimming can cause a dip in his sugar levels.
Over the years, Frattaroli has seemed to get a better grip on his condition.
“I have found what I am able to do to control it better,” he said. “Because of that I am able to get more quality miles.”
A self-described small college kid, Frattaroli chose Berry College over other colleges such as Sewanee University in Tennessee and Centre College in Kentucky.
“I am pretty excited,” he said about the college. “It checked all the boxes for me. It was the only place I could see myself going.”
Frattaroli started running competitively when he was 9-years-old. He ran for Springfield Middle School in the sixth grade and then started running for Nation Ford as an eighth grader. Over time he developed into a long-distance runner. He will be running both 5K and 10K events at Berry College for track and participating in both indoor and outdoor track, as well as cross-country.
“I love long distance running because it is sort of a stress reliever,” he said. “The adrenaline at the start of the race. There is nothing like it.”
A former Jr. Olympics qualifier, Frattaroli plans on majoring in environmental science and will be in the honors college at Berry as well.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
