EMANUEL WRIGHT-ANTHONY
School: John Marshall
Year: Senior GPA: 4.607
Academic accomplishments: No. 3 student in his class. Schedule consists of honors and AP courses, including engineering and software classes. Member of the National Honor Society and Student Advisory Council. “My proudest academic accomplishment is getting integrated into the national honor society John Marshall chapter.”
Athletic accomplishments: Events include 400, 800, 4x400 and 4x800 relays, and hurdles. Ran 56.5 in 400. Ranked 19th and 16th in region for 400 and 300 hurdles (49.22). Has ran track since seventh grade. “I just love running. As a kid, I was always running and racing my friends. I just tried (track) out, and I loved it.”
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On his outdoor track and field season: Started two new events at the beginning of the season, the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. Typically runs the 400 and 800, individual and relays. Has also tried jumps. During third meet of season, ran personal record in 400 by about 2 seconds. At Monday’s Region 2A championships, Wright-Anthony finished 19th in the 400 (1:00.03) and 21st in the 300 hurdles (54.52).
On his indoor track and field season: Ran first leg of 4x400 team that qualified for Adidas Nationals. Subbed in for teammate on 4x200 team that qualified for the state meet.
On his Richmond roots: Is born and raised in the Richmond area but not originally from Northside. His father died when he was young, and his mother raised him and his sister, Tobreal Wright-Anthony, a sophomore at John Marshall who’s also on the track and field team. The siblings moved to Northside when they were adopted by their cousin, Paris Somerville. They previously attended Highland Springs High. “Being in a new environment, having to make friends again, it was a little tough in the beginning, especially the first few weeks. Luckily, I already knew my best friend Leslie Green that had came here. He was the only friend I had here for a little bit until I made more. The track team is like a little family.”
On balancing academics and athletics: “Time management is very key. I do struggle with that a lot. However, I will say there definitely have been a lot of sleepless nights where I don’t go to sleep until 2, 3 o’clock in the morning because I had practice, still have chores at home and things like that that I have to do. It all gets away from me, sometimes I stay up until 2, 3 in the morning doing homework. I wake up at 7:30 a.m., get dressed for school and everything, do my morning routine, come to school. I might be a little tired. I don’t know how but it ends up working out. My sleep schedule may be a little messed up sometimes, but it ends up working out.”
On his mentors: His mother, Denise Wright, “definitely in the classroom, she’s the one that has pushed me the most to getting good grades, make sure I have straight-As all the time. For her, the student part of student-athlete was the most important.” His coach, Patrick Diggs, and best friend, Green. “They both helped me out a lot when it came to track. My best friend pushed me to have that competitor’s edge that I needed for sports. Because I’m not a super competitive person when it comes to athletics. But he is, so he kind of pushes me to get to his level.”
On his college plans: Will attend Virginia State on presidential scholarship and computing scholarship. In ninth grade when he attended Highland Springs, Wright-Anthony took engineering classes as part of a highly selective program. He took those classes up until the beginning of the 11th grade when he moved to John Marshall. Then, a counselor at JM suggested he move to Richmond Technical Center to continue on that career path, and now he will study computer engineering at VSU.
Favorite food: Pizza from Domino’s, specifically the handmade pan Italian sausage.
Favorite class: AP English. It was hard work, but his friends and teacher helped him get through it.
Favorite music: Rap, specifically Lil Baby
Today in sports history: May 25
1948: Ben Hogan wins the PGA championship
1965: Muhammad Ali knocks out Sonny Liston a minute into the first round
1975: Golden State Warriors become third team to sweep NBA finals
1978: Montreal Canadiens win third straight Stanley Cup
1980: Johnny Rutherford wins his third Indianapolis 500 in seven years
1991: Pittsburgh Penguins, led by Mario Lemieux, win Stanley Cup for first time
2003: Juli Inkster ties lowest final-round score by LPGA Tour winner
2007: Bjarne Riis is first Tour de France winner to admit using performance-enhancing drugs to win
2008: Seven crashes and spinouts mar the first Indianapolis 500 since CART, IRL merged
2009: Syracuse rallies to win unprecedented 11th NCAA lacrosse title
— Zach Joachim