ROCKINGHAM – Shane Summey, a senior on the Richmond Senior High School track and field team, has been named the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week presented by McNair Auto Sales.
With the Raiders track team coming off a dominating performance in last week’s season-opener against Sandhills Athletic Conference foes Purnell Swett, Scotland and Seventy-First high schools, Summey placed in several individual events to help give Richmond the win. His speed and efforts on the track earned him this week’s recognition.
Athletic Profile
Name: Shane Summey
Age: 18
Year: Senior
Spring Sport: Track and Field
Events: 100-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles
Years on Varsity: 4 years
Height & Weight: 5’9”, 165 pounds
Experience: 4 years
RSHS Academics: As a member of the graduating class of 2018, Summey doesn’t have much more time before he’ll walk across the stage in June. But does have some classes he’s taking this semester that are important and that he enjoys.
Summey is enrolled in the automotive cluster at Richmond, working alongside Mr. Clewis in Automotive II this spring. He expressed that he joined this cluster because he liked the idea of working on cars and has found his time really useful in this cluster. An A/B student, Summey has a 3.7 GPA and is also taking Honors English IV, Weight Training and a Physical Education class this semester.
He also helps intern in the library with Mrs. Roberson, and noted Coach Greg Williams’s Honors American History II class as being his “favorite class” he’s ever taken because of how “enjoyable” his teacher made it.
RSHS Sports: Busy all school year with sports, Summey plays football in the fall and is a member of the swimming team in the winter. As a football player, Summey played two years on the junior varsity team as a freshman and sophomore before being called up to play at the varsity level as a junior and senior.
The last two years, he’s spent time primarily as the Raiders’ free safety, but did play a little bit of strong safety under head coach Bryan Till during his senior year when the Raiders went 7-5. He was unable to finish the season due to a concussion suffered late in a game against Seventy-First High School.
With swimming, something Summey called a “different experience,” he participated in the 50-yard freestyle, and competed on the 200 and 400-yard medley relay teams.
Hobbies: Despite being constantly busy due to his sports schedule, Summey does find time for himself to enjoy with some of his favorite hobbies.
“I like to eat,” Summey said with a laugh. “But I also like to hang out with my friends and play X-Box and video games. And a lot of my friends and I will go play pickup basketball or football.”
But it would seem that his favorite hobby is hitting the weight room and lifting, as he said it was one of his favorite classes at Richmond and that he’s always trying to get bigger and stronger.
Interesting Fact: Interestingly enough, Summey may not have ever been able to play sports because of a condition that has now passed. When he was born, one of Summey’s kidneys was growing too fast for his body. He took medicine for it until he was five-years-old, when the decision was made to remove it.
Summey has become an impressive athlete who only has one kidney. He appeared not to be fazed by it, and at one point, wasn’t even supposed to play football. But over the last 13 years, he’s not been stopped by his missing kidney, and he feels stronger than ever moving forward.
College Aspirations: Currently, Summey is applying to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and anticipates going there starting in the coming fall semester.
“I’m thinking of majoring in business,” Summey said. “My dad and stepdad are in business and they do pretty good. And math is my best subject, so I feel like I could own my own business someday.
“Pembroke is close by,” he continued about the school. “I like that. I’ve been there before with track (meets) and I like the campus. And I have a lot of friends who go there.”
He’s also interested in the medical and engineering fields, so those are possibilities, too. As far as sports, Summey hopes to run track at UNCP, and joining the football program as a walk-on is something he may pursue.
Mentor: Summey chose his head football coach Bryan Till as his mentor. Even though he only played for Till for one season, Summey learned a lot of life lessons under his tutelage.
“Coach Till is such a smart guy,” Summey explained. “He never wants any one (of his players) to fail, and that’s my biggest fear – failing. He taught me what to do to want to succeed. As my football coach, he taught me to never give up and to always believe in myself.”
Player of the Week Stats: With the opening track meet of the season in the books, Summey was an instrumental part in helping the Raiders rack up 109 points, 57 points better than second-place Scotland. A sprinter, Summey impressed in three events: the 100-meter dash, the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles.
In both hurdles races, Summey placed first overall, two of Richmond’s 20 first-place finishes on the day in all events. He earned his biggest win of the day in the 300-meter hurdles, posting a time of 43.60 seconds, which was 4.80 seconds faster than Deandre McKinnon (48.40; Scotland).
In the 110-meter hurdles, Summey blew out the competition again, this time with a first-place finish with a time of 16.42 seconds, 2.55 seconds faster than Seventy-First’s Khalil Warner (18.97). And lastly, in the 100-meter dash, Richmond swept the podium, as Summey took third (11.09) behind fellow Raiders Jaleen Baldwin (10.63) and Danter Miller (10.60).
For future meets, Summey hopes to participate in the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 events.
How does running track compare to football and swimming? Which sport is the most physical demanding; which is most mentally demanding?
“They’re all competitive,” Summey noted. “Track and swimming are more of an individual sport, while football is a total team sport. But football is definitely the most physically demanding sport.
“Track is mentally challenging,” he continued. “You have to always push yourself to run hard and finish strong.”
What is your favorite event to compete in and why?
“The 300-meter hurdles race is my bread and butter event,” Summey said with a grin. “I made states in that (last year). But I’ve always wanted to run the 4×400. It’s the last event of the whole meet, and they call it a ‘man’s race.’ There’s a lot that goes into that race.”
Coach’s Corner: Richmond boys head coach Chris Campolieta noted that Summey is a major factor on this year’s team.
“Shane brings a lot of versatility to this year’s team,” Campolieta said. “He is a great 300-meter hurdler and really has a chance to help the 4×100 team win a state championship. He is coming back after a strong junior year. I had the opportunity to work with him on the football field and he’s always worked hard at his craft. The best thing about Shane is I never have to worry about him in the classroom. He does what he’s supposed to do, day in and day out, and he’s a great kid.”
