With the winter sport season coming to an end, Winter Track at Glen Rock High School has been insanely successful. On Feb. 4, Izabella Samu broke 2 Glen Rock High School records in the 55 meter-hurdles and the 200 meters at the Varsity Classic Winter Track Meet. Throughout the meet, Samu placed 4th in the 55 Hurdles with 8.50 seconds, 26.28 seconds for the 200 meter and placed 4th in the Long Jump with 16-11.50. Just a few days later, the girls team placed 4th overall at sectionals.
Prior to her time in Glen Rock, Samu was born in Atlanta, Georgia but moved to three other countries before moving to New Jersey, Italy, Switzerland, and Jordan.
Samu began running track in the 4th grade after her soccer coach wanted her to try it for a season while living in Geneva. Samu adored learning new events and being able to compete independently.
Competing in her first official meet in Bern, Switzerland she immediately fell in love with track. She chose the maximum amount of events and had so much fun running, from sprints and long jump to javelin. Samu loved being able to see her hard work pay off through personal records (PR) and the fact that there are so many events and opportunities to find something to improve in.
While she moved to Glen Rock freshman year, her sophomore was extremely successful. On Dec. 18, 2023, Samu qualified for nationals in the 55H with 9.02 seconds and was just 0.34 seconds off from a school record. A few months later, Samu became a state champion in the long jump of 18 ‘2.
“I was so disappointed last season when I didn’t get it, especially because I was only 0.34 seconds away from it, so breaking this year was surreal. I worked so hard over the summer and during this season to get here. It’s been my biggest goal for so long, it feels amazing to have finally accomplished it,” Samu reflected.
Overtime, Samu became inspired by a former Northern Valley Demarest Track Star named Abby Dennis, who now competes at the division 1 level, running for Harvard University. “My coach has been talking about [Abby Dennis] ever since my first day hurdling, so she’s always been a major competitor. Seeing her at meets, she was so sweet and humble while destroying our school every single race. I’m glad I got the opportunity to compete alongside her, she definitely pushed me to be better, and I’d have to attribute a lot of my PR’s to her,” Samu added.
Samu has become a huge part of the 2024-5 Track year and hopes to continue making an impact on the sport. While she may be a star in our eyes, her coaches see her as not only an amazing athlete, but something more.
“Coaching Iza has been one of the highlights of my career. One thing I’ve always admired about her is that even though she is an absolute beast of an athlete, she is also a great person. Iza is kind, considerate, a bit goofy, but above all else, an amazing teammate and friend,” Head Track Coach Weinberg expressed.
Samu hopes to find herself living out one her biggest dreams, running track in college, but in a college in the south that has her major and wonderful opportunities she can take part in.
