Bayonne's Gallardo Defines Excellence

As seen on www.nynjsports.com.

When Kofi Yamoah’s shot-put attempt landed 58’and 5.75” away from his post, Bayonne’s Travis Gallardo knew he had to pick it up. Gallardo, who starred as a multi-sport athlete at Bayonne High School in football, track and field, and power-lifting, was up against the wall. In order to finish strong in the 2012 NJSIAA Meet of Champions, he had to dig deep and find a little extra something to get to a top three finish.

“I had to do better,” Gallardo said later. “Koffe hit a 58 and Mark Ramsey hit a 57. I had to step up my game.”

On his first two attempts Gallardo fouled, putting the young man in a huge hole. He knew that it would take an extra special throw to match Chris Staton of Franklin who placed first with a 64-foot shot-put, but with Yamoah and Ramsey’s efforts, the pressure was really on.

“He had one more throw left, so I just let him do his thing. It was up to him at this point,” said Gallardo’s coach Kevin DiGiorgio, who holds the record for shot-put himself when he was a Bayonne student.

In his final attempt, Gallardo nailed the shot at 56’4” to qualify for the finals. The former tight end took it from there.  In the finals, Gallardo hit shots of 56’, 58’ and his personal best 58’ and 1.5” to finish in third place in the Meet of Champions.

In order to finish in third place with that mark of 58’ and 1.5”, every motion by Gallardo had to be perfect; and, according to DiGiorgio, it was.

“Kevin was always telling me about repetition. The key to track and field is to keep going at it; you want to be perfect,” Gallardo explained.

It was a proud moment for DiGiorgio watching Gallardo fight back to finish in the top three in the competition. He has watched Gallardo grow since he was a transfer from St. Peter’s Prep as a Freshman. “It was a very special moment,” Gallardo remarked. “This will be our last meet together; I’m happy with the way it turned out. To become third in the State Championship is a heck of an accomplishment.”

DiGiorgio first had met Gallardo during a health class DiGiorgio was teaching four years ago. The two had talked about playing sports for Bayonne High School, and DiGiorgio soon encouraged Gallardo to begin working out in the school’s weight room.

It paid off as Gallardo became one of the strongest kids in the State, playing multiple sports.

His dead-lift is 600 lbs, bench press is 330 lbs, and squat is 500 lbs. Just this past summer, Gallardo set the APA NJ American and World Class record for a dead lift of 550 lbs in the 16-17 year old age group at the 2011 APA Apollon Open Summer Iron Bash in Edison. He also totaled 1300 lbs of lifted weight between the squat, bench and dead lift, catapulting him to first place in his age group.

In addition he was successful on the football field as Bayonne’s tight end during the 2011 season; still, track and field became Gallardo’s forte.

He will attend Thomas Nelson Community College in Virginia in the fall, focusing on track and field, with the ultimate goal of finishing his college career at a prestigious university.

“I’m going to attend Thomas Nelson and get the best grades I can, train and work my tail off,” Gallardo said. “For me track and field will be my focus athletically.”

While Gallardo will be living in Virginia for the next year, he will keep in close contact with friends and family back in New Jersey, including his coach, DiGiorgio. The two plan on training together later this summer and will keep in touch over phone and via social media.

Added DiGiorgio: “Travis is right up there. The kid is top notch; he works hard and puts in 200 % all the time. He was a team leader for the other guys, and I am going to miss him. He was a big part of Track and Field at Bayonne.”