COURTESY PHOTO
St. Mary’s senior Mike Cerulli being interviewed by Antoinette Antonio of Newscenter 5.
St. Mary’s Mike Cerulli, a three-sport athlete running cross country and track in addition to playing basketball, was featured on Newscenter 5 as a WCVB “A Plus” student Tuesday night. Cerulli and basketball coach Dave Brown were interviewed by Antoinette Antonio at St. Mary’s in March.
Cerulli, who is set to graduate at the top of his class this spring, revealed how he was diagnosed with vocal chord dysfunction after he collapsed at the end of a race in Brockton.
“I almost gave up running,” Cerulli said. “A mile in, I was wheezing, my whole body would tighten up and my legs felt like they had bricks on them. I thought it was asthma.”
The vocal chord dysfunction caused Cerulli to lose 18 percent of his oxygen when fully exerting himself.
Cerulli switched to sprinting and found success in shorter races. He said he hopes to continue to run track in college, but is focused on getting into his dream school, Harvard.
