Diablo Fit's Student Athlete of the Month: Jack Cartwright

The Northgate High senior is a two-sport star—with a high GPA.

There are many talented Northgate High School athletes, but it didn’t take their Athletics Director and baseball coach John Campopiano long to pick one that stood out in his mind: “Jack Cartwright, he’s your man.”

In 2008, Cartwright, who plays baseball and basketball, helped lead Northgate’s baseball team to a 24-3 record, the best in the schools history, and finish runner-up in the North Coast Section. The six-foot 175lb senor has a batting average of .488, has broken the schools record in steals, 19 in all, and has earned the distinction of a scholar athlete with a 3.67 GPA his junior year and a 4.0 last semester. This year, he's helped lead the basketball team to a 23-6 record, a league championship, and a berth in the Division II northern California state tournament—the Broncos square off against top-seeded St. Francis in the first round Tuesday night.

But more than just athletic talent, Campopiano says that Cartwright is just a good person who he knows he can look to on and off of the field.

“He’s just really a mature advanced high school kid. He’s like another coach on the field. He’s loyal, competitive, hardworking. He’s a great leader, a great teammate and he makes everyone better,” Campopiano says.

According to Cartwright, getting motivated on the field is easy: “What motivates me to play is my passion for the game: I love everything about it and I’m very competitive,” he says, speaking about both baseball and basketball. “Sports has taught me many great things about life.”

One of those life lessons he’s learned is to transfer his determination for athletic competition to the classroom. It's a skill he says isn’t always easy, especially when he has to juggle homework, friends, and practice. Most often he’ll combine the two together, hanging out on the field or studying in a group.

“It is hard to balance sports and grades because there is pressure coming from all different angles,” Cartwright says. “My family has helped me greatly in my life, they are always there for me and support me. Whenever something goes wrong they make me feel better.”

Morgan Cartwright, Jack’s father, says he can remember countless trips to and from games and the hours he’s spent coaching his son in basketball and baseball. It’s time he considers well spent. But while he’s given Jack guiding nudges in one direction or another, he says that Jack’s love for sports has always been his son’s biggest guiding force.

“He’s one of those kids who grew up with a ball in his hands. We don’t really have to do too much its pretty much internal for him,” Morgan says.

Now, as his senor year draws closer to an end, Cartwright says that he hopes to be able to play sports at the college level; however, he also says that his selection of colleges will depend highly upon the quality of the academics offered as opposed to simply looking for opportunities to play ball.

“My goals for the future are to get a great education, but I would love to play baseball and basketball at the next level.”

Whatever he chooses, Campopiano said that he’ll be rooting for him and that he’s been a strong asset to Northgate in many ways. “Not only is he a good player, but he lifts his whole team up. He’s a joy to coach.” Campopiano says.

Have recommendations for Diablo's High School Athlete of the Month? E-Mail us at fit@maildiablo.com.

 

 

Posted at 11:52 AM in Best Of Editor Picks | Permalink