Malvern Prep’s D’Angelo Stocker is Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week
A junior at Malvern Prep, D’Angelo Stocker recently ran a time of 6.87 seconds to finish sixth in the 60 meter dash at the Adidas Indoor Nationals, earning All-America status. This time is the fastest ever run by an Inter-Ac athlete, the fastest clocking this year in Pennsylvania, and broke Malvern Prep’s old school record of 6.96 seconds, set in 2013. He is also a defensive back for the Malvern Prep football team, and received All-Main Line football honors last fall. Stocker also plays saxophone for the Malvern Prep band. Malvern Prep track coach Mike Koenig said, “D’Angelo’s best attributes as an athlete are that he listens and communicates well, and he is able to implement coaching advice right away. He is honest with feedback whenever he makes an adjustment. He responds extremely well to visual feedback, we did a lot of slow-motion video work with his start and first three steps this winter. Mentally, he never gets too down on himself if something goes wrong and never gets full of himself if something goes well. He’s very steady.”
Q: What was your most vivid memory of the 60 meter dash at the Adidas Indoor Nationals? What was the key to your performance that day?
A: The most vivid memory I had was the start of the race – I was aiming to only beat my previous record of 7.01, but I achieved more than I thought I could. The key to my performance was to stay focused – and it worked!
Q: Tell us a little about your track training during the past year, in light of the COVID restrictions. Tell us a little about the biggest challenge you faced in training during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how you dealt with that challenge.
A: The pandemic limited the times I could work on my strength in the gym but I overcame that obstacle and started to work out at home – it’s an everyday thing that helps my performance.
Q: Tell us the type of running shoe you favor and why.
A: I favor my Adidas track spikes because of how light they are.
Q: What aspect of your running are you working on most recently?
A: Recently I’ve been working on my start and drive phase.
Q: What has been your favorite experience as a Malvern Prep football player?
A: My favorite experience as a football player at Malvern was definitely when we won our final game of the season last fall to go undefeated. I had great stats that season, but being with my teammates, even at practice, matches that moment.
Q: What do you think you would like to major in at college? Is there a particular career field that interests you at the present time?
A: In college, I would like to major in biology and eventually become a veterinarian.
Fun facts – D’Angelo Stocker
Favorite movie: Flubber.
Favorite athlete: Lamar Jackson.
Favorite pre-meet pump-up song: “Drake songs.”
Favorite team: Baltimore Ravens.
Favorite place to visit: California.
Favorite pre-meet meal: Peanut butter and jelly.
Person I most admire: “I admire Lamar Jackson; he has been through a lot and even ridiculed.”
(To be selected as Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week, a student-athlete must first be nominated by his coach.)
