MADISON- Both James Clemens seniors Vada Samuels and Miguel Cortes signed athletic/academic scholarships at a ceremony recently held at the school. Samuels decided to sign with Samford University after receiving interest from Memphis, West Point, Troy and the Naval Academy. Cortes signed with UAH.

“Before joining track I was trying to earn a band scholarship as I played the clarinet,” said Samuels, who carries a 3.6 grade point average (GPA) and will study kinesiology with hopes of becoming a physical therapist concentrating on injured athletes. “I had a P.E. coach encourage me to try out for the track team, but I didn’t make it my first year. I was told I wasn’t aggressive enough, so I joined the cross country team instead.”

Samuels was determined to prove the first attempt in track and field was not going to stand up so she tried out again and made the squad in the eighth grade and actually performed in the Junior Olympics in Houston, Tex. Even her soccer coach noticed she had sprinting talents that needed to be corralled and put on a track.

As a freshman at Columbia High in Huntsville, Samuels won the 60-meter indoor state title. She then transferred to James Clemens where she will exit the school program as record holder in both the 200 and 400-meter events. She won the indoor 400 state championship and was a member of the 4X400 relay team that won the state outdoor championships and set an all-time speed state record.

“It feels good to be a part of that relay squad as I was determined to do well especially knowing my background in track and field,” added Samuels, who at 5-foot-5 and 120-pounds knew within her own mind she had special talents even at an early age.

“Growing up I was faster than the boys in my neighborhood and none of the girls wanted to play with me. I was faster than the boys on foot and on my bike,” said Samuels, who is the daughter of Sonia and Vada Samuels.

For Cortes, his personal battles against asthma and an elbow injury as a sophomore have made him a force to be reckoned with as he heads into the track program at UAH where he will concentrate on throwing the javelin and being a decathlete. He leaves James Clemens with the school record in the javelin throw while finishing sixth in the State Decathlon and winning the javelin throw with a toss of 165-feet, eight inches

“I participated in most of the decathlon events during the regular track season in preparation for the decathlon as I am very versatile,” said Cortes, son of Miguel Sr. and Christina Cortes. “After my first year of throwing the javelin I really focused as I knew I wanted to do this in college.”

A longtime baseball player, Cortes took the talents of a good arm in that sport and tried to transfer those to track and field. Although somewhat successful, he injured his elbow from the constant throwing of the javelin using what he termed his baseball throw. After his elbow injury he quickly found out he needed to change his style of throwing and elected to go with the European style, which is a combination of a faster run-up and utilizing more shoulder movement and over the top push.

“I feel I have good work ethic on the field and in the classroom,” said Cortes, who sports a 4.38 GPA and plans on studying civil and environmental engineering. “Track has helped me be a better person. Taught me work ethic.”