Anthony Toskin
Honorable mention male Scholar-Athlete
Anthony Toskin
Lakewood
Grade-point avg.: 4.36
$1,000
Sports played: Cross country (4 years), soccer (4), track (1)
Academic highlights: AP Scholar with Honors; National Honor Society member; scored 35 on ACT
Athletic highlights: State qualifier and two-time all-district in cross country
College choice: Walsh (anticipated major: chemical engineering)
Photo location: The Denison Bio Reserve in Granville, because I am very interested in biology and chemistry and because I run there all the time.
Home front: I live with my wonderful parents, Mark and Lori Toskin, and my grandfather, Samuel DeMatteo, a WWII veteran! My brother Matt and his wife Liz nearby, in Newark.
Favorite subject: My absolute favorite will always be math of any kind. Numbers are the true language of the universe; anywhere you look can be tied to a mathematical equation or concept. The intricacy of how numbers seemingly slip into patterns so effortlessly has always fascinated me.
Least-favorite subject: English has been the bane of my high school experience. I feel like I could explain something so much more effectively if I found a way other than spilling words onto a sheet. While I appreciate the art of literature and poetry, I always have felt that actions speak louder than words.
Prized possession: It would have to be the medal I received from the cross country regional meet my senior year. I think about the work that our team did as a whole to punch Lakewood’s ticket to the state meet for the first time in 20 years. Every time I peer at the medal on my bookshelf, I remember just how proud I am to be a Lancer.
Favorite book: “Slaughterhouse Five,” by Kurt Vonnegut. The morbid plot was hard to digest at first, but I grew to appreciate the wacky themes of Vonnegut’s sci-fi world to deliver an abrupt but resonating message. While there may have been books I enjoyed more, this one helped me answer the most questions in Quiz Bowl, which is the real reason I read.
Favorite movie: “The Muppets Christmas Carol.” My brother and I have a tradition of watching it every year on Christmas Eve, so it is almost intrinsic for me to wake up to Christmas the day after. I doubt any other movie I have seen is more fun than the feeling of waking up to Christmas.
Favorite television show: “Breaking Bad.” I actually had to watch the series twice: the first to appreciate the incredible plot and the second being to appreciate the chemistry and sciences that are depicted throughout the show. I made sure to double check their research, and there are only a few inaccuracies.
Favorite musicians: Donald Fagen of Steely Dan is my favorite. If I had to choose one genre of music to listen to for the rest of my life, it would undoubtedly be jazz because of the versatility it brings; I would be cheating the system because I would be getting more than one genre. The thing I appreciate most about Fagen is the perfectionist he was in the studio and the patience he had with producing. He was always worried more about quality over quantity.
Essential apps: Strava. Not having to worry about keeping track of my runs on pencil and paper has been a lifesaver. The fact that it totals my mileage for the week and gives the little map of where I ran is an added bonus.
Favorite home-cooked meal: Mom’s spaghetti is an absolute staple the night before any of my meets/races. I am already trying to figure out in my head how I can get some before my college races this fall.
My cooking specialty: Instant mac and cheese and cereal is about the extent of my cooking abilities, but I am proud of my mastery of the milk-to-cereal ratio over a considerable deal of practice.
Favorite restaurant meal: While I will certainly eat just about anything, I am a creature of habit when it comes to eating at restaurants. Nine times out of 10 I will order spaghetti wherever I go, which I attribute to my Italian ancestry. Nothing can beat a good plate of spaghetti.
Guilty pleasure: I have been lactose intolerant for most of my high school career, but every year after my cross country and soccer seasons would end I would indulge in some quality ice cream and brace to face the consequences.
Proudest sports moment: Leading my cross country team to the state meet my senior year. After blacking out right before the finish line the previous year, it was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life to qualify not only as an individual but also be able to take the trip to National Trail with my best friends. Looking back on those memories is almost surreal at this point.
Sport I’d like to try someday: I would like to take up cycling. I plan on continuing my running career for as long as I can. My high school coach is a few years past 70 now and still runs at our practices, which is a great inspiration regardless of the sport. I figure if I can get the biking part down, I would be two-thirds of the way to a solid triathlon, which looks like an absolute blast.
Story behind my uniform number: When I played recreational soccer my two numbers were 7 and 3. Unfortunately, the middle school basketball uniforms did not have those numbers, so I chose 21 since 7x3=21. With some luck, I was able to find 21 in some way through the rest of my sports journey at Lakewood.
Favorite athlete: LeBron James is far and away my favorite. Not only is he the greatest basketball player of all time, but his philanthropic work off of the court sets a great example of how we should all use our resources to better the world around us.
Inspiration: My high school cross country coach, Dan Sekerak, inspires me in and out of running. Not only has he tenured a 50-plus-year running career that is still going today, but he also has propelled me to dream big when it comes to education. With him spending 39 years as a math and calculus teacher, I have had the privilege to take part in many hour-long conversations about our shared interests in the beauty of math and running. I think Coach Sekerak really opened my eyes to the reality that you don’t have to listen to what other people say. I am sure that many people along his journey have told him that he is too old to run and he should stop, but that was never a thought that crossed his mind. Hopefully some of that positive resiliency has rubbed off on me.
Dream job: Researching eco-friendly materials is currently what I dream of doing with my chemical engineering degree. I would love to be able to see the worldwide problem residing in pollution to be reduced or eliminated in my lifetime. I think that with proper time and commitment the human race will be able to rise above the current level of garbage plaguing Earth.
Place I’d like to travel: I would love to go to New Zealand. The ecology of the country is so unique that it mystifies me that you can have so many sparsely different biomes all on top of one another. Seeing the versatility of nature in its true form is very appealing.
Something most people don’t know about me: I actually did not consider running to be my main sport until about my junior year of high school. Like many others, I did it as a hobby and to stay in shape for soccer. After growing so close with my teammates, however, I knew that my heart really resided out on the trails rather than on the pitch.
Least-favorite household chore: Taking out the trash. There really is no way that I can make it more entertaining, but I don’t mind doing it in the first place.
Something I can’t get right no matter how hard I try: I struggle to succeed at any kind of art. I was not blessed with the creative eye and steady hands it takes to bring an idea to life on canvas or paper, but that just means I get to admire other people’s artwork even more.
Words to leave by: “Enjoy the journey” was a piece of advice given to me by my future cross country coach at Walsh when I was making a college decision. I think taking that to heart applies now more than ever, teaching us to live in the moment and never back down. I am glad that I never let the fear of doing too much deter me from trying new things and continuing to do what I love.
By Ray Stein
rstein@dispatch.com