Bobby Wind and Will DiGiacomo were hard to spot. 

The early season practice for the Barrington High School boys outdoor track team was wrapping up, and a large group of student-athletes gathered along the edge of the track, having just completed a set of sprints. 

Wind and DiGiacomo, two of the team’s five captains this season, are easy to pick out during Barrington High School track meets. Wind is a hurdling phenom — a defending state champion who is laser-focused on setting a new state record this spring. DiGiacomo is a versatile powerhouse in sprint events and a key member of championship relay teams.

They were more difficult to find during the recent practice, as the runners blended into a mass of different-color hoodies and t-shirts. 

Barrington High School boys track coach Bill Barrass eventually located Wind and DiGiacomo and spoke about the key roles they play for this year’s team.

“With our relatively small coaching staff, we really depend on athletes like these to be the leaders of their event groups and these guys really epitomize that,” Barrass said.

“Not only are they both record-holders on our team, but they’re just team-focused. I think that’s what’s made us so successful in the past couple seasons, is because they’ve been able to not just improve themselves but rally the troops.”

Barrass is not alone in recognizing Wind’s and DiGiacomo’s leadership skills. The two Barrington High School seniors were recently accepted into U.S. service academies — DiGiacomo will attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the fall, while Wind will attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Barrass said he was happy, but not surprised to learn that DiGiacomo and Wind earned spots in the highly-coveted military institutions. 

“They really are a perfect example of what the academies should be looking for,” Barrass said. “They really developed that over the years here. On their own right, and their families too. Great character. They deserve this.”

Go Navy, beat Army?

DiGiacomo and Wind stood next to each other following a brief photo-shoot and explained their decisions to apply to military academies. 

DiGiacomo said his dad was in the Army ROTC in college.

“I look up to him… I look at him every day and he inspires me,” DiGiacomo said. “When I was looking for colleges … I knew I wanted to do ROTC. It just ended up that West Point was the best fit for me. They focus a lot on leadership, which is what I want to be — the best leader I can be.”

Wind said family and sports played roles in his decision-making process.

“For me, it was mainly sports that drove me,” Wind said. “I was recruited to run track and field there. But also I was motivated, I have grandfathers who served in the Marine Corps for several years. I really wanted to have the challenge of not only pushing myself in track in Division One, but also being pushed to be the best I can be and be the best leader I can be. And I kind of think Navy does that a lot better than West Point.”

DiGiacomo cracked a smile at the friendly jab from Wind. 

“Ah, this guy,” he said, shaking his head. 

DiGiacomo said the application process was a difficult one, especially for someone like him.

“I initially had an allergy, which is a no-go. You get denied if you have that,” DiGiacomo said. “So my mom helped me out. She was very good about it. She helped me get into immunotherapy. Basically they test me for a bunch of stuff I am allergic to … I have to eat it and prove that I’m not allergic anymore. So I did that for three or four things that I was technically allergic to, but I passed it and I was able to get a waiver. 

“Just in general, it’s very lengthy because you have to get the senator nomination. It’s just a lot. But it’s worth it.”

Wind agreed.

“I probably started it later than I should have,” Wind said. “I went on a visit to the school when school started, and met with the team and met with a lot of people there. That’s when I made the choice I wanted to go there. I had a couple months to get everything together. You have to get everything from medical examinations to interviewing with senators. It’s not your normal college application, that’s for sure.”

West Point and Annapolis provide candidates with a challenging application process — in addition to academic information, essays, and letters of recommendation, interested applicants must also secure nominations from their U.S. Congressmen, pass stringent physicals and medical exams, and more. 

Wind said he was very happy to learn he had been accepted in the U.S. Naval Academy. He said he received a call from the track coach at Annapolis sharing the good news. 

“I was pretty ecstatic,” Wind said. 

DiGiacomo said his experience of learning that he was accepted was a bit different. 

“I actually got my wisdom teeth out a couple hours before” I found out, he said, “so I was a little loopy, but it was fun.”

Wind and DiGiacomo share a common goal for the track season. They are both determined to help the Eagles repeat as state champions.

“For the team, I want to win states, second year in a row,” Wind said. “For myself, I want to set my second state record in the 110 hurdles and push myself to be the best in that event that I can be.”

DiGiacomo added: “For me, individually, I don’t really care too, too much. I just want the team to win, to be honest. In the 400, I want to run pretty fast, but if our team can win, that’s all I really care about.”

Great group

Barrass said this is not the first time the Barrington High School boys outdoor track team has had captains who were accepted into U.S. service academies. Will Sanchez and Thomas McAdams graduated from Barrington High School a few years ago — Sanchez is currently at the U.S. Military Academy, and McAdams is at the U.S. Air Force Academy. 

Barrass was asked if the Barrington High School track team is in the habit of developing our country’s next generation of military leaders.

“It would seem that way,” he said, with a smile. “You take a sport like track and field and the variety of things going on, it can be like a three-ring circus sometimes. But it really demands of students to have that focus and leadership. And again, I think they are good examples of that.”

DiGiacomo and Wind are sharing captaining duties with three teammates: Seniors Charly Potter and Myles Napolitano, and junior Joe Adams. 

“Overall, this is a great group, having that team focus,” Barrass said. “And a lot of that has to do with the leadership on the team — the student leadership.”