While his classmates were gathered in the Mathews High School Auditorium to celebrate their graduation on Saturday, Cameron Stearns was some 200 miles away in Harrisonburg making one last, great memory as a member of the Class of 2022.

The MHS senior (who, most fittingly, was awarded the Male Athlete of the Year award in abstentia) capped a stellar career as a Blue Devil by winning the VHSL Class 1 mile run at the James Madison University Track and Field Complex.

Stearns finished the 1600 meter event with a time of 4:33.15, almost 10 seconds better than his nearest competitor.

Stearns began running the mile in middle school for PE. He quickly set his sights on breaking the school record. As an eighth grader he did just that, posting a time of 4:50. He joined the cross country (XC) and track teams that year. As the year went on, he stopped participating in the mile, giving more attention to cross country and long-distance running.

After trying for four years and winning XC ...