How this blind runner made it to Delaware high school's cross-country championship meet

Anthony Papiro's family had the celebration all set. Pizza and family and friends would greet Papiro when he crossed the finish line at the New Castle County meet at Winterthur Estates, his last high school cross-country competition.

Except Papiro had other plans. He finished in a personal best time of 21:58, which placed him in Dickinson High School's top seven and qualified him for the state championship meet at Brandywine Creek the following week.

So Saturday, Nov. 11, became the day to recognize Papiro for an achievement only he's checked off.

Visually impaired since birth, Papiro has competed in cross-country for the past seven years through middle school and high school with a guide runner. He relies on his guide runners to call out turns, divots, roots, hills and any other obstacles along the wooded cross-country courses. They each hold a piece of fabric that has loops on both ends, tethering Papiro to his guide.

It requires immense concentration, in addition to withstanding the physical rigors faced by every other runner on the course.

All Papiro has ever worried about is improving. In his first races, Papiro was one of the last runners. In the state meet, conquering Delaware's greatest hills at Brandywine, he carved off almost two minutes from his previous best time on the course, finishing in 22:59, 3 miles and change clicked off at 7:25 per mile pace.

Papiro and his younger brother Nicholas were born with a rare form of congenital blindness called Leber's congenital amaurosis. The disease affects the retina, causing severe visual impairment that typically worsens over time to total vision loss. In a clinical trial, Papiro received gene therapy injections that have stabilized his vision. But his field of vision is very dark and narrow.

The Nov. 11 race was only one landmark in a much longer athletic journey.

In running, Papiro found a passion that could be a lifelong pursuit. He's told his father, Ed, that he thinks he'll be running when he's 80, albeit slower than he is today.

In his teammates, Papiro found a group of friends who now populate his lunch table. They shined their cellphone flashlights on him at the homecoming dance, helping him take the center of the dancefloor.

And with those whom he trains and races with, Papiro and his family have built a running community of their own.

'You just can't quit'

The first sport Ed and Kristin Papiro put their sons in was wrestling. Ed, a former wrestler who now coaches, said, "It's what I knew." So from age 5 through fifth grade, Anthony Papiro was down on the mats.

Before middle school, he told his parents he wasn't into wrestling anymore. They were OK with him changing sports, but he had to do something and commit to practicing and doing his best in whatever came next.

"You just can't quit," Ed said.

Dickinson's middle school running coach Anthony Swierzbinski had sent an email to all incoming sixth graders introducing himself and the team. Kristen replied, explaining the situation and the idea of a guide runner and asked if her son could join the team.

"He emailed me back like the same day, 'You can absolutely do this,'" Kristen said. "[Swierzbinski] was so on board with it, which is why I think he liked it so much."

Papiro said his running career started by simply giving the sport a shot. It took only a few practices to realize he liked it.

"We found Coach Swiz," Ed said. "Having a good, passionate coach made it."

"He genuinely loves what he does," Papiro added.

After coaching his middle school team at the New Castle County meet, Swierzbinski laced up his sneakers to guide Papiro through his race later in the day. He came to Brandywine on Nov. 11 to run with him in his final high school cross-country meet.

Swierzbinski is one of several people who have guided Papiro through the years. A regular sub-17-minute 5K runner and a 2:49 marathoner, Swierzbinski has the highest credentials of the bunch.

When Anthony first started, Swierzbinski's assistant coach, Holly Walker, ran with him as Swierzbinski took on coaching the rest of the team by himself. Walker was Anthony's French teacher. She quizzed him as they ran.

"So he got an A in French and he got faster," Kristen said.

Who can keep up?

The task of finding guide runners for Papiro has proven more difficult the faster he's gotten.

The best example? A guide runner earlier this year couldn't survive the hills of Brandywine, forcing the duo into several walking breaks. It frustrated Papiro.

They need guide runners for races, but also training. Sometimes Mom and Dad ride a bike with him, but he prefers running with another runner. Kristen will sometimes go on two feet instead of two wheels.

"He pushes me, that's for sure," she said.

A chance meeting between Papiro's junior and senior seasons provided him with one of his most reliable guide runners yet.

Ed goes to DuPont Street Barbering Co. on Friday mornings. Small-business owners like himself (he runs Papiro's Lawn and Landscape) meet there to hang out and talk through business decisions.

On one morning, Anthony Campanella heard Ed talking about guide runners. They had seen each other at the barbershop before, but didn't have much of a relationship.

Campanella asked Ed what he was looking for. He said he'd like his son to run in states and be able to PR. Campanella asked about Papiro's times.

"He was like, 'You know, I'm pretty sure I can do it,'" Ed said. "Basically, that's how he got his most solid guide runner over the last seven years. It was just some random guy that hangs out with us in the morning."

Campanella is the COO of Paul Campanella's Auto & Tire Center, a business started by his father 37 years ago. He trained with Papiro throughout the offseason, a significant reason why Papiro improved enough to make the state meet roster. Going on runs together in bitter cold and rain became somewhat of their signature as they found a shared cadence.

Campanella raced with him several times this season.

"I was competing in my first cross-country meets 15 years after high school," Campanella said. "It's awesome that he pushes so hard, runs so hard. He's really improved so much."

"I'm just thankful that they asked me to run with him."

One of the first places Campanella raced with Papiro was Dickinson's home course at Carousel Park, Papiro's favorite spot to run.

Papiro knew where they were going. He told Campanella they were coming up on gravel, about to climb a hill and to look for a clearing in the trees. All Campanella had to do was steer.

Papiro could guide him through the rest.

Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on X @holveck_brandon.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Dickinson High visually impaired runner found a passion in running