SOUTH BETHLEHEM, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Cam Wagner already has four biological brothers.
But for the past three-plus years, the junior at Redbank Valley has also been a foster brother to three others.
“It just feels good to be able to help someone who maybe hasn’t had a good life, especially at home with their family,” Wagner said. “It just feels good to be able to give them a good family and a good place to live.”
Wagner did what he could to make his foster brothers feel at home. Some have come and gone, but when they were with the Wagners, Cam treated them like blood.
“Whatever they liked to do I tied to do that with them,” Wagner said. “We would take our (foster) brother outside and play catch with him, with a baseball or football. Whatever to make them feel welcome.”
Wagner also has many other brothers on on the four athletic teams he plays for at Redbank.
In the fall, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Wagner is a quarterback for the Bulldogs. Last year he helped Redbank to a 7-1 record by completing 44-of-77 passes for 409 yards and eight touchdowns.
In the winter, he plays basketball at the school and in the spring he’s on the baseball and track and field teams.
That makes Wagner a pretty busy dude.
“Well, for one, it keeps me out of trouble,” he said, laughing. “I played baseball at a young age and basketball at a young age and I started playing football as early as I could. I just started track, basically, as a freshman.”
But that freshman year was wiped out when all spring sports were canceled by the PIAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wagner, though, was undeterred and excelled this spring throwing the discus. He won the District 9 championship with a throw of 157 feet, one inch and then followed that up with a fourth-place finish at the Class 2A PIAA Track and Field Championships in Shippensburg with a mark of 155-9.
Not bad for someone who began the year throwing the discus from a standing-still position.
“I mean, my goal at the start of the season was just to place at districts,” Wagner said. “I didn’t even spin or anything. Eventually I graduated to learning the full technique and being able to have it work consistently.”
Once it did, Wagner took off. He threw farther and farther in each meet and suddenly was a state champion contender.
And he has some very big goals in the sport going forward over the next two springs.
“I’ve thought about getting to 200 (feet),” Wagner said. “That would be among the best in the nation. Honestly, track is where I see myself going pretty far.”
Name: Cam Wagner
School: Redbank Valley
Jersey Numbers: 8 in football and baseball; 23 in basketball
Sports: Football, basketball, baseball, track and field
Graduation Year: 2023
2020-21 Highlights: District 9 Class A champion in the discus and fourth in the event at the state meet in 2A; District 9 Class A champion in football and led the Bulldogs as a quarterback to the first state playoff win in school history. Was 5-0 as a pitcher for the baseball team.
Q: Who do you consider your mentor(s)?
A: God and my parents (Tom and Lara), because they are always my biggest supporters and people I look up to as influencers in my life.
Q: What do you eat before a big game or competition?
A: A PayDay candy bar.
Q: What are your goals this school year in all of your sports?
A: To win another D9 title in football, become a two-time D9 champion in the discus and win my first D9 title in the shot put.
Q: What’s your favorite sports movie?
A: “When the Game Stands Tall” because the message it provokes is that not everything is about “me,” but about the team.
Q: If you could meet any celebrity, who would it be and why?
A: LeBron James because he is one of the greatest basketball players of all time, alongside Michael Jordan. They are huge idols in my sports career and they are, of course, the GOATs of the sport of basketball.
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