Watching Nottingham High junior Arianna Crusoe Gaye perform on the track these days, it’s hard to imagine she had to overcome some serious adolescent struggles.
Even she is surprised – and justifiably proud – of how she has rebounded from a tough freshman year at Fridley High School in Minnesota.
Gaye qualified for the NJSIAA Group III meet last spring, and repeated the effort this past winter.
It has been a journey, for sure. She moved from Hamilton to the Land of 10,000 Lakes – her residence just outside of Minneapolis — prior to her eighth grade year to live with her dad.
“I thought it would be a good change for me, but it wasn’t,” she said.
After trying middle school track as 8th-grader, personal issues forced Ari away from the sport a year later.
“It was life in general; it wasn’t anything to do with track,” Gaye said. “It was me having to pick if I wanted to go back into track with all the stress situations I had, or take a break from it. I chose taking a break because my mental health was really down.
“Freshman year going into high school you don’t know what to do, you’re just making decisions to make decisions. It was those freshman decisions that led me there but I’m glad that sophomore year I settled down (after moving back to Hamilton). I knew what I wanted and started to develop my base slowly but surely and started to grow. When I came back I knew I needed my redemption.”
She is getting it under the tutelage of Northstars coach Annalicia Savvides, who marvels at how quickly the sprinter has picked up on a sport that’s much more complicated than just running.
“She only started track last winter season and she’s already surpassed a lot of girls not only in counties but in states,” Savvides said. “There’s no one that works harder than her. She’s one of the hardest working girls I’ve had in a long time.”
Granted, Gaye ran in 8th grade but she didn’t learn the nuances that come from proper training. Having always been the fastest in her crowd, she just let it rip.
“I’ve always had a passion for running,” she said. “I always knew I was fast, but I didn’t know what to do with my talents. I was one of the fastest girls on my team in 8th grade. I just loved running. But it wasn’t as professional as it is now.”
Once Savvides got ahold of her, Ari knew the sport was mental as well as physical.
“That’s when I thought ‘Let’s get serious,’” she said. “That’s when I wanted it way more than anything. I knew I needed to show my name more.”
And needed to put in the work.
“She’s dedicated to her practices,” Savvides said. “Every time it’s like ‘Coach, how’s my start? What do you think I have to do to get faster? Can you time me on this?’ She’s consistently asking for feedback and I think that’s what makes her so successful. She goes home and watches videos. She studies what she just did at practice and she takes that in every day and comes back to improve herself the next day.”
In short, she has emerged from her woes and wrapped herself in a love affair with track.
The results are noticeable.
In the 2025 indoor season, Crusoe was 6th in the 400 meters at the Colonial Valley Conference Championships in 1:03.58. In the spring, she was third in the Central Jersey Group III sectional meet in the 100 (12.59) and sixth in the 400 (59.50). The top six finishers advance to states, although Ari was unable to compete in the Group III meet due to a scheduling conflict. She also went to the Addidas National meet in the 4×100 and 4×200 relay with Northstar teammates.
Her improvement rocketed after Savvides used last winter as a starting point for Gaye.
“I was watching her form and I thought ‘All right, she needs some work on her form and her skips,’” the coach said. “Every day I was giving her all the information about being a sprinter. She was dedicated from day one that sprinting was her thing.”
The longest sprint wasn’t exactly her thing, but she has come to accept her talent in that event. Asked what her biggest lesson was in her first indoor track season, Gaye said, “Growing to be a 400 runner. I was not a 400 runner. In eighth grade they always put me in the quick straightaway races.”
Alas, Gaye was too talented in the event she didn’t care for much.
“My coach did not take me out of that 400 once I did good; it was just crazy,” she said. “At first I was like ‘What is this two laps indoors indoor? Why am I running two laps?’ But my body started to adjust to it and I had to get a strong mindset.
“I played soccer growing up and the endurance from that helped me. They started to call me the 400 demon and I’m like ‘OK, I’m stuck with this,’” she added with a laugh.
“She came around a lot quicker than I anticipated, but knowing how hard she worked at practice I knew she was going to physically excel,” Savvides said. ‘She has that tunnel vision. She’s dedicated to getting that time she wants.”
This winter, Gaye placed second in the 400 at the CVC meet in a school record time of 1:01.08, and third in the 55 (7.37). At sectionals, she advanced to states in the 55 with a fourth-place time of 7.35, which was the best clocking of any Mercer County runner.
Her confidence was high heading into the Feb. 21 state meet, where she was hoping to break the Nottingham indoor record in the 55.
And she can’t wait to get outdoors.
“Being outside in the heat is what I like,” Gaye said. “I get sick really fast being around people and indoor you’re more closed in. Once I’m outdoor and have all that air, I know I need to be the best of the best.”
She is aiming for times of 11.9 in the 100, 25.0 in the 200 and a 57.0 in the 400.
“I’m an all-around person so I want to break some individual records, not just records with my (relay) team,” she said. “I’m coming for a lot of records.”
Interestingly, Gaye will use starting blocks in the spring after shunning them during the winter.
“I was trained outdoor to use them but I have gotten so used to pushing off on my own indoors that I don’t want to change anything,” she said. “The times I’m dropping without the blocks, I know I’m gonna have a problem when I get in the blocks for spring.”
She understands, however, they are a necessity.
“That’s another way to get out fast,” she said. “I just don’t want to switch until after (indoor season).”
Once she gets outdoors, Gaye will scour videos to watch how sprinters get out of the blocks, and also study successful college and high school runners while digesting every detail.
“I manifest my life, where I want to be at,” Gaye said. “When I see some things I don’t know, I’ll go to my coach and question her. I do my straightaway and she watches. She says it’s getting better day by day so I’m blessed to have a coach like that.”
And Savvides feels blessed to have a pupil like Ari. She is a go-getter in the classroom with a 3.0 GPA, which she has built up after her tough freshman year. She joined Nottingham’s DECA Club and a student-athlete club, and is looking into other opportunities. One goal is to help younger students understand the rigors of high school sports.
Then there is her job at Chick-fil-A, which she loves despite the fact she is on her feet the whole time.
“I’ve been taking up a lot of responsibilities,” Gaye said. “I’m learning how to multi-task my life.”
But she remains laser focused on the sport that she has embraced. When not on the track, Gaye takes care of her body with home maintenance, and will do stretches the moment she awakens to keep herself limber.
On the track it’s even more intense.
“At practice she’s very locked in,” Gaye said. “When she’s working on something she doesn’t even want the girls talking to her. She gets in that zone and she does the things she says she wants.”
Out of the zone, she’s everybody’s friend.
“She’s always smiling and happy-go-lucky,” Savvides said. “The only time she’s not like that is when she’s sick or not feeling well.”
Gaye is feeling very well these days. She knows where she has been and is excited about where she’s going.
“I knew I was fast, but I didn’t realize I would come this far,” she said. “I’m grateful for what I have and I know I can get better every day. Each time that I drop my times and see that people are looking out for me it just inspires me to do better. I’m a little shy at times. Once I get on the floor you wouldn’t think I’m shy. My love for the game is crazy.
“I am so proud of myself because of where I come from — I come from struggles. Every time I do something good I just really thank God because if you were to tell me two years ago my name would be out here and someone would be writing a feature on Arianna I would tell you that you’re lying.”
Take heart Ari; it’s the absolute truth.
Adrianna Crusoe Gaye (center) runs a relay for Nottingham High School.,
