His legs burned from the inside. Every step reminded him of his race earlier that day, the one he meant to take easy.

Midway through the 1,600-meter run, three runners slipped ahead of North Rockland's A.J. Savoia

"I'm finished," Savoia thought to himself. "These kids are fresh. I'm done."

It was the senior's second race of the afternoon, having won the 3,200 earlier at the Rockland County championships. Now he was on the track again, and his legs were ready to boycott.

"I was just talking to myself, 'Don't quit. Just keep sprinting,' " Savoia said.

His stride opened. He had a little more bounce, and Savoia skipped ahead to the front again. Later, he would take the track to run anchor on the Red Raiders' 3,200 relay and lead the team to its fourth county title in five years.

It was close to 3 1/2 miles of racing for the meet. Athletes triple at championship meets every year, but this is the most one can feasibly run in one competition. His efforts resulted in 30 points for the Red Raiders.

"He really is required to do a lot as far as his races go," North Rockland distance coach Barry Baloga said. "For A.J., he not only ran the (gamut) of races, but he performed really well in them. He delivered big races each and every time in key moments."

That's how Savoia earned leadership of the team.

After the county meet, Savoia and his teammate Christian Mendez went to Mendez's house. Mendez's mom had videotaped the 1,600 after her son finished second behind Savoia in both the 1,600 and 3,200. Both ran a leg of the 3,200 relay.

They watched the tape three or four times and analyzed any mistake they found until all the racing finally caught up with Savoia.

"Dude, I'm going to sleep," Savoia said.

"Right after that we both just passed out on the floor."

This season, leadership was the theme for Savoia, The Journal News Rockland boys track and field performer of the year.

"For me, it always comes down to the sacrifice that kids like him know that they are invariably going to have to race a lot for us to do well," Baloga said.

But Savoia has learned more than that. His success has made him feel he should be a leader.

"I guess I felt I had to come in and set an example up front," he said. "A lot of kids knew (I was) coming back, and they were looking for leadership. I was just trying to lead by example."

Part of that example was his second-place finish at the Stanner Games in the 3,200 in 9 minutes, 29.17, a personal best and the fastest time in the county this season.

"That was the race that showed me that I could run with other (fast) people," he said.

Savoia pulled the same triple at the Class A championships. He won the 3,200, anchored the winning 3,200 relay and finished second in the 1,600. North Rockland reclaimed the Class A title after losing it last year to Clarkstown South.

The sacrifice that Baloga talked about was running multiple races at the expense of faster times. Quantity over quality. Team over individual.

"You can't win championships by yourself," Baloga said. "Even if you score the maximum amount of points. All those other guys are working just as hard as you are. They're at practice everyday, too. They want to win, too."