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Ram tough: Torn ACL, transfer to Campus Magnet could not derail Weston

By Marc Raimondi

“I was like, maybe I need to rethink down the road,” Weston said.Luckily, as a solid student, he had enough to fall back on without sports. That didn't make him complacent, though. He persevered through the torn ACL and a much-criticized transfer to Campus Magnet and will take the football field next season as a wide receiver for Division I-AA Fordham. Weston, a 6-foot-3 South Jamaica native, was forced to sit out his entire junior year recovering from his injury and over that summer he decided to leave Fresh Meadows for Campus Magnet in Cambria Heights. He was a Catholic school kid all his life, attending St. Catherine's elementary school in Jamaica and he definitely heard anti-public school sentiments when he decided to leave Prep. But money was tight – Weston's sister is attending The Mary Louis Academy – and the coach at Campus Magnet was Eric Barnett, Weston's youth coach with the Springfield Rifles.”Guess what? I saved Jason like $6,000,” Barnett joked.The transfer helped him more than that. Weston's grades stayed stable – he's an A student – and he starred at running back and defensive back for the Bulldogs in the fall. After the season, Barnett sent out a highlight video of Weston to numerous schools.”As soon as Fordham saw his tapes and then saw his transcript, they were very excited,” the third-year coach said.Now Weston is the one that's anxious. He thinks that he's only shown a fraction of his ability on the field in high school due to the injury and is looking forward to playing at Fordham, which is coming off one of its best years in recent memory. Weston gave up basketball this year, not wanting to tempt fate. Instead, he's running track this winter and was the Queens champion in the 300-meter run.”I just wanted to play it safe,” Weston said.The scholarship is in the bag. The future? It's no longer in question.Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.