In fact, he may still be at his peak.

On Saturday, the 2020 Cassadaga Valley Central School graduate collected a pair of gold medals at the 2025 USA Track & Field Para National Championships at Hayward Field.

Sample posted wins in the T45-47 100- and 400-meter dashes. The T45 classification includes athletes with double upper limb impairments, specifically affecting both arms.

“I competed in a few smaller meets this year. Being my first year out of college, I was figuring out the time balance between training, competing and coaching high school,” Sample said Tuesday evening. “A few meets I did go to were the Bucknell Outdoor Classic and the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Jalisco, Mexico.”

Cassadaga Valley graduate Rayven Sample, pictured at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, won gold medals in the T45-47 100-meter and 400-meter dashes at the 2025 USA Track & Field Para National Championships this past weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Submitted photo

His Saturday in Eugene began with the 400-meter dash, in a four-man field. Sample led from the opening gun and never trailed, winning in 50.45 seconds — 4.16 seconds over second-place Maximilian Allabaugh.

“Training alone, I knew what nationals would look like. My Team USA teammate, Tanner Wright, retired following Paris. … The challenge going into nationals was trying to go 49 (seconds) alone,” Sample said. “It kind of felt like it did in training. You have to execute on your own, you can’t see people around you.”

“Everything was kind of falling in line. I came through 300 meters at the speed and time I wanted, but in that last 100 I couldn’t get the knees up like I wanted to,” Sample added. “Maybe a little bit more time in Eugene … maybe just some more reps underneath the belt. My coaches and I feel like the times are there, it’s just executing the small things.”

The 100-meter dash was Saturday’s penultimate event and Sample made sure to save his best for last. He ran to a personal-best time of 11.33 seconds, winning gold by .36 seconds over second-place Christopher Moore.

“The whole focus was the 400. I hadn’t even thought of the 100. After I got pulled for drug testing, I joked that I would come back and run the 100 for fun and finish up the day,” Sample said. “My coach told me that I had a split of 11.11 mid-400; a time I’d never seen before. … That locked me in right where I needed to be to go ahead and PR in the 100. If I execute the start right, I think I can get that a little bit lower with a little more work put into it.”

Rayven Sample competes in last year’s paralympic trials. Submitted Photo

Despite winning a pair of gold medals, Sample was not named to the 40-member United States roster for the upcoming Para World Championships, which will be held in September in New Delhi, India.

“I got back to the hotel and knew I wasn’t in the percentage I needed for the 400 Worlds,” Sample said of his winning time. “From what I understand, the selection procedure was a little different this time. For Paris, the men’s roster was 28 people. Every classification and event has its own A and B standard. The A standard is the average of the last three years or two international games.

“Sometimes you don’t race your PR at nationals, you might be better earlier in the season,” Sample added. “Sometimes it’s the top 40 people on that day.”

Sample is a 2019 New York state champion in the 1,600-meter relay, which he won with Falconer/Cassadaga Valley teammates Austin Johns, Collin Barmore and Bryce Baglia. He graduated from Bucknell last May with a double-major in psychology and education. He will attend Binghamton University this fall working toward a master’s in higher education.

“I’ll continue training in Binghamton and live there with a Bucknell teammate who’s on the cross country team,” Sample said. “For the most part, I’ll be training alone like this year. I’ll get the workouts done and work around my schedule that way.”

Sample represented the United States at last year’s 2024 Paris Paralympics, where he took eighth in his heat of the 100 meters (11.56) and sixth in his heat of the 400 meters (50.33). He qualified for that team by winning the 400-meter dash at last summer’s U.S. Paralympic Team Trials with a time of 49.46 seconds at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, Florida.

“Next week, I’ll have a conversation with my coach. Since we’re remote I haven’t had too many in-person conversations. Next week that will be the decision point, whether I focus on the 100 or 400,” Sample said. ” … I’m likely staying with the 400, but tossing up maybe even the 1,500. We’ll look at those three options and see what we think will be the most competitive.”

Sample’s future plans include training for the 2028 Summer Paralympics which will be held in Los Angeles. 2026 is an off year with no international competition, so his next focus will be on making the 2027 World’s roster.

“After that 100, I’m a little bit more confident. After seeing everything play out this year and the dropoff, you have to really like it after graduating college and leaving the NCAA,” Sample said. “It’s 10 times harder after you are outside of those systems. Now that I know I can do it, I’m excited to see how I can flourish with one or two more years of development.”