Athletes hope bond is golden
Tri-State Sports & News Service
A record-breaking threesport star who is one of the best athletes in Beaver Area history will compete for the final time in his high school careerthis weekend.
A teammate he considers to be like a sister will be there withhim.
Beaver Area’s Darius Wise will aim for a gold medal at the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships at Shippensburg University. Wise will take part in the 100-meter dash and long jump, and anchor Beaver’s 1,600-meter relay team.Running for the Beaver girls will be fellow senior Olivia Neeley, who qualified for the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.
Wise and Neeley have a special bond. The two lived together for three years. Dr. Steven Neeley and his wife Vicky have 11 children. For a couple of years, Wise was essentially a 12th and Olivia was basically his sister. Wise lived with the Neeleys from eighththrough 10th grade.
“We’re really close,” said Wise, who now lives with his uncle. “Obviously, we’re in the same grade. She’s a great athlete. We’re like brother and sister. We communicate with each other, have fun, hang out. We do everything together when we can. Especially when I was living with them, we always enjoyed eachother.”
Wise said the Neeleys will make the trip to Shippensburg to watch him and Olivia perform this weekend. Wise said of Neeley, “I talk to him everyday, usually.”
The Neeley family is Mormon and Wise became Mormon a few years ago. Wise will soon head across the country to play football at Colorado State, but a Neeley won’t be incredibly far away. Ruthe Neeley, also a former track star at Beaver, attends BYU.
Before leaving for college, Wise will try to add to his legacy. He is the only player in WPIAL football history with 4,000 yards rushing, 2,000 passing and 1,000 receiving. In basketball, Wise is Beaver’s all-time leading scorer. He holds school track and field records in the 200, long jump and 1,600 relay. Wise’s best shot at gold might be in the 100. He was the runner-up at the WPIAL championships and is seeded seventh.
Aliquippa sprint king
Antwan Brooks missed most of his senior season with a hamstring injury and didn’t compete in a meet until two weeks before the WPIAL championships. That didn’t stop him from winning three WPIAL Class 2A gold medals.
Brooks won the 100 and 200, and ran a leg on Aliquippa’s winning 400 relay team. Brooks became the first Aliquippa athlete to win a sprint title since Tommie Campbell captured titles in the 100 and 200 in 2005. Campbell also won a gold medal in the 400 relay that year. The Quips have won that event four years in a row and 11 of thepast 14 years.
“It means a lot to me because at the beginning of the seasonI pulled my hamstring and I didn’t know how I would do,” Brooks said. “I expected to at least come in the top three in the 100. I surprised myself in the 200. I didn’texpect to win that.”
Brooks said Campbell came to a few practices this season and at one practice offered $100 to anyone who could beat him in a race. No one was successful. Brooks was sidelined with the injury at the time. Campbell spent four years in the NFL and currently plays for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL. Former WPIAL track champions Trenton Coles (Clairton) and Todd Thomas (Beaver Falls) are also on the team.
Tomlin takes bronze
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has been busy overseeing his team’s OTAs this week. Meanwhile, his son, Michael, has been preparing for his first PIAA championship meet.
Tomlin, a sophomore at Shady Side Academy, placed third in the 300 hurdles at the WPIAL Class 2A championships. Tomlin previously attendedCardinal Wuerl North Catholic before transferring to Shady Side Academy earlier this year.
Tomlin tweeted following his third-place finish: “3rd in the WPIAL in 300 Hurdles… We’ll get that gold next year but we got states next week…”-- @dinzilla25
Returning champions
ThreeWPIAL boys will try to defend PIAA titles: Knoch’s Jordan Geist, North Allegheny’s Ayden Owens andNew Brighton’s Anthony Milliner. Geist is the twotime defending Class 3A shot put and discus champion. He holds the PIAA record in the shot put and has a good shot of breaking the PIAA discus record of 202-10. He threw 2087 at the WPIAL championships. Owens is the reigning champion in the Class 3A 300 hurdles and Milliner the defending champion in the Class2A triple jump.
Top seeds
Thefollowing WPIAL boys are seeded No. 1 at the PIAA championships: Class 3A — North Allegheny’s Ayden Owens (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, long jump), Knoch’s Jordan Geist (shot put, discus), Hempfield’s Hayden Fox (javelin); Class 2A — Winchester Thurston’s Tristan Forsythe (1,600), Quaker Valley’s Zach Skolnekovich (3,200), New Brighton’s Anthony Milliner (triple jump).