“What began in 1977 as a local meet has grown into one of the Ohio Valley’s premier track and field competitions.”
From Vision to Tradition: The Story of the Dick Dei Track Classic
The Dick Dei Track Classic was thought of and created by Dick Dei following the consolidation of Ohio County Schools that formed Wheeling Park High School, beginning in the Fall 1976. Dick was the first Track and Field Coach at Wheeling Park and held the position until the conclusion of the 1989 Track Season.
Dei, along with his assistant head coach, Carl Bowman had the idea of creating a highly competitive track and field event. At the time in the Ohio Valley, the Shadyside Relays and Bellaire Relays held their meets on the third and fourth Saturdays in April. So, Dick and Carl planned the meet for the second Saturday in April. The initial meet was held on April 9, 1977. At the time, the meet was similar to the Bellaire Relays, being a boys only event. Dick believed that a student – athlete and a team gets better by competing against strong competition and teams.
Using his experiences earlier in his career as a track coach at Bellaire High School and meet director of the Bellaire Relays, Dick wanted to continue to offer a top tier event, while also awarding the student – athletes with top tier plaques and recognition. To make this happen, Dick and Carl reached out and obtained corporate sponsorships through the generosity of the community. In addition, having over 150 volunteers from the community enabled them to make the first meet a success.
As the meet continued on in the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, the meet began to attract and expand to include out of town and out of state teams. The meet attracted teams from Cleveland, Columbus, Akron, Canton, Youngstown and Dayton, Ohio, in addition to, teams from Pennsylvania.
After Dei retired from coaching following the 1989 Track Season to be an assistant principal at Wheeling Park High School, the program was taken over by one of Dick and Carl’s athletes and state champion, Bernie Dolan. Dick and Carl never stayed away from the program or meet.
Throughout the 1990s – mid 2000’s the meet continued to attract teams from the tri-state area. At the conclusion of the 2002 – 2003 academic year, Dick retired from Wheeling Park High School. In addition, the school’s administration surprised him by announcing at the 2003 meet that beginning in 2004, the meet would be known as the Dick Dei Track Classic.
The meet forever changed on June 1, 2007; Dick passed away unexpectedly. Following Dick’s passing, the Ohio County Board of Education unanimously named the track complex at Wheeling Park High School as the Dick Dei Track & Field Complex.
In 2008, the economic recession had a major impact on the meet. Coaching Staffs were combined and teams traveled together, and the meet began to see a drop off in teams and competition. In collaboration with Bernie and Dei Family following the 2012 meet, beginning in 2013, the meet expanded to include the girls division. Once the girls division was added, the meet began to see an increase in teams and competition.
The meet has experienced many ups and downs, including the inconsistencies of April weather. In 2016, the weather forecast was predicted to be a cold day. However, 2” of snow dumped on the track an hour before the meet was scheduled to begin. As a result, the 2016 meet was canceled.
One of the other challenges was during the COVID – 19 Pandemic which led to the 2020 meet being canceled. As the country was beginning to get back to normal activities following the pandemic, the 2021 meet was not held until May 22, 2021. The 2021 meet only had teams from West Virginia due to the track season being started and concluding late. In 2022, the meet returned to the 2nd Saturday in April.
Many athletes have participated in the Dick Dei Track Classic and have gone on to college to participate at all levels of collegiate athletics. Included in those have been professional athletes that have played in the NFL and participated in the trials to qualify for the United States Olympic Teams for Track and Field.
Over the years, the meet has endured economic downturns and a pandemic. However, the Dei Family and the Wheeling Park High School Track and Field Coaches continue to drive and fulfill Dick’s vision of a highly competitive track and field meet.
The Dei Family, Patti, Dick’s wife and sons Todd and Sean thank all of those that have participated in or helped make and continue to make the meet such a success.