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The Colton Dean Interview (Canonsburg, PA)



Name: Colton Dean

Hometown: Canonsburg, Pennsylvania 

Events: Decathlon (Sprinter, Jumps, Throws)

High School: IMG Academy (FL)

Graduation Class: 2025

GPA:4.0

Status: Uncommitted

BRADENTON, FL -- Colton Dean is a decathlete from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. He's a current senior at IMG Academy, who most recently enrolled as of the fall semester. In his junior season, Dean was named the 2024 New Balance Nationals Decathlon champion by scoring 6961 points (PA No.3 all-time) and AAU Junior Olympic Champion with 6817 points.

The RPN discovered Dean over a year ago in attendance at the USATF National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oreg. Our director, Tyreese Smith, was out on the west coast supporting his father, Roger Smith (Milton Hershey School track and field head coach and Hall of Famer) and his club, Milts 4 Life Track Club but noticed there was additional Pennsylvania representation on the other side of the country. Following Dean's time throughout the event, the RPN didn't even recognize that he was a decathlete at first. We thought he was just eating in two events, that's it. Then, it wasn't made aware until we started hearing his name more and more, but often saw Dean pop up on Hayward Field's jumbotron as the week went on. It's not hard to figure out why, but it is said in life, "The littlest thing, can leave a big impression." From our great director.

Throughout the process, Dean handled himself exceptionally well. Monitoring the West PA native for some time, the RPN was very blessed when he accepted the offer. Ran through a well in excitement at that. Being honored to work with a lot of great kids, Dean was the right choice in attempting to build up a track & field following not just through his accomplishments but having an emphasis on character. Very well spoken, a community dude, keeps a humble mind and a certain professionalism that every kid should aspire to have. Even aids with a cleaning service business, Men in Blue Cleaners doing great blue collar work back in his hometown. Dean has a bright future ahead of time and we can't wait to see what he'll do at the collegiate level.

The RPN caught up with the IMG transfer through his prep journey, the move to Florida and an outlook on his future endeavors. 

Colton Dean Interview
Tyreese Smith: "Thank you for joining me today, Colton. Very honored for you to be here and taking time out of your busy schedule. Let's get started with this first question. When did you first begin your journey?"

Colton Dean: "Hi! Yes, so I started my track journey I would say when I was about 12 years old. I was in football, soccer, and wrestling at the time also, so I wasn’t really focused too much on track. But, then my 8th grade year was when I started taking track serious. Ever since then, I have been taking the sport more serious and it has been paying off."


Tyreese Smith: "Describe who decathletes are for those who aren't familiar."

Colton Dean: "I am a decathlete, which I believe is considered a very good athlete. Basically, I compete in ten events that focus on sprinting, throwing, jumping, vaulting using my whole body in an athletic way. The 100 dash is a full out sprint. The long jump tests my vertical as well as high jump. Shot put makes me use the power in my muscles to throw the shot put. Hurdles I need to be agile and fast. Discus and javelin again are me using the power in my muscles to throw the implements as far as possible. Then pole vault is the ultimate athlete test where the whole body is being used in a unique vaulting way. The final race of the Mile which is a mental test. Overall, being a decathlete is a great test of the mind and whole body."


Tyreese Smith: "How was life growing up in Western Pennsylvania?"

Colton Dean: "Growing up in West PA wasn’t too much sports focused. We have some good sports teams, but we don’t have any teams that are considered the greatest in the nation. People aren’t flying across the country to watch a lot of our teams play. So, growing up sports weren’t too much of a big deal, but I wanted it to be different. That’s why I got into track. I wanted to be the best I could be to get the attention of coaches, athletes and the whole national scene."


Tyreese Smith: "How was your junior season?"

Colton Dean: "My junior season I would say was a success. Every meet leading up to states, I was doing good in my events and hitting the marks that I wanted to hit. Also, winning some pretty big meets including WPIAL's, which is a huge deal. However, at states I completely messed up all of my events, and didn’t make finals for any of them. I wasnt prepared mentally or physically for that day, and it completely messed me up. To follow states up as a comeback, I was able to win New Balance Nationals and AAU Junior Olympics in the decathlon. Overall, it was a successful season."


Tyreese Smith: "The move to IMG was recent, but you know what you had to do in order to find success in athletics. What factors led into your decision to transfer?"

Colton Dean: "I would say the biggest factor is that I have heard of so many great athletes that have come out of IMG. Went on to do big things across a multitude of sports if you're familiar with the school. Another thing is that at my old high school, our track program just wouldn’t be as good as IMG. I wanted to go to a place that would fit me right in which I ended up choosing IMG."


Tyreese Smith: "You’re still at a very early stage of your career. What kinds of things are you doing to make yourself the best athlete you can be?"

Colton Dean: "I would say with being a decathlete there is a ton and ton of training. Before IMG, I'd have to train six days a week with one day off. However, that one day off would be very full of rest, and to make sure I am recovered properly. Typically, I started off my day with lifting, then in the afternoon, I would work on whatever event prep is for that day. Usually throughout the week, I would cycle through all events, and work on a little bit of each throughout each week."


Tyreese Smith: "The Olympics concluded a little over a month ago, but was an amazing run from USATF. From your own words, what did you think of Paris 2024?"

Colton Dean: "The 100 and 200 for both boys and girls was pretty insane to me. First off, the 100 with Noah Lyles almost getting beat by Kishane Thompson. Then to the 200 with Noah running with covid and Letsile Tebago taking the gold. Also, I thought it was pretty odd on the women's side with how so many girls were dropping out especially the Jamaicans. Moving on though to the decathlon, it was a pretty wild ride. I really thought that Leo Neugebauer was going to take the gold, then it just snuck away from him. Overall, all of the events were pretty interesting but those were the most standout to me."


Tyreese Smith: "Having many experiences traveling the country, what would you say has been your most memorable experience thus far in your career?"

Colton Dean: "I would definitely say competing in Oregon at Hayward Field. It’s such a crazy place to run in knowing that the most elite athletes in the world have run on that same track. I was also able to win the Decathlon there, which was pretty cool to win something in a historical place."


Tyreese Smith: "What do you believe are the greatest challenges most athletes are facing today?"

Colton Dean: "I would definitely say social media comparison. So many sports pages will post track kids doing very well in their event. It sort of sets an unrealistic standard for kids just starting the sport; which can then lead to them being discouraged."


Tyreese Smith: "What are your expectations heading into your first year at IMG?"

Colton Dean: "I would say that my expectations are too do the absolute best I can. Academics wise, I want to continue maintaining a 4.0 GPA. For life, I want to attempt to up my NIL brand up to try and monetize what I do. Then, for athletics, I really want to just keep consistently getting better and better heading into the next level."


Tyreese Smith: "Close to wrapping this up, but let’s think through this question. What do you see yourself accomplishing in the next five years? Rap to me."

Colton Dean: "I would say going for four NCAA titles in the Decathlon. That is one of my biggest goals in life. I believe it is extremely achievable. I also want to have an NIL brand, and make money off of that and social media."


Tyreese Smith: "Thank you Colt for taking the time to talk to me. Do you have any words of encouragement or motivation for people? Any last words?"

Colton Dean: "Losing is the path to success. Thank you for taking your time to ask me some questions. Had a great time!"


Colton Dean announced his transfer decision to IMG Academy on July 17, 2024


Media Coverage on Colton Dean

‘Dean’s List’: A national champ in the decathlon, Canon-McMillan’s Colton Dean’s list of events runs long, and he hopes to use that versatility to sprint, hurdle, jump and maybe even throw to a big junior season https://www.unionprogress.com/2024/04/05/deans-list-a-national-champ-in-the-decathlon-canon-mcmillans-colton-deans-list-of-events-runs-long-and-he-hopes-to-use-that-versatility-to-sprint-hurdle-jump-and-maybe-even-throw-to-a-b/



Twitter/X @Colton_Dean14

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Location: Bradenton, FL, USA