After claiming 2 WPIAL gold medals, Gateway’s Dino Nadarevic turns attention to state meet

By: Michael Love
Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Dino Nadarevic had already claimed one WPIAL title last Wednesday at the Class 3A track and field championships before he went for more.

With a gold medal in the shot put already placed around his neck, Nadarevic, a Gateway senior, smashed the school record in the discus and dominated the event at Slippery Rock.

His distance of 187 feet in his final throw of the competition set the standard and placed him in first by 30 feet over runner-up Logan Illnicki, a senior from North Hills.

Illnicki’s top attempt of 157-11 was a 10-foot improvement on his season best.

“Now, I am ready for states, and maybe I can throw even further,” said Nadarevic who hopes to get to at least 190 when he throws the discus at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Shippensburg.

“That (190) would be very nice. I am happy for the opportunity to even go to states. I am looking forward to simply do my best at states and see where that puts me.”

Nadarevic will throw at states in the shot and discus for the second time in as many seasons. Last year, Nadarevic finished seventh in the shot and 17th in the discus in his PIAA debut.

The Class 3A boys shot put will be at 12:30 p.m. Friday. Nadarevic will have one final shot at the school record of 63-1.5 set in 1982 by the late Bob Buczkowski.

Nadarevic’s personal best in the shot is 60-1.

He had been chasing the school record in the discus which had stood for 52 years.

At the season-opening meet with Connellsville and Hempfield, Nadarevic surpassed the old mark of 172-3 set by Wayne Marinclin in 1973.

He came into the WPIAL meet with a season- and career-best of 178-2 recorded in taking first at the Norwin Last Chance Meet on May 8.

Nadarevic’s second throw of the prelims at WPIALs set a new personal mark at 183-2. He fouled twice after that, but with his WPIAL title all but secured, he landed the 187.

“The (187) throw itself felt amazing,” Nadarevic said.

“I had the 183, but I knew I had more in me. I was trying to not let my adrenaline and energy go down, so I just went out there knowing that this last throw counted. I wanted to make the best of it, and I did.”

Nadarevic said he was in the high 180s and low 190s in practice.

“I was getting there,” Naderevic said. “I just hadn’t done it in a meet yet. But today was the day.”

Nadarevic said the start of his final high school season was a little slow, but he made his move as the season progressed.

“I wanted to start peaking at the right time, and now is the right time,” Nadarevic said.

“It just took a lot of reps and a lot of throws throughout the season. I was lifting and just doing a lot of the necessary things to make sure I was prepared.”

While Nadarevic’s 187 at WPIALs was impressive, he was still 21 feet from the WPIAL record of 208-7 set by Knoch graduate Jordan Geist in 2017.

Nadarevic said the gold medal in the shot was a great feeling after placing fourth in the event at last year’s WPIAL meet.

His top heave of 59-1 was an improvement of more than five feet from his 2024 best at Slippery Rock.

“I’ve worked really hard the past two seasons to be able to call myself a WPIAL champion,” Nadarevic said.

“It just feels amazing.”

Nadarevic was one of two in boys Class 3A to win two gold medals. The other, North Allegheny’s Jack Bertram, captured both the 1,600 and 3,200 titles.

Nadarevic was part of a Gateway contingent which claimed six total WPIAL medals.

That included senior Taniya Denson who cleared 10-6 on her second attempt at that height for seventh place in pole vault.

The boys 400-meter relay of Austin Lockhart, Aaron Staley, Isaiah Kelley and Jayden Stammer came together to finish seventh in 42.97, an improvement from their previous season-best of 43.07.

Lockhart hoped to surpass his personal best of 44-3 in the triple jump, but his best jump turned out to be 43-8. It still was good for eighth overall and a spot on the medals podium.

Sophomore Jace Smith made her WPIAL debut in the 100, and she ran a 12.75 which put her as the No. 5 seed for the finals two hours later.

Smith came back and wasn’t able to match or better her prelim time, but her 12.92 was good enough for eighth.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway