When people talk about the greatest athletes Western Pennsylvania has ever produced, certain names always come up.
But one name that doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough is Dion Bentley. If you grew up in the late 1980s, you already know. If you didn’t, it’s hard to truly understand just how dominant Bentley was. He wasn’t simply winning WPIAL track meets. He was competing on the same level as the greatest long jumpers in the world.
While still a student at Penn Hills High School, Bentley shattered records that many believed would never be broken. In 1989, he set the national high school outdoor long jump record with a leap of 26 feet, 9½ inches, breaking a record previously held by Carl Lewis. That record stood for 20 years. Earlier that same season, he also set the national indoor high school record at 26 feet, 6½ inches, another performance that announced to the track world that an extraordinary talent had arrived.
Think about that for a second. A high school kid from Penn Hills wasn’t just the best athlete in Pennsylvania. He was setting national records against marks established by future Olympic legends.
Bentley wasn’t dominating average competition. He was emerging during one of the greatest eras in long jump history, an era that included names like Carl Lewis and Mike Powell. That’s what makes his career so fascinating. Had he come along during a different Olympic cycle, many believe he would have had a legitimate opportunity to make a U.S. Olympic team. Instead, he found himself trying to crack perhaps the deepest long jump field America has ever produced.
His accomplishments at Penn Hills remain almost unbelievable. He won four WPIAL championships, captured multiple PIAA state titles, was named the nation’s High School Track and Field Athlete of the Year, and became one of the most decorated prep athletes in American history. His performances forced some WPIAL schools to actually extend their long jump pits because he was jumping farther than they had been built to handle.
Bentley carried that success to the University of Florida, where he became a seven-time All-American and still owns school records decades later.
Today, Dion Bentley doesn’t always get mentioned when people discuss the greatest athletes to ever come through Penn Hills. He should. His achievements weren’t just great for Western Pennsylvania, they were historic on a national level.
Sometimes greatness isn’t forgotten because it wasn’t impressive. Sometimes it’s forgotten simply because enough time has passed.
Dion Bentley deserves to be remembered not only as one of Penn Hills’ greatest athletes, but as one of the greatest high school track and field athletes America has ever produced.