Dante Price streaks to victory at the 2012 WV State Championships- Rollie Jacobs photo
Stellar Jefferson sprinter Dante Price has signed to run for Virginia Tech this coming year. Price, the two-time defending West Virginia state champion in the 100M and 200M dash, chose Virginia Tech over several other elite programs. Price has helped lead Jefferson to three straight West Virginia high school track & field titles. Last year, he scored 25 points at the state championships, anchoring wins in the 4 X 100M and 4 X 200M relays in addition to his individual titles. In 2011, Price raced at States on Jefferson’s victorious 4 X 400M relay team. This past summer, he also earned USATF All-American status by finishing fourth in the 200M finals with a personal best and state record time of 21.22 seconds. He earned a second All-American honor in the 100M race by finishing 5th in the finals in 10.75 after posting a 10.61 in the semifinals.
Price has racked up a series of impressive times competing in season and post-season meets. His personal bests include a time of 10.52 seconds in the 100M and his state record 21.22 seconds in the 200M. Price also shares a part of the West Virginia state record with his Jefferson teammates in the 4 X 100M (42.20) and 4 X 400M (3:23.00).
With his final season at Jefferson rapidly approaching, it will be interesting to see if Price can add the state 100M record to his collection. He is already off to a good start after running a 6.98 to finish second in 60M dash at the WVU Invitational last weekend. His 6.98 was just .04 seconds off his personal best and a nationally significant time. The WVU meet was his first competition since last July.
No doubt, Jefferson is also counting heavily on him in their attempt to win a fourth straight state track & field title. They will certainly face a challenge from several other schools including Cabell Midland. If successful however, Price and his senior teammates would distinguish themselves by winning state championships in each of their high school years and would equal the best since Cabell-Midland won four straight from 1996 to 1999.
A soft spoken young man who excels in the classroom as well as on the track, Dante Price will be a fine representative of West Virginia as he embarks on his collegiate career at Virginia Tech. WV Runners wishes him the best this year and into the future.