MULTITALENTED DIXON VELTRI’ S WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS
ox Chapel Area FOX CHAPEL AREA SCHOOL NEWS
MULTITALENTED DIXON VELTRI’ S WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS
Dixon Veltri is the first to admit it. She. Can’ t. Sit. Still.
She also figures her inability to remain sedentary for too long is what triggered her to play four interscholastic sports – soccer, gymnastics, diving, and track. That’ s unique enough by itself, but the fact that she excels so skillfully in every single one of them is definitely a feat that will be hard for any other athlete to match for many years to come.
But amazingly, her athletic interests don’ t end with just school sports. In the spring and summer she also plays with the Beadling Soccer Club and has traveled to high-level competitions throughout the country. In 2015 and 2016, her team was back-to-back US Youth Soccer Region I champions, and last year placed third at the organization’ s national championship.
The quad-sport athlete has played every sport all four years of high school, with the exception of a sophomore start in gymnastics, and when she graduates in June, she will have amassed a total of 15 athletic letters. In addition to Dixon’ s varsity status in every sport, every year, she has also won numerous section and WPIAL postseason honors in all four
22 Fox Chapel Area
sports, qualified for the PIAA track and field championship last year, and so far this year, has been a captain for each of her teams.
“ I don’ t have time for much else other than sports, especially since I take Advanced Placement classes,” says the star athlete who often times stays up late to get all of her studying done.“ In order for it to work, you have to manage your time wisely and really want to do those things. Then you’ ll do whatever you need to do in order to get better. You have to make some sacrifices along the way, but it’ s worth it.”
A Soccer Star
Of all her callings, Dixon’ s first love is soccer. Her parents signed her up for youth soccer when she was five-years-old as a way to let her run off her abundant energy – and she is still just as enthusiastic about the sport today.
“ I’ ve worked really hard all of these years to get better,” points out the all-state midfielder who regularly catches fans’ attention with her trademark flip throws that shoot from the sidelines like cannonballs.“ Soccer is my happy place.”
Thanks to her incredible talent, Dixon helped lead her team to a 9-1 section record this season and a spot in the WPIAL AAA semifinals.
Many colleges recruited her, but Dixon picked NCAA Division I University of North Carolina-Wilmington. It’ s a reward for an impressive high school soccer career that included two all‐section and all-WPIAL designations. This past season, Dixon was named to the all-state team, Pennsylvania’ s highest
Photo Courtesy Gordon Snyder Photography