Dorian Goosby-Dean set to take place among Quaker Valley athletics greats

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, August 3, 2025 | 1:10 PM

Dorian Goosby-Dean is considered one of the greatest athletes ever to compete at Quaker Valley.

It’s quite a tribute.

And thanks to his athletic achievements in a record-breaking career, Goosby-Dean has been selected for the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2025.

He will be inducted Oct. 19 — along with Colin South (hockey), L.J. Westwood (track and field, cross country), Derek Molitor (football, track and field) and QV’s 2012 hockey team — following a weekend of activities commencing Oct. 17 with a tailgate party and recognition at the Quakers’ football game at Chuck Knox Stadium.

“I don’t answer my phone for numbers I don’t have saved,” Goosby-Dean, 34, said. “For some reason, I picked up my phone when Ken Johns called. I would not have wanted to find out via voicemail. I am blessed and honored.

“Quaker Valley took a chance on me. I was cut from the sixth-grade basketball team in Moon the previous year. There would’ve been no success in sports without the academic success, as well.”

Goosby-Dean, a 2009 QV graduate, was a four-year letterman in both track and field and football and lettered three years in basketball. He will be installed into the HOF in the Athlete category.

“Dorian’s accomplished track career and his performance over his four-year career were truly outstanding,” said Mike Mastroianni, QV’s athletic director and boys basketball coach. “I had the privilege of coaching Dorian in his junior and senior seasons and he played with a high level of athleticism; he glided on the court. He combined being a great teammate with enthusiasm for the game.”

Goosby-Dean also served as class president, was a student representative to the school board, co-founded the Culture Club and was involved in creating the student store attached to the cafeteria.

“Class of 2009, there was no one like us,” he said.

While Goosby-Dean’s talents in football and basketball were considered stellar, it was in track and field where he displayed his athletic magic.

Oh, and by the way, he also was a team captain in all three sports.

“Here’s a fun fact: When I was 13, I broke my femur. I was told I’d never be able to compete in sports again,” Goosby-Dean said.

His recovery process from that injury was brutal — two titanium rods, two surgeries, nine months in a wheelchair and countless hours of physical therapy.

“I’ve never been great at being told what I’m not capable of doing,” Goosby-Dean said. “I speak things into existence and get done what I know I am capable of getting done.

“If you want something, go get it. But always be kind and stay true to yourself.”

Goosby-Dean won two WPIAL individual championships in track and field, earned three state medals, and qualified for the WPIAL and PIAA finals for four consecutive seasons.

Demonstrating unmatched consistency, he never finished below first place in the triple and high jump events in sectional meets between 2006-09.

He was a 10-time MVP at prestigious competitions, including the Mars, Center, Baldwin and South Fayette invitationals, as well as the MAC championships.

Goosby-Dean achieved a rare “double-triple crown” at the South Fayette invite with three gold medals and breaking meet records in the triple, long and high jump events.

He eclipsed QV’s triple jump record in 2008 and has the most career points in the Quakers’ storied track and field history.

On the football field, he was a talented wide receiver and defensive back.

Goosby-Dean doesn’t have a single favorite memory from his high school days; he overflows with emotions when discussing QV.

“In my freshman year of football, fresh off a broken femur, I get tossed into a blowout game against the Beaver Bobcats,” he said. “Coach (Jeff) Besong looked at me and said, 29-pitch — the play that I broke my femur on; the same field, also. I tell the linemen and Nick O’Neil said, ‘I got you.’

“I get the pitch and I see Nick clear out the outside linebacker. I took off and went 81 yards to the house. We lost 50-7 but hey, you can’t even write up that scenario.”

There were other unforgettable times on the gridiron for Goosby-Dean.

“My junior year, we were expected to lose to the Center Trojans (now Central Valley) on our home field,” he said. “We won 12-10. I had 18 tackles and two interceptions. Staying with football, we won five games my senior year and had the first winning season at QV in 30 seasons.”

Goosby-Dean was a 6-foot-1, 160-pound dynamo for the Quakers — the same height and weight as he is today.

“My proudest moment in basketball happened in my junior year. Coming into the season, I knew I was a starter. Well, things don’t always happen as planned. Coach Maz had a vision. He told me there would be no one to match my athleticism coming off the bench as a sixth man. I did not like that, but I rolled with the punches.

“A few games into the season, I was subbed in against Center when were down 17-2 in the first quarter. We went into halftime leading. The (coach’s) halftime speech was, ‘I don’t know who is not starting for the rest of the season, but I know Dorian will be.’ So, I thank him.”

Goosby-Dean is proud of the fact the QV boys hoops team was a selfless bunch.

“Three of us were voted as captains,” he said. “Paul Coury made a decision on his own that made our team so much closer than we already were by removing himself as a captain and handing the position over to someone he felt truly deserved it in Clinton Hannon. That was selfless; that’s how we played. That’s what a team is.”

Goosby-Dean’s track and field career did not start out as hoped.

“In seventh grade, and with Mr. (John) Doucette as my witness, I cried,” Goosby-Dean said. “I could not figure out the triple jump. Yet, I was not allowed to just give up. So, thank you for that.

“Helping my fellow competitor Jordan Lawson also has to be up there on my accomplishments. I had the training and natural abilities to be great in the high jump. He was great without technique. I invited him for workouts with me. It took four years, but when he finally beat me, I was humbled in an amazing way.”

Goosby-Dean broke the oldest school record in track and field in his junior year, shattering the Quakers’ triple jump mark.

“Mr. (Jerry) Vescio told me that record would stand for a long time,” he said.

Goosby-Dean re-set it a year later.

His athletic career would end after one season at Cal (Pa.) following a series of injuries. He majored in business management with a minor in psychology.

“I competed in the triple and high jumps in my freshman year,” Goosby-Dean said. “But I battled injuries and lost interest. Sports were always so fun to me, and I wasn’t having fun anymore.”

He is currently employed as a fine dining chef and a personal trainer. He also is a volunteer coach in the Coraopolis Stallions track and field program. Two of his uncles, Tyrone and Terry Fisher, oversee the program.

Goosby-Dean traveled July 22-26 to Savannah, Ga., to help out at the USATF National Junior Olympics attended by his niece, Selena Quarles-Williams.

“She’s my niece, my heart,” Goosby-Dean said. “I cannot say she is a future star in the making because she already shines, walking away from her first Junior Olympics with top 50 national rankings in the 100- and 200-meter.”

Tags: Quaker Valley