Gateway thrower Dino Nadarevic closes high school career with pair of state titles

By: Michael Love
Sunday, June 1, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Dino Nadarevic entered the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships at Shippensburg confident in his opportunity to bring home PIAA gold.

“I knew I was one of the top-seeded people there and had a good chance at winning both events,” he said.

“I knew it was my last state meet, and I wanted to make the best of it, and I did.”

Nadarevic was, in fact, the top seed in both the shot put and discus after dominating performances in winning both titles at the WPIAL championships May 14 at Slippery Rock.

But, he said, he didn’t want to get overconfident as he knew there were stout challengers willing and able to take him down.

Nadarevic used that as fuel for his performances at states. He claimed gold in both, winning the shot put with a top distance of 58 feet, 8.5 inches before claiming the discus with a best attempt of 180-2

A day separated his two events at states as opposed to just a couple of hours at WPIALs.

Up first was the shot put on Day 1 with the goal of improving on his seventh-place medal (54-8.25) from the PIAA meet a year ago.

While he didn’t match or surpass his throw of 59-1 from WPIALs, his 58-8.5 was the best.

But by the slimmest of margins.

Grove City junior DeLathian Boanes made a run at the top and finished just one inch shy of Nadarevic’s distance.

Central Valley senior Tyler Ondrusek was just a quarter of an inch behind Boanes.

Nadarevic popped his best throw in the fifth round but fouled on his sixth and final attempt. Boanes hit his top distance in the final round.

“It was definitely the closest competition I’ve ever been a part of,” Nadarevic said. “It was a big confidence booster for me heading into discus.”

Nadarevic celebrated his shot put title but also turned the page and focused on Day 2 and his second state title.

His 187 foot toss in the discus at WPIALs wowed onlookers and elevated the school record he hit several times during regular-season competition.

Nadarevic said he had a goal of surpassing 190 feet at states, but he was the only thrower in the Class 3A competition in Shippensburg to hit 180.

His 180-2 came on his very first throw. He fouled twice the rest of the way and his next best was a 171-7.

But he was the best by 3.8 feet and improved on a 17th-place finish (144-11) from last year.

“The first throw was supposed to be my safety throw, but it got me the win,” Nadarevic said. “I can’t complain about throwing 180 feet, 2 inches.”

Nadarevic made history by becoming the first Gateway athlete to win two titles at a single state meet.

“It feels great to be able to have accomplished that,” he said. “I said after states last year that I was coming back with the motivation to win two state titles. You just have to have the courage to speak that into existence and then go put in the work to make it a reality.

“There was no celebration for me after WPIALs. I was happy with winning those two titles, but I knew the work still was not done, and I had the biggest meet of my life in front of me. I had so much to work on to be ready to win at states.”

Nadarevic’s wins allowed him time to reflect on how far he’s come in the sport.

“This whole journey was great, knowing where I started just a couple short years ago and all the hard work that went into getting to where I am now,” said Nadarevic who now is turning his focus to preparing for his college career at Duquesne.

“It reminds me that with hard work, you can do anything. When I stood on the podium (at states), so much was going through my head about all that I accomplished, and I was content.”

Nadarevic is not resting in his pursuit of competition. He was set to compete at the inaugural Throw Out Cancer Invitational on Saturday at Penn State Behrend.

He was to throw against entrants of all age and skill levels.

The event each year will honor former NFL player and NCAA champion Brian Milne, a Penn State graduate and coach at Behrend who recovered from a battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a teenager and is fighting the disease again.

Nadarevic also will throw at New Balance Nationals on June 19-22 in Philadelphia.

“After that, I am going to work with my coaches to make sure I am ready to put on a show at the next level,” Nadarevic said.

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