WHEELING — The teams have been set for the 45th Edition of the Dick Dei Track Classic planned for Saturday, April 9 at the Wheeling Park track.

Sean Dei, son of the late Dick Dei, is thrilled to see 17 teams entered in the meet after the pandemic hit the event hard over the last two years.

“New programs are coming in,” Sean said. “We have a new team coming in from Pennsylvania and a couple from the Dayton area — that’s progress. The last time some of these out of state teams were here was 2019. That is how crazy the pandemic was and there are still school districts that are not allowing teams to travel out of state and with the fuel costs, some schools transportation budgets have been reduced. But, we are optimistic that this year will be competitive.”

Teams entered in this year’s event include Wheeling Park, Wheeling Central, Brooke, Weir, Dover, George Washington, Akron Buchtel, Canon-McMillan, Chartiers Valley, Claymont, Dayton Dunbar, Dayton Meadowdale, Dayton Ponitz, Ketterington Alter, Painesville Riverside, St. Joseph’s Academy and Warren G. Harding.

“People can come here and compete,” Sean said. “They will be treated with respect and the meet will be well-run, well-managed and we’ll have good officials.”

Sean’s mother, Patti, is also thrilled to see the swarm of teams lining up again to carry on her husband’s legacy.

“My mom is happy to see her husband’s legacy continue on for the 45th year,” Sean said. “A lot of athletes my father coached come from out of town to help out and we laugh about the good times we had. We’re very fortunate to have friends coming from North Carolina and Pittsburgh — some weren’t even part of the program, they just want to help.”