'He did not let this hinder him'

MILTON — Even injury couldn’t prevent Milton High School senior Deionte Ganzy from excelling in sports.

Deionte fell forward while approaching the finish line and broke his collarbone Feb. 25 during the Panhandle Championship track meet.

“Leaning across the finish line to get a good time, I leaned too far because the wind was pushing against my back,” Deionte said. “Instead of just landing flat on my chest, I decided to throw my body over a little bit…”

Deionte said doctors told him that he would be out for six to eight weeks.

According to his coach, Joe Austin, that seemed to mark the end of Deionte’s season.

“It stunk,” Austin said.

It was enough to make the student athlete cry.

“The first two days were terrible,” Deionte said. “With the pain medicine and everything — my body doesn’t react good with that.”

‘THIS WASN’T GOING TO BE IT’

Doctors advised Deionte not to run, but he pushed himself to his limits to return to the track faster.

“… About a month later, he was back at it,” Austin said.

On March 28, Deionte returned to the Milton track team and ran at a meet against Pace.

“The first meet back, they had to put tape over the bone to keep it in place,” Deionte said. “After every race, it would still sting and bother me, but I still managed to place in the events I ran that day.

“As far as the pain after that, I’m pretty much 100 percent now.”

Deionte said he was inspired to heal quickly and get back to the track because it is his senior year and he is passionate about the sport. He and his twin brother, Jevonte, have been running track since they were in eighth grade.

“As far as running track, this wasn’t going to be it,” he said, “but as far as running track for Milton, that’s what bothered me — that I was going to miss out on that.”

Deionte is trying to make up for his lost time by making it as far as possible in regional and state competitions. Currently, he ranks third in the region in the 200-meter dash, and fifth in the 100-meter dash; the Milton team ranks second in the 4-by-100 relay, which he anchors. The top four runners participate in a state competition.

‘I’M VERY PROUD’

His mother, Jothany Neely, describes Deionte as an even-tempered, laid back, respectful young man.

“I don’t want to brag, but I’m very proud of my babies.” Neely said. “With me having them so young, and them turning out the way that they did, I’m very happy.”

In the coming weeks, Deionte will sign a scholarship with North Iowa Area Community College, where he said he could develop his speed and transfer somewhere more competitive after two years.

In the meantime, he’s grateful for everyone who’s been there for him.

“Everybody right here — my coaches, my family, my mom. I have a really big support system behind me,” Deionte said. “Just with the team alone and the coaches, and my family makes it even bigger.”

In addition to running track, Deionte plays football and basketball. He received the most improved athlete award for track from sophomore to junior year, and the Panther Award for basketball. His jersey number is 22 for all sports.

Athletic achievement seems like a family tradition. Deionte will be in the MHS yearbook’s hall of fame for his position on the track team; his father, Randall Ganzy, received the same honor in 1999.

As for Deionte, “He’s a leader of the track team,” Austin said. “He’s a very focused, very dedicated athlete. [He] just tries to get better every day. He does anything he can to improve himself”

This year proved that applies even in hard times.

“Even when he was not able to actually run, he kept doing some kind of workout,” his mother said. “He did not let this hinder him.”