LAKEVILLE, IN. – We return to our series – “Where Are They Now” – with 1995 LaVille High School graduate Dana Pellosma. During this series, we take a look at various LaVille, Lakeville and LaPaz High School graduates. In the past, we have shared stories on Ashlee Dutoi, Mike Lightfoot, Kerry Palmer, Landon Manuel, Stephanie Lechlitner, and Loren Riddle, among others. During her career as a student-athlete at LaVille Jr-Sr High School Pellosma participated in track and field, along with soccer. Pellosma was also avid in 4-H and other equine competitions. She came to LaVille from out west and embraced the opportunity to attend a small school. “I was grateful to move to Indiana, and get my four seasons,” Pellosma said of the fall, spring, summer and winter weather. “It’s Arizona, a dry heat. “Living in Tucson and going to school was scary,” continued Pellosma. “There was a lot of violence at school.” According to Dana, she moved from Tucson, Arizona in 1990 and soon became a Lancer. Once Pellosma arrived at LaVille, she found success as a member of the LaVille track and field team. In fact, then coach Lee Dennie found ways to utilize Pellosma’s speed. “She was the most talented track athlete (girl/boy) I ever coached in 28 years!” said Dennie. “I could study the talent on upcoming track meets and place Dana in spots that could benefit the Lancers and hurt the opposing team’s accumulation of points.” As a freshman and sophomore, Pellosma used her speed to win the 100m and 200m Northern State Conference championship. She also found success in the Indiana High School Athletic Association state track and field meet. As a freshman, she finished second in the 100m at the Bremen Sectional. Shortly after, Pellosma finished fourth in the 100m at the Bremen Regional. She then got a taste of the state finals when she ran in the 100m and finished seventh overall. Dana finished her freshman year as team MVP. Then, as a sophomore, she once again raced to NSC Championship status with wins in the 100m and 200m. The LaVille speedster also won the team MVP for the second straight year. The highlight of her sophomore season came during an impressive run through the IHSAA state track and field series. She finished second in the 100m at the Bremen Sectional to Elisha Parahams of South Bend LaSalle. Pellosma bounced back quickly to win the 100m at the Bremen Regional and move on to the state meet. She crossed the finish line in 12.11 seconds and punched her ticket to the IHSAA State Finals. During the 1993 state meet, Pellosma improved her time from the regional meet to an eye-catching 11.97 to win the 100m state championship at IUPUI. When asked what went through her mind when she won the state championship and coming from a small school, Pellosma said, “I don’t know what I really thought, but I know I always had a mental focus as a racehorse and that was key to my success. The small town school thing did not cross my mind until later. I was just having fun.” “Dana loved horses!” Dennie said in recalling Pellosma. “She always told me that when she mentally prepared for her races that she imagined herself running along with her horse.” Dennie appreciated the versatility that Pellosma gave him and the track and field team. “Dana could run any event in track,” said Dennie. “However, she excelled in the sprinting events (100M, 200M, 400M, 400M Relay, 800M Relay).” To this day, Pellosma still owns the LaVille 100m and 200m school records set some 30 years ago. “I am simply amazed that nobody has beat the records – that’s just too long,” Pellosma said when the 100m and 200m school records were mentioned. “My advice to all future Lancer track and field teams is to try to focus on something that makes you forget the task at hand, but rather upon the creative way to hold down the stress of what competition can do. All as long as it still stays fun.” As she got older, soccer became an interest to Pellosma and since track and field along with soccer were spring sports back then, she decided to pursue soccer. Track and field still resonate memories for Pellosma today. “My favorite memories were traveling to away track meets,” recalled Pellosma. “Especially the Purdue Indoor track and field meets. I also always enjoyed the football games and dances.” When asked about any teacher that impacted her life, she said, “I don’t remember the specific teachers, but know they were fair and wanted you to succeed. English, Science, Arts, and Machine Shop were my favorite subjects.” And as for a coach that impacted her, she quickly responded, “Coach Dennie, I can’t lie, was a tough teacher and coach. But I know what the team went through to get where we were and the work it took to get there was all worth it.” Upon graduation, she stayed in Indiana until 1998, “then moved to North Carolina to attend Southwestern Community College in Sylvia. I received my Associate in Arts (2001). “In 2002, I got into the automotive field and worked at dealerships until 2021,” Pellosma continued. “I now work at an Amazon Fulfillment Center. I have since moved back to Tucson, Arizona in 2014. All in all, I miss my small town atmosphere, but my family is here.” As we closed our time, we asked Pellosma about the best advice she had ever been given. She paused, then said, “The best advice that I have ever been given is to just be yourself and learn and grow. Don’t get stuck in the mud.”