Mills combined talent, coaching to reach SV Hall
This is the second of four articles profiling the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.
DALLAS — Da'Lynn Mills was pretty harsh when speaking of her freshman effort in the high jump.
"It was really ugly," the 2007 Seneca Valley graduate said recently. "I was always hitting the bar. I made the WPIAL meet that year, but I don't know how I got that far."
Mills was a hurdler and sprinter in junior high and picked up the high jump "just to try something new," she said.
Despite her own frustration, she showed a lot of promise in the event. She would go on to win a WPIAL championship and qualify for the state meet three times in the high jump, all the while remaining an elite sprinter for the Raiders.
Mills will be recognized with induction into the SV Sports Hall of Fame next month.
The environment she was in helped her become more consistent.
"I liked sprinting a lot, but it's just going out and giving it your all," she said. "In the high jump, there's a lot more involved with it and it can take a mental toll sometimes.
"But everyone at Seneca Valley was great and that made it so much fun. Going to practices and meets never felt like work."
Mills also credits then-SV head coach Wayne Roccia and jumping coach Dan Sample with helping her realize her potential.
"They instilled a lot of confidence in me," she said.
As a sophomore, she placed third in the high jump at WPIALs and earned a medal by finishing seventh at the state meet. But the PIAA event yielded even more for the Cranberry Township native.
"There was a coach there from the University of Miami. He was scouting and noticed me and gave his card to my coaches," said Mills. "That's when I realized that track and field wasn't just a way to have fun. It could become something more serious."
She went on to place second in the high jump at districts as a junior and tied for third at PIAAs.
"I made a lot of friends, including girls from other teams, through track and field. But I'm also a very competitive person and wanted to win a WPIAL title extremely bad my senior year."
She did just that in May 2007, reaching a height of five feet, two inches to win the championship at Baldwin High School. Less than two weeks later, in her final state-meet appearance, she took second at 5-4.
It was a strong finish to an extraordinary senior season. That spring, Mills broke school records in the 100-meter dash (12.06), 200 (24.55) and high jump (5-7). All still remain as the top efforts in SV history and the 200 time remains the best-ever effort in Butler County.
"Da'Lynn was a difference maker," said Roccia, who led the Raiders for 31 years. "She was a four-event athlete and that versatility was very important. She was a dedicated team member and is one of the top five athletes I ever coached."
After accepting an athletic scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, Mills starred as a sprinter. During her senior season, she helped the Panthers' 4x100-meter relay team set a program record that still stands with a time of 44.24. The effort brought with it Second Team All-America honors.
"I high-jumped as a freshman, but dealt with some hip issues," said Mills, who lauded Pitt coach Alonzo Webb for helping her make the transition to collegiate competition. "After that, I focused on the sprint events."
Mills earned a Bachelor's Degree in exercise science from Pitt in 2011 before getting a Master's from the University of Georgia two years later.
She moved to Dallas last year and works in corporate wellness for an insurance company.
"My mom, Mary Jane Henderson, moved to Texas, too, and lives in San Antonio. I played sports for the better part of my childhood and she'd run me to and from practices and sat in the stands on hot days for all those meets. She was always there to support me and that paved the way for my education.
"My younger brother, EJ Mills, passed away a few years ago. I worked hard to set a good example for him, showing what someone can accomplish if they're determined to do it."
