Dunbar High School hurdlers chasing top rankings

Reporter: Zach Oliveri Writer: Melissa Montoya
Published: Updated:
Leonard Mustari is an internationally ranked hurdler, according to World Athlethics. (CREDIT: WINK News)

One Dunbar High School student is an internationally ranked Southwest Florida athlete. Another Dunbar student is chasing the same goal.

Becoming number one is the goal but Leonard Mustari and Lucheyona Weaver’s dreams don’t stop there. Weaver is chasing the top ranking this weekend at the Virginia Beach showcase. Mustari’s ultimate goal is to go to and win a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Mustari holds the best time in the world — 7.78 seconds — for 60-meter hurdles in the under 20, according to World Athletics.

“I never pictured myself being number one in the world,” Mustari said.

It’s impossible not to be struck by Mustari’s humility and maturity. He knows success starts when no one is watching.

“When I get on the track, I just go to kill,” Mustari said. “You can’t practice lousy and expect to perform really good in the meet.”

Guy Thomas, Dunbar’s head track coach, said Mustari’s success speaks to the team’s hard work.

“What’s the chance that a small school in a small town reaching out and touching the world like that,” Thomas said. “It’s amazing.”

Thomas has watched his star athlete go from good to great, to world-class.

But he’s also watched how Mustari influences Thomas’s 3-year-old son. Mustari’s nickname is LeLe.

“He runs through the house and he says ‘I’m Lele,'” Thomas said of his son.

Mustari wants his legacy to be an inspiration to others. He said he wants to have a big name.

“So when I come back to the community, everybody knows who I am,” he said.

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