CONWAY, S.C. – He remembers when, in the sixth grade, his doctor told him he would never be able to physically compete in the sport of wrestling. By eighth grade, Dallas Wise was a member of his school’s wrestling team.
Overcoming all of the odds and defying external expectations has been the central theme in Wise’s life.
That culminated this past summer when the Coastal Carolina track & field standout became the first person in his school’s history to compete at the Olympic or Paralympic Games.
“It really means a lot because I love Coastal and I love the friends and family that are around me here,” Wise said. “It is a really good environment. It has been great to be the first. Hopefully in the future we will produce way more Olympians and I’m pretty sure that we will.”
Wise won the silver medal in the men’s T46/47 high jump event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games just last month. He also placed fourth in the men’s T46/47 long jump. The T/F 45, 46, and 47 classifications are for athletes with arm deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in arms.
“I never really looked at myself as having a disability or anything wrong with me,” Wise said. “I always tried to work hard in sports because I knew I would have to work 10 times harder than normal-body athletes who don’t have a disability. Coaches used to look at me and think ‘I don’t think that guy can do that.’ I took that personal as I got older because I knew what I could do.”
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Wise grew up in Irmo, S.C., in the greater Columbia area. He was raised by his mother, Meredith, now a deputy with the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, and his grandmother, the late Patricia Wise.
“Growing up, it was kind of rough,” Wise said. “My mother was working hard jobs every night and my grandmother was taking me to school every day and raising me. I grew up with tough love from them. Those two really stepped up and helped me. My grandmother pushed me and made sacrifices for me. I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today without her and I am deeply grateful.”
Wise was born with Erb’s Palsy, which affects the nerves near the neck and shoulder and can affect arm movement.
“It’s something that happens at birth,” Wise said. “The nerves in my shoulder were stretched or pulled when I was born. Growing up, I got picked on. I didn’t really have any setbacks physically, but I had setbacks with myself mentally. It’s more of a mental game when you have a disability. Are you going to believe what everyone says or are you going to keep pushing forward and working hard?”
Wise has always chosen the latter. He was a multi-sport letterwinner at Dutch Fork High School, which is known for its strong athletic success. He played football and basketball. That’s where he found his natural proficiency in track & field.
In Wise’s sophomore season at Dutch Fork, his head football coach, Tom Knotts, said that he needed to condition with the track & field team to be able to continue playing football. Wise wasn’t keen on the running events and initially tried the hurdles. But it was the high jump where he really excelled.
On his first day attempting the high jump, Wise started with the bar at 6-foot. He then got over 6-2, skipped 6-4 and cleared 6-6 in his first time ever trying the event. A week later, in his first competition, Wise jumped 6-8 and immediately landed in the national rankings.
“I didn’t know how good I was at the time,” Wise said. “But I kind of knew this would be my lifestyle after my first track meet. I was only a month in of competing in track and I was already getting looks from colleges. I was ranked No. 1 in the state my first year.”
Wise sent on to win three state championships in the high jump at the 5A level and one state championship in the long jump. He earned multiple all-state, all-region, all-county and All-Midlands Conference honors during the course of his prep career.
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Wise was heavily recruited out of high school, but chose to stay close to home and attend Coastal Carolina. He built a strong bond with Mike Embry, the program’s former jumps coach and recruiting coordinator.
“The one thing I was mostly looking for was coaching,” Wise said. “I wanted to have a bond with a coach. Coach Embry was always at my meets and, the conversations we were having, I already felt like I was at Coastal. Growing up in Columbia, I never really went to Myrtle Beach growing up, but it felt like home before I ever got there.”
His freshman season was particularly difficult. He was unable to compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Wise’s beloved grandmother, Patricia, passed away just weeks before the global shutdown.
Returning to the track, Wise turned in a strong sophomore campaign in 2021. He finished fourth in the high jump at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships and earned a 10th-place conference finish in the long jump. He posted four first-place finishes during the 2021 campaign and set the school record in the triple jump.
Wise is limited with what he can do when it comes to weights. He’s not able to bench press a great deal or do hang snatches but, as he always has, Wise has found a way.
“I have a little setback in the weight room, but I try to find alternatives to the drills and activities that I need to get better,” he said. “It’s what’s in your head and how are you going to deal with it? I realize why I’m here.”
Wise’s accomplishments have extended to the classroom where he has been a member of the Dean’s List and the Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll.
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It was during the recruiting process that Wise first learned that the Paralympics were a goal towards which to strive.
Louisville was one of the school’s recruiting Wise and its volunteer coach Roderick Townsend-Roberts had something in common with Wise. He is also a high jumper in the T46/47 category and set the high jump world record at the 2020 Paralympic Games.
“He’s the reason why I got into Paralympics,” Wise said. “He had an arm like mine and runs like me. I had never seen anyone who had a disability like mine. Coach said ‘I think you can be a Paralympic athlete.’”
This summer, he competed in the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials and earned first-place finishes in the long jump and high jump which punched his ticket to Tokyo and set up his two top-four finishes.
As gratifying as it was to win a medal at the Paralympic Games, the experience was even more meaningful to Wise. Still, he’s determined to keep working in pursuit of the gold medal.
“It’s been an honor,” Wise said of competing for Team USA. “It was really a breathtaking moment to go out to Tokyo and represent my country. Money or any medal can’t buy the experience that I had.
“I love that medal,” Wise said. “But I know that I can get better and I’m not going to stop until I do. I want to keep a legacy going for myself.”
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Wise is currently pursuing a degree in applied mathematics. He wants to become a track & field coach at the high school or collegiate levels. He hopes to make a difference in the lives of student-athletes, just as the coaches he has learned from have made a difference in his.
“I really hope that I can one day change the world with coaching,” Wise said. “When I grew up, I had a coach who never gave up on me. I want to give that same energy to athletes. I really enjoy helping and coaching athletes.”