The Bellefontaine High School Class of 2022 commencement speaker Dak Notestine has had his share of big successes lately, including serving as team captain as a college football player at Ohio University and now training elite athletes, such as Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
However, for Notestine and his friend Burrow, attaining their goals did not come without periods of hardship, the 2006 BHS graduate shared with the graduating seniors at Friday evening’s ceremony at AcuSport Stadium.
At his own BHS graduation in 2006, Notestine noted that he hobbled to the stage on crutches after suffering an injury and undergoing knee surgery. Despite his high school football prowess, he said as a freshman at OU, he was a walk-on player “basically at the bottom of the barrel, with no one in my corner.
“It was the first time I got knocked around in the dirt.”
However, he said he went through those trials and tribulations and eventually became the captain of his team his senior year.
“Do the work – nothing is going to be handed to you. Through discipline and struggle, a lot can be accomplished,” said the current director of performance at Black Sheep Performance near Cincinnati.
Following his playing career, Notestine served as the strength and conditioning coach at Ohio University from 2011 to 2020. He was promoted to director of strength and conditioning in 2014.
It was during his time in Athens that Notestine met Burrow through his “side-hustle” of training high school athletes. He described the now professional football player as “a wiry kid,” who also “grew up in a small town like us.”
In 2020, the Bengals quarterback suffered a serious knee injury, but diligently trained with Notestine to return last fall.Burrow then led Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in February.
Notestine said Burrow was willing to put in the work to get where he wanted to be. The trainer and athlete set big goals, but also smaller, more attainable goals to move along step by step.
“It’s good to have big goals and to step outside of your comfort zone, but it’s also good to have smaller goals on the way there.
“You will have struggles; you will have difficulties, but you will persevere.”
The speaker congratulated the Class of 2022 on their academic accolades mentioned during the ceremony, including the top 26 graduates attaining a GPA over 4.0.
“I tip my hat to all that you’ve accomplished. The stats and figures speak for themselves.”
Valedictorian Milah Hunt, daughter of Jason and Janna Hunt, and salutatorian Morgan Burden, daughter of Suzy and Ron Black and Shawn Burden, addressed their classmates.
The best-friend pair noted they were thrilled to share this top honor together.
“There’s no one I’d rather ‘lose’ to than Milah – my very best friend,” Morgan said. “Her brain in genuinely beautiful in the way that it works. My high school experiences were so much better with her by my side.”
“That’s Morgan, my comic relief and my forever friend,” Milah said. “We were voted the ‘dynamic duo’ in our senior superlatives for a reason.
“I’m so proud to be a part of this class that is so intensely academic…It’s so hard to say ‘good-bye,’ but I’m so excited to see what lies ahead in the future for us.”
Milah had a 4.6875 GPA and completed a record 22 college-level courses at BHS. She plans to study biomedical engineering and minor in Spanish at Ohio State University.
Morgan maintained a 4.5977 grade point average and took 20 college-level courses. She will study pharmaceutical science at Ohio State University.
Rounding out the top 10 students are Sarah Fulmer, Makayla Young, Sam Moreland, Cadence Latimer, Chloe Lloyd, Caitlyn Neill, Laney Mitchell and Grant Lotts.
Caitlyn Neill also earned her associate’s degree from Clark State.
Three grads who enlisted were spotlighted as well. They include Devin Berg (U.S. Marines), Hayden Overly (U.S. Army), and Alex Pulfer (U.S. Air Force).
