PIAA TRACK AND FIELD: Bello and family cherish opportunity at state meet
Lyndon Bello wound up, maintained his patience, whipped his arm and let the discus rip.
He launched it farther than he ever had before. He knew it. His coaches knew it. His family knew it.
It flew 147 feet and catapulted him to the top of the standings at the District 2 Class 2A Track and Field Championships. As the last thrower in the final, with a second straight gold medal secured, he pumped one more out into the field behind the bleachers at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium for good measure. That one measured at 148 feet, 1 inch, and capped his afternoon.
The Lakeland senior rose to the occasion and defended his title with pride.
He also made this year’s trip to Shippensburg University for the PIAA Track and Field Championship meet an unforgettable experience for his family, which has had a lasting impact on Lakeland’s championship tradition.
His mother, Jodi, is a former state qualifier in the discus and is the throwing coach this season. His grandmother, Linda Stephens, is the head coach of the Lakeland girls varsity team that won the District 2 Class 2A team championship and has several athletes competing at the state meet this weekend.
They all cherish this special time together.
“It was a relief for me to be the third seed and not have every ounce of pressure on me,” said Bello, who climbed from the No. 3 seed to win the gold. “I just went in there and did my thing.
“I am looking forward to the state meet. It can be intimidating there because when you walk into the cage, and there are stands and all the fans. I think it will help that I have been there before and that I have experienced it. After winning districts, everything now is just adding to the year.”
It only seemed natural that Bello gravitated toward track and field.
A former athlete at Lakeland, Linda Stephens worked as an assistant coach for Jim Perry. Together they built the Lakeland girls program into a powerhouse.
She became the head coach in 2009 after Perry retired. In 15 seasons at the helm, Stephens has guided the Lady Chiefs to 11 straight LTC Division III championships, 62 straight dual-meet wins and a career record of 73-12-1.
Early in her career, Stephens had the opportunity to coach, while her daughters, Heidi and Jodi, were integral parts of Lakeland’s first run of success, which included 12 championship seasons from 1993 to 2005.
Jodi excelled in the throwing events and has career-best throws in the discus and shot put that rank on Lakeland’s all-time top 10 list.
When Bello joined the track team, he followed in her footsteps.
“I knew she was really good and went to states,” Bello said. “I always looked up to her. It is great to have someone as good as she was to look up to. I saw my mom’s name on the top 10 all-time list for Lakeland, and being in the same event that I do is really cool.
“It makes me feel like things didn’t stop with my mom, and I was able to carry this on.”
A multi-sport athlete, Bello also competed in football and basketball. As a lineman, his size, strength and footwork made him an outstanding pass blocker for Lakeland’s high-powered offense that led to a District 2 Class 2A championship in 2022.
Riding the momentum of that success, Bello continued to get stronger. He became the top thrower for the Chiefs when his teammate Lacota Dippre enrolled early at Charlotte to play college football.
It took a lot of work, especially on his technique, but he showed steady improvement throughout his junior season. He had a throw of 110-6 at the John Tintle Icebreaker Invitational, but by the district meet, he hit his stride. He unleashed a throw of 135-10 to strike gold and qualify for the state meet.
“That was crazy,” Bello said. “All season, I didn’t hit anywhere near 130, then the last two weeks I really worked hard and was consistently at 130. The adrenaline got going at districts, and I was able to hit a big PR (personal record).”
In his first experience at Shippensburg University, Bello battled his nerves and had a throw of 129-0. He finished in 16th place. It motivated him.
This fall, the football team had little experience returning, and he battled through a frustrating 1-9 season. That didn’t shake his focus on the spring sports season.
Lakeland field coach Carl Fron retired, and Jodi stepped up to take over coaching the throwing events.
It became a unique dynamic for mother and son.
“It was a tough love type relationship,” Bello said. “She was tough on me, but that was better for me overall. Having her as a coach was a great experience.”
Despite the work he put in under Jodi’s guidance, the drills she emphasized, the technique she stressed and the progress, results took time. He hovered around 120 to 130 feet.
Something clicked.
In the days leading up to the district championship meet, Bello looked strong in practice. Even after a seventh-place finish at the Robert Spagna Championship meet with a throw of 127-7, he remained confident.
As the defending champion, he did feel pressure and fouled on his first throw. He landed his second throw at 134-10, a season-best mark, but trailed in the competition. Then on his third and final throw of the preliminary round, he served notice that if someone wanted the gold, they would have to take it from him.
Nobody came close.
“I didn’t want to go from being on a 12-1 district championship football team to a 1-9 team and then end with a silver or bronze medal in track,” Bello, 17, said. “I wanted to go out on top. It was discouraging at times because we were throwing in the cold and wind early in the season, and I was hitting like 120 and 115 feet. It got in my head. My mom told me to get it out of my head, and she reminded me that I know how to throw, and I had to stop trying so hard.”
When the competition ended, Bello stood tall on the podium as the champion. It was a proud moment for the family.
“We put a really hard focus on drills,” Jodi said. “To see him progress makes me very proud. As a thrower myself, I have been where he is with the nerves and all the bad throws you have to overcome.
“As an athlete, you are focused on yourself being the best. As a mom and a coach of a kid, your focus shifts to them, and it’s been amazing to watch him grow.”
As Bello and his mom celebrated a second district title, coach Stephens spent the remainder of Monday and all of Tuesday cheering on her Lady Chiefs.
They too turned in outstanding efforts. The 3,200-meter relay team of Emily Black, Faith Wormuth, Morgan Lutz and Kirsten Navich won a gold medal. Black also qualified for the state meet in the 3,200.
Then, Naomi Rude won the high jump, Kaylyn Davis won the javelin and Lakeland seized the top spot in the standings after the first day. They didn’t relinquish it.
Despite having only 10 athletes, the Lady Chiefs defied the odds and won their first team championship since 2015.
It made for an incredibly rewarding two days.
“The success with these girls was just great,” coach Stephens said. “They truly surprised me. Coming into the season, we thought we might struggle with some teams, but to win the district meet, it was so terrific for them.”
This weekend, Bello, who is headed to Coastal Carolina in the fall, and the group of Lady Chiefs represent the program at the state meet.
Regardless of where they finish or how they perform, each has competed throughout their career with determination and pride that coach Stephens and her daughter, Jodi, have helped to build.
They can all celebrate in their accomplishments, the legacies they have forged, and the memories they created.
“It’s an amazing feeling to have a daughter who was a thrower and now to have a graduate who is a thrower and going to states again,” coach Stephens said. “I am thrilled for him and for Jodi.
“I didn’t get up to the field as much as I wanted to because I have to watch the events on the track, but this has all been pretty incredible.”
