By Nancy Bowman
Each fall, the Dave Lightle Invitational cross country meet shines light on a sport the Tippecanoe High School graduate promoted and loved.
Lightle, who died in 2016, ran all four years at the high school and at Dartmouth College and continued running throughout his life.
His family created the Cross Country at Tippecanoe Fund in memory of Dave Lightle fund at the Tipp City Foundation to support Tipp City cross country and bring awareness to the sport, Dave’s brother Mike Lightle said.
“It is our hope that the fund we created will support Tipp City cross country and bring awareness to the sport, as both meant so much to Dave. We also hope to honor Dave and his accomplishments on and off the racecourse,” he said. “As many family members as possible attend the Dave Lightle Invitational, and for us it is a special way to remember Dave.”
Eighteen schools competed in this year’s invitational Oct. 5, said Kregg Creamer, Tippecanoe High School athletic director. The invitational is held on the first Wednesday of October.
“The Lightle Family makes a generous grant each year to help offset the expenses of the event,” Creamer said. This year’s grant of $1,550 covered costs including the automated time system, officials, Port-o-lets and awards, he said.
Running was important to Dave Lightle, his family said.
“Dave was a competitive person by nature. He loved the challenge of beating his own personal records and of competing as part of a team. He, Dave Grimm, Scott Dixon and Jeff Rawlins had a great camaraderie as teammates on the Tipp City Cross Country teams of 1972 through 1975. They constantly pushed each other to excel and excel they did,” Mike Lightle said.
Dave Lightle loved being an unofficial “coach” to the Tipp cross country teams of the ‘90s when his daughter and two nephews ran for Tipp. He and his wife, Chen Ya, frequently invited the team to their home for pasta dinners the night before a big meet, Mike Lightle said.
His brother was a “uniquely driven person,” he said. That drive led him, once something sparked his interest, to be driven with passion to see it through.
“This characteristic led him to holding the world record for pogo stick jumping, starting his own international public relations firm, writing a book on geopolitics, coming close to starting an airline (an effort thwarted by bad timing, as he was attempting to get financing when September 11 brought the airline industry to a halt), and writing a movie script (he was negotiating production at the time of his death),” Mike Lightle said. “That same passion drove him to the finish line in a track or cross country race.”