Team Players: Samantha, Rob, and Casey Dehn

Photo: Bryce Richter

Samantha x’10, Rob x’11, and Casey x’13 Dehn set out on different paths in sports long ago. The three siblings (whose last name is pronounced dean) hail from Owatonna, Minnesota, and they never thought they’d all converge as Badger athletes. But don’t look for any sibling rivalry. As Badgers, the Dehns couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to now compete together.

Samantha, senior discus and shot put thrower, feels grateful just for the chance to compete. After two ACL surgeries on her right knee by the age of sixteen, doctors told her that her days as an athlete were over. Undeterred, she entered a clinical trial for reconstructive surgery on the cartilage in her knee and, after intense rehabilitation, she’s now the highest-competing athlete to have undergone the procedure. She hopes to close out her UW career in 2010 with finishes in the top three in shot put and discus at the Big Ten Championships in May.

Waiting until his second year in school to join the men’s track and field team, Rob picked up a javelin for the first time as a decathlete. The javelin took, and last season Rob set a school record with a throw of 231 feet, 10 inches. He comes off a finish as runner-up in the 2009 Big Ten Outdoor Championships and qualifier in the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and is looking to post a strong showing at the Big Ten Championships in his junior season.

Rated the ninth-best high school offensive lineman in Minnesota by Rivals.com, Casey arrived on the UW campus this fall as one of the newest recruits to the Badger football team. But don’t expect an off-season for the youngest Dehn sibling, who also lays claim to the 2008 Minnesota state high school championship in shot put and discus. He will join Samantha and Rob as a member of the men’s track and field team after the football team closes out its 2009 campaign.

Published in the Winter 2009 issue