27-01-2025
Parents raising money to build track in honor of Tellico Plains champion runner
TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. (WATE) — Nearly three months after a Tellico Plains High School senior was killed in a crash, her parents are working to keep her memory alive.
Darrah Wiseman was killed in a crash on November 2 in Loudon County. She was a standout track and cross country runner, winning six state championship titles. She qualified for state the week before she died and was committed to run at Tennessee Tech.
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Darrah's parents, Melissa and Chris Wiseman, are now raising money to build a track in her honor.
'Trying to create her legacy and give back what she gave to the community has been what's kind of gotten me through some days,' Chris said.
Melissa added, 'There's been a tremendous outpouring of support.'
Darrah was dedicated to her training, despite not having a track at her school or anywhere in Monroe County.
'She won six state championships and never even had a track to practice on, so we would have to drive for an hour somewhere to go practice on a track. So people said, 'Hey, there's a need there,'' Chris said.
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Her parents want to raise $577,000 to build the track. Head Coach Mitchel Witt said it would be a gamechanger.
'Oh my goodness gracious, we would actually have a place to run that would be like a track that we would go to for a meet. I could have a kid run a 400, a true 400, instead of having something marked out on the football field. I could have them have a starting line and a finish line, that would be what they would see in a race,' he said.
Encouraging the younger generation of runners is something Darrah did before and after her death. Her parents hope this track will be part of that.
'It's something that she put her heart and life into,' Chris said. 'She lived it. She lived track, she lived running, she lived to make herself better everyday, and I'm hoping with the inspiration that she was living, that she can inspire people to live their dreams, and to make themselves better.'
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The Wisemans need the community's help to raise the money. They have started an online fundraiser.
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