Tony Dalton

This archived article was written by: Shala Pitchforth

Just as great things come in small packages, great people come from small places. This statement is definitely true of the CEU men’s basketball team sweetheart Tony Dalton. Playing basketball at CEU has been a perfect fit for Tony, as he was born and raised in the similar small town of Moab, Utah.
He likes living and playing ball in Price because it is small like his hometown, yet has a remarkably diverse men’s basketball team.
Dalton truly is a sincere and sweet person. He is the second of six children and the only male. When living in the land of women, he said it has taught him many qualities such as patience, that shopping is not a favorite past-time and to give women their space when needed. Dalton truly loves his family and enjoys spending time with them. His favorite childhood memory is when he and his little sisters would go down to the creek that ran through Moab and chow on mulberries. They would come home after their fun adventures covered in sticky purple juices from head to toe.
As of Jan. 9, he has been home six months from a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he served two years in New York. He speaks fondly of his mission and says his favorite area was Upper Manhattan in a place called Dominican Heights, so named because it is home to many people from the Dominican Republic. He says Upstate New York gave him a culture shock and was surprised that all of New York did not consist of just Times Square.
Being in the outdoors is also something that he enjoys. He really likes fishing with his grandma and he says that she is a master angler, “All the grandkids wanted to beat grandma so bad, but it could never happen” he said, “When we would pack up to leave is when grandma would catch all of her fish. The day ending almost unsuccessfully and grandma would reel in one fish, then another, and another.”
Having a very fun and outgoing personality is a large part of what led Dalton to jump into a freezing lake one cold winter day, “I remember the date was Jan. 15 because it was my sister’s birthday” he says. He and his friends thought that this excursion would be fun and exciting. For the swim he borrowed a pair of flip flops from a friend, but one of them became MIA in the jump. After going for a dip in the bitter lagoon the first time, he jumped right back into the sub-zero lake for a second time to save the footwear.
He says that his favorite movie is “The Patriot” because of the whole idea of historical events with a fictional twist. He stated that he is a “mood music listener” and loves all kinds of music and chooses to listen to whatever suits his mood at the moment.
This is Dalton’s last semester at CEU, and is not exactly sure where he is headed after this, but thinks that he will pursue a career in engineering. He will be missed next year at CEU as he is truly a sweet, sincere, hard working and family-oriented person, as well as a great athlete. Surely this small town boy has shown CEU that great people do come from small places.