Athlete's eligibility up in the air (video)

To look at senior decathlon competitor Dean Laing Bonilla, his physique might cause him to blend in with his graceful running peers. Yet this construction science major's story stands out as an athlete who watched his future slip away and chose to rebuild it on the track one step at a time.

Born and raised in Honduras, Laing came to America having never experienced true organized sports. He started with track in ninth grade at Bellflower High School in Bellflower, Calif., and was named the team's Most Valuable Player four years in a row. He also stood out in football, earning the title of the team's Best All-Around Athlete as a senior.

With his coach's recommendation, he went to Cerritos Community College winning recognition as an All-American football player and scholarship offers from the University of Southern California (USC), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of California, Berkeley. During the last home game of his sophomore year at junior college, he watched his dreams of playing football for a Division I school fracture with a devastating arm injury.

"I lost every single scholarship I had, because nobody wanted to recruit an injured athlete," Bonilla said.

He made the choice to come to Texas A&M University-Commerce, a decision he admits was misguided. Bonilla said he thought there was only one A&M University (College Station) in Texas.

"At first when I came here I felt like I was being punished, like, 'aww, man' middle-of-nowhere, Texas," he said. "You have to be here to actually know what people are talking about when they say, 'it's really a cool place to be.'"

Bonilla won the discus and shot put events at the Lone Star Conference (LSC) Championships in his first track season at A&M-Commerce in 2008, and he finished seventh overall in the decathlon. He continued to improve, moving up to third place overall in the decathlon at last year's LSC Championships and winning several events.

Despite his accomplishments on the track, Bonilla may have to compete unattached this spring. His coaches have petitioned the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to re-evaluate his eligibility, but they are still waiting to hear back if his sophomore year can be considered a "red-shirt" season.

"It would just be kind of a waste to just call it quits, because they said I couldn't do it," Bonilla said.

His friends and coaches know him as a hard worker, but he has a comedic side that comes out in the form of practical jokes.

"He's a very outgoing guy," senior marketing major and teammate Leslie White said. "He can make a bird noise—he gets people all the time. One time he had coach thinking there was a bird in the locker room, and he was trying to find it. It was pretty funny."

Junior pre-veterinarian major Renesa Whitman, who works with Bonilla at the Morris Recreation Center, said he is extremely friendly.

"He's a really happy person," she said. "He's a very welcoming person, always has a smile on his face."