By Jack Begin

Generations of standout athletes in one family have matriculated through Cony High School, but Casey Mills, a junior in the Class of 2022, may be the most successful in the bunch.

In February of 2020, as a sophomore, Casey won his first wrestling state championship in the 182-pound weight class. He took down Dillon Worster of Oxford Hills in an unanticipated victory, he said.

“I was a big underdog because I’d lost to him twice already that season. No one really expected me to win and that motivated me more," Casey said.

The Mills family has had great Cony athletes for generations.

The patriarch of the family, Joe Mills, was a standout football player and wrestler in the 1950s. His son, Jason Mills, was an all state linebacker and state champion wrestler in the late 1990s whose nephew, Nic Mills, was a two-time state champion wrestler and an all-state football player. Jason’s son Jake was an all-conference football player on the offensive line and defensive line. Now in a long line of Mills, Casey, may be the most successful athlete in the family yet.

With almost the entire Mills family in attendance Casey became a third generation state champion wrestler. The feeling was "indescribable," Casey said. To prepare for the match he practiced frequently with his cousin Nic.

“He would beat me up a lot, but it was making me better, and helped me prepare better than anything else,” Casey said.

A little over a year later, Casey’s wrestling season was cancelled without the opportunity to try to defend his state champion title. It comes after his football season was also taken away by the coronavirus pandemic.

However, he says he understands that sports are just one aspect of who he is.

Casey is currently ranked third in his class. He serves as the co-president of Key Club and vice president of Student Council. He was also inducted into the National Honor Society this year.

He has incredibly high aspirations. Mills says he wants to attend the United States Naval Academy and eventually become a Navy Seal to serve the country.

If Cony has learned anything from his work to become a state champion, it's to never count Casey out.

CAPTION: Casey Mills celebrates win at the Class A State Championships in February 2020. Photo by Jason Gendron.