A 17-year-old student at Highland High School has won a nationwide shoe design contest sponsored by Nike.
Nick Daiber actually tied for first place. Then NBA player Carmelo Anthony made the deciding vote.
"It was really awesome," said Daiber. "Having the judges pick was really cool. But having Melo pick my shoe over the other guy's was like really amazing."
Diaber showed NewsChannel 5 a prototype utilizing a high-top tennis shoe.
"This is taped-up," he said. "I taped over a real shoe and drew on it."
Then he brought out the finished product. No one will be lacing it up any time soon, however. It's a ceramic model.
"This right here," he said, pointing to the top of the shoe. "This part of your foot sweats the most. So it's like a mesh bootie here. And then this shell of a top. And a special lacing system."
Chris Durbin is an engineering teacher at Highland High School.
"I think Nick is the perfect example of the kind of exciting things high school students can do if we just give them the resources and get out of their way," said Durbin.
Art teacher Laura Wander said she is not surprised by Daiber's success.
"No, I'm not. He has wanted this so bad," said Daiber. "He's got such a great work ethic and this is all he's been working on since last year."
The ultimate prize is yet to come. Daiber hopes to get a chance to meet Carmelo Anthony and watch him play basketball while wearing the shoes Daiber designed.
