Playboy chooses Cortland woman for special edition

The magazine will go on sale Jan. 29.

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

CORTLAND — Lisa Neeld has always brought the heat, but now she’s just plain hot.

The former track star will be featured in a six-page photo spread in Hot Housewives, a special edition of Playboy magazine that will hit newsstands Jan. 29.

A 1995 Mineral Ridge High School graduate, Neeld finished as runner-up in the high hurdles at the ’94 state championships.

The 30-year-old now lives in Cortland with her husband and two children, ages 8 and 4.

Her pursuit of the Playboy pages began in August when she and 200 other would-be models went to an open photo shoot the magazine held in Indianapolis.

She and nine others were selected for a Playboy.com Cyber Club pictorial. Because of the reaction it garnered, the magazine flew her to Chicago for another photo shoot.

Neeld spoke to The Vindicator by phone as she was dining out with her husband — who wholeheartedly backed the Playboy project.

“He was more positive about it than I was,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if I should do it at first, but everyone I talked to encouraged me. They told me ‘go for it, good for you’ and ‘if I could do it, I would.’ Stuff like that.”

It’s not the first time the photogenic Neeld has been in front of a camera. She modeled for print ads and bridal shows, and did runway work, during her late teens.

She also had a role in “The Sandman,” a very low-budget horror movie that was filmed in Niles in 1995. The film went straight to video.

“I played Bedelia, who was the daughter of the main character,” she said. “It was fun.”