Dylan Myers chugging home ahead of a chasing pack at the Hoffman Estates Sectional
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There are many athletes who are worthy of this distinction but how many of them went from breaking 16:00 in the three-mile to 14:40 in a shorter time span than Dylan Myers? The junior from Lake Zurich had to learn as an apprentice from older brother Jake Myers and Jack Gilboy. Jake would eventually win the 3A State 1600m championship before heading to the University of Illinois.
Dylan's ascent may have been motivated by his former teammate's success, but the Lake Zurich program has churned out tremendous individual talent in recent years. The 2021 season started out well with a personal best 15:34 at the Richard Spring Invitational. The Bears would place 10th overall in the very deep field.
Over the next two months, Myers would settle in with senior teammate Danny Burns as the squad's top man. Both yeomen swapped places up to the Hoffman Estates Sectional. Myers placed third behind titans Luke Wiley (Sr., Warren) and Nick Falk (Sr., New Trier) in 15:21. This would set the stage for the state championship in Peoria.
In Myer's biggest race of his life, he was locked and loaded. The first mile went out dangerously fast for the first-tier pack runners. Myers emerged inside the top 25 somewhere and moving up with each step. He trailed his teammate Burns by several meters at the second mile, but the confidence of being in a new spot.
The final stretch was crucial as it would detail how a kid went from the emerging scene to near the top of the mountain. It was all smiles beyond the pain for Myers would clock 14:40 and took home all-state honors with a 11th place finish.
Congratulations to Dylan Myers!!