Jack Myers '21 Recruiting Profile

Sports have always been a part of my life; no matter what sport I played, though, the part I always naturally excelled at was the running. By freshman year, it became clear that running was my sport. Having another distance runner in the family and a strong team culture for the runners at my school led me to choose cross country when I entered high school.

As I began running more and more, however, I suffered multiple injuries and saw many different doctors. I didn’t want to quit, and felt there must be a solution, so I continued running and cross-training, but knee and shin injuries kept me from competing in every meet. I wanted to improve, so I trained throughout the winter and spring too, running on local trails four to five times a week and joining several community 5k races. During the summer before my junior year, as conditioning for cross country got underway and training intensity increased, my knees once again could not handle the pressure. This time I saw a sports medicine doctor, who diagnosed an arch issue that was at the root of all my other injuries. I got orthotic inserts for my running shoes, performed ankle strengthening exercises for up to an hour per day, and met regularly with the athletic trainers at my school. My commitment to addressing these issues was accompanied by a growing interest in these specialists I had met, working in the areas of sports medicine and athletic training. I followed their instructions diligently and eventually I was able to run again after only a short break.

I was convinced that by continuing my injury prevention work, I could be a much better runner, and that commitment paid off. I broke my personal record by over a minute at three different meets my junior season, eventually achieving a personal best of 16:26. Now, going into my senior year, having trained all year for this season, it is the first time I’ve started cross country season injury-free. I know this will be my year; I’m healthy and strong and I love the intense competition of racing at the front of the pack. My goals for this season are to break my personal best, advance to regionals, and break my school’s record of 16:06. I am very excited to run in college; my past experiences with cross country, although tough, have prepared me for the hard work needed to be successful on a college team.