* Ian Myers at the Clash of the Carolina's
Photo Credit: North Carolina MileSplit
"I've got two main goals this season: Stay true to my training and stay healthy." -- Ian Myers
By Brett Haffner - MileSplit Correspondent
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Thousands of top-tier high school athletes just completed the end of their indoor seasons, spread across high-level invitationals such as New Balance Nationals Indoor, adidas Track Nationals and Nike Indoor Nationals.
In South Carolina, however, athletes have been graced by warm weather, and some have transitioned earlier than most to outdoor.
Ian Myers, one of the top sprinters in South Carolina from Brookland Cayce High School, is one of those athletes -- and he's come out of the gates hot, running blistering wind-aided marks of 10.18 (+5.7) seconds in the 100m (US No. 1) and 20.96 (+5.7) in in the 200m at the Clash of the Carolina's.
Those all conditions marks stand at U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 4. But they also among several that have been fairly consistent to begin 2022. He has supplementary marks of 10.41, 10.33 and 10.63 in the 100m and a time of 21.36 int he 200m.
His start hasn't been surprising, either.
Myers' indoor season was quietly one of the best in the country. However, he was one of a few top-end sprinters to ultimately not compete at any indoor national meets.
"I decided to just get ready for the outdoor season," Myers said. "I was satisfied with my indoor times after achieving my goals and just got right away to prepping for outdoors."
He certainly achieved his goals, and more.
"I started off the indoor season running 7.00 in the 60m and I wanted to run 6.9 and I'd be happy with it," Myers said. "Then I hit 6.8, beat my goal and was happy with it, then I ran 6.7."
Myers' career-best 60m dash of 6.76 seconds this season was good enough to rank him at U.S. No. 13 for the indoor season. But that wasn't even his best event in 2022.
His 200m time of 21.13 seconds put him at a staggering US No. 5 indoors, cementing him as a tried-and-true national elite
This was a big step of growth, he said.
"I completely blew my goals out of the water, both in the 60 and 200," Myers said. "I ran 22.5 to start the season, then 22.2, 21.7, and finally 21.1 to end the season. Completely blew my expectations out of the water."
After his school's football team made a deep playoff run in the fall, Myers had turned his complete attention to track and that focus was made evidently clear throughout his performances.
Myers' progression and improvement throughout the winter was nothing short of incredible, as he clocked personal best times at nearly every indoor meet he ran at and even surprised himself along the way.
Seeing the competition run at nationals, though, got him fired up even more.
"I was really fired up after seeing the winning times at nationals and (was) thinking 'Dang, I should have went'," Myers said. "It's all part of the plan though, I trust everything I've been doing."
That trust has been an integral part to his rapid rise to his current status as a national-level sprinter. His coach, Alan Alvarez, has guided him throughout this entire process toward success.
"Him and I just go to work -- that's all it was really for my growth," Myers said. "Practicing block starts, focusing on staying relaxed during my races, the first couple steps, working on the basics.
"He knows my strengths and weaknesses, he realizes what mistakes I make and can point them out. He's a mentor to me -- took me in like I was one of his."
The coach-to-athlete relationship has paid large dividends for Myers and Alvarez, as their partnership has seen major results for Myers.
As the rest of the nation's best join Myers in the start to their outdoor season, Myers says he wants to stay grounded and continue to hone in on his own training, trusting the plan that has been given to him.
"I've got two main goals this season: stay true to my training and stay healthy," Myers said. "Working at those two goals means the sky's the limit at this point. I don't need to set concrete time goals, but just keep working at it."
Even so, he's still fired up to take on the biggest of opportunities this outdoor season.
"I want to run at Outdoor Nationals at Hayward to see that track," Myers said. "All these meets are gonna be so fast that I don't wanna miss out this time around."
With the way that he's been running already, the sky is truly the limit for Myers,
His major growth and progression have been clear indicators of his focus, trust in his coach and dedication to his craft.
Based on what we've seen so far, he will certainly be a top sprinter to watch, both in the state of South Carolina, as well as on the national scene, too.
As to what he's learned through this rise to the top? Myers summed it up well.
"Perseverance has been key for me: if you lose a race, it's okay, just an opportunity to get better," Myers said. "'Trust the process' has been something I remind myself of through the season, it's important to me to remember all the little stuff each day."
