Aja Myers is reaching the final turn of her high school career, but she’s not focused on times or records.
The Zion-Benton senior sprinter would prefer to spend her final few meets with a different objective in mind: cherishing the opportunity to compete.
“I love good competition,” Myers said. “Winning is great. But what gets people excited and watching sports is the competition. It’s something to strive for and fight for. If it comes easy, then it loses value.”
Little has come easy for Myers. Raised by a single mother, Myers hit a roadblock in her promising track career. After posting a time of 25.85 seconds in the 200 meters during the summer before her sophomore year, outside of high school competition, she anticipated a procession of personal-best times while running for the Zee-Bees.
That didn’t happen.
Myers had yet to break 26 seconds at Zion-Benton entering the 2021 Lake County Meet, where she won the 100 in 12.86 and the 200 in 26.23 on May 20. She also placed third in the long jump (16 feet, 1 inch) and ran the anchor leg of the Zee-Bees’ 400 relay team, which finished fourth in 51.03.
But six days later, at the North Suburban Conference Meet in Mundelein on Wednesday, Myers finally broke the 26-second mark in the 200. She set a personal record in high school competition with a first-place time of 25.97. She also was third in the 100, again in 12.86.
Candid and introspective, Myers pointed to her inexperience in the sport as a reason for her struggles.
“It had been so long that I wouldn’t say I stopped striving for it, but I just didn’t know what kind of work I needed to do to get there,” Myers said. “I just decided to run to just run, like run for fun.
“But it makes me feel good to get under 26 seconds again. It lets me know all the hard work is paying off. I knew I was getting better, and now I have proof that I finally broke 26 again after all these years.”
Myers said part of the problem was that she would psych herself out before races, often “not being in a relaxed state,” so she started focusing on meditating and breathing correctly. The cancellation of her junior season due to the coronavirus pandemic was another factor.
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Myers, who plans to attend the Air Force Academy, wants to finish her senior season on a high note. She credits her mother, Sharica Bell, for supporting her and pushing her academically and athletically.
“Getting to state has been my goal the whole time,” Myers said. “I’ve been striving for it. I’ve been running against all these great athletes for all these years, but many of them have now graduated. I’m just trying to keep it up and just get there to see what I can do.”
Zion-Benton coach Robert Strickland said Myers became an instrumental leader for his program during this season of transition. She also has helped the Zee-Bees with her versatility.
“Aja’s always been a strong runner,” Strickland said. “To have her running good times, that’s a really positive thing. She even starting doing the long jump this year. She wanted to try it.
“Aja’s a tremendous leader. That’s her biggest attribute. She’s really focused on bringing the group of sprinters together through all these changes. She’s a natural-born leader and has a great attitude toward life.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.