By Al Rabenold
Myron Byers can’t get enough speed, whether it is fast cars or fast runners.
As a MHS Hall of Famer on the 1948 football team, Byers witnessed plenty of speed while blocking for two great running backs, Johnny Thurber and Bob Van Cleave.
Myron and his gridiron teammates went undefeated and scored a state-record 370 points while holding all eight of their opponents scoreless!
Myron and Sarah’s boys, Carl, MHS ’75, David, ‘76 and Jerry, ‘83, all performed well on the gridiron and track for MHS.
The family spent a lot of time building and racing Soap Box Derby cars while growing up. Their middle son, David, was on a Braves quartet that held the school track records for both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 for more than four decades.
After missing the entire 2020 track season due to the pandemic, Myron and Sarah enjoyed watching their grandson, Jacob Byers, run for Pella High.
Jacob is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Byers of Pella. Two weeks ago the Dutch won the IHSAA Boys 3A State Track championship.
Jacob just missed qualifying for the 100-meter dash, but his 4 x 100 and sprint medley relay teams both made it to state.
Prior to the state meet, Jacob won the 100-meter dash at the Dutch Invitational with a time of 11:54. That time puts him less than one tenth of a second away from being one of the top 10 Pella High 100- meter sprinters in school history!
Next spring the Byers family will be cheering for Jacob as the Dutch try to repeat as state champs on Drake University’s Blue Oval in May of 2022.