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Lyons Township’s Owen Hays, a senior, never imagined competing at his first Class 3A boys cross country state meet as a freshman.
“Eye-opening,” Hays recalled. “Truly in a sense it was a little scary for how big it is and how many spectators there are and how loud it was the entire time.”
As a senior, Hays certainly never imagined that one of his most important races would be only against himself.
After his Lyons varsity training group was sidelined by a 14-day quarantine during the pandemic, Hays returned to win the West Suburban Conference Silver Division meet by 6.51 seconds and the Class 3A Proviso West Regional by 5.59 seconds.
“I think having a really good team, as well as a really good coach [Mike Danner], was really helpful,” Hays said. “I was around a lot of dedicated guys every day and [Danner] was optimistic with everything going on. No one got down. That’s the big reason the season was so smooth.”
For his accomplishments this season, Hays is the Suburban Life Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
Hays, a three-time state competitor and All-WSC Silver finisher, fueled another memorable Lyons senior class that included five returnees from the 2019 state lineup.
At McClure Junior High School, Hays primarily played soccer and basketball. He also ran, like his father did in college, but with minimal training.
“The goal was to run as fast as possible for as long as possible,” Hays said.
At Lyons, Hays became a student of the sport. Nutrition, academics and social choices were prioritized. He began emphasizing strength training and mileage at plentiful but reasonable amounts.
Hays also gained the support and friendship of runners from other teams and especially his own team.
“That was truly something that stuck with me after freshman year, how awesome the sport can be and how awesome the running community is,” Hays said.
“Personally, it’s seeing the dedication of the seniors and their love for the sport and how much everyone enjoyed being around each other. I hope the freshmen see how they’re part of something special. LT cross country is something I’m going to remember.”
The quarantine forced Lyons to postpone its Sept. 17 varsity race with Downers Grove North.
Hays tried a 5K (3.1 miles) time trial on his own at the track and was “pretty happy” with his time of 15 minutes, 16 seconds.
“I didn’t really know how I’d do because I’d never run one by myself,” Hays said.
Hays and his teammates stayed in top form. When they finally could compete in the power-packed WSC Silver meet Oct. 17, Hays significantly improved on his 15th-place showing as a junior.
“I was really happy. It’s such a competitive setting with so many good teams and individuals, so to win it was pretty special,” Hays said.
“After the shutdown of the spring track season, he really was motivated to make a statement,” Lyons all-conference junior Charlie McLawhorn said of Hays. “He’s one of the main factors why I was able to become a better runner. With his maturity and respect to all of us, even though he was a senior, he treated everyone as an equal. It’s really helpful to have a leader like that.”
Hays’ highest state finish at Peoria’s Detweiller Park was 104th in 2018. With no state meet as a senior, he was grateful for the nonschool affiliated ShaZam Championships on Nov. 8 in Chillicothe. Considering most of the top-rated Class 3A individuals and teams competed, Hays, who was 19th in 16:04.38 in the 5K, earned a comparable top-25 IHSA all-state medal. Lyons’ team was sixth.
“One main goal individually was to be all-state. Top five [as a team] would have been a really cool achievement,” Hays said. “I would have really loved to run Detweiller one last time.”
Suburban Life All-Area team (alphabetically by school)
Niklas Anderson, Benet Academy, sr.; Evan Cummins, Downers Grove North, sr.; Roy Llewellyn, Downers Grove North, jr.; Kyle McNally, Downers Grove North, jr.; Tim Neumann, Downers Grove South, jr.; Pierce Cousins, Glenbard West, sr.; Dan Watcke, Hinsdale Central, so.; Julian Watson, Hinsdale South, sr.; Owen Hays, Lyons Township, sr.; Charlie McLawhorn, Lyons Township, jr.; Jocqael Thorpe, Lyons Township, sr.; Cooper Marrs, Riverside-Brookfield, fr.; Paul Proteau, Riverside-Brookfield, so.; Luke Orwig, St. Francis, sr.; Will Roth, Wheaton North, sr.; Ryan Schreiner, Wheaton North, jr.; Michael Atkins, Wheaton Warrenville South, jr.; Colin Hill, York, sr.; Ethan Summer, York, jr. Mickey Vreeland, York, sr.;