Daily Chronicle 2025 Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Sycamore’s Aidan Wyzard

If Aidan Wyzard needed a sign that choosing track and field over football was the right choice, he didn’t have to wait long.

Right after deciding to decommit from NIU for football and pursue options in track, the Sycamore senior put up four of his best marks at the Interstate 8 Conference Boys Track and Field Meet, kicking off a postseason that ended with an individual state championship, four medals and a team title for the Spartans.

“I really enjoy football and love football, but there’s something special in track,” said Wyzard, who has been named the 2025 Daily Chronicle Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year for his accomplishments. “I was able to see that, and I’m very glad I did.”

Wyzard won the 200-meter dash in a personal-best 21.36 seconds. He was second in the 100 (10.5) and third in the long jump (7.16 meters). He, Vasilios Arhos, Dylan Hodges and Preston Picolotti took third in the 4x100 relay in 41.91 seconds.

The Spartans also held off East St. Louis 71-62 for their first boys team title.

It was a much different trip to state this time around for Wyzard than in 2024. He injured a hamstring on his third jump in the preliminaries of the long jump last year, cutting his trip to Charleston short. He still took second in the long jump despite not being able to compete in the finals. He was unable to compete in any track events.

He had entered the meet as the top seed in the long jump and on the top-seeded 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams, plus was seeded highly in the 400.

“Honestly, this year couldn’t have gone better,” Wyzard said. “I was really happy with the way it turned out. Last year with my season getting cut short, it gave me motivation to come back better and stronger this year. I think I did everything I could with training every day, training hard, putting in the hours of hard work. It’s safe to say I think it paid off very well.”

Wyzard committed to NIU to play football in October in the midst of a breakout season at wide receiver.

But as what he thought was going to be his final track season kept rolling along, family and friends asked if he was making the right choice pursuing football and not track.

“It kind of took me a little bit to realize they were right,” Wyzard said. “As soon as I decided to decommit from NIU, it felt like there was so much weight off my shoulders.”

He performed that way, as well. He won the 100, 200 and long jump at the conference meet and was on the winning 4x100.

Sycamore coach Matt Kosecki said Wyzard came into the season with something to prove.

“He understood that it was going to take more than just showing up to the meets,” Kosecki said. “He understood the work he had to do [during the offseason] to make sure he had a good year.”

Early in the track season, he said there was the constant worry of reinjuring himself.

It didn’t help that in the winter he tweaked his other hamstring late in the season. It proved not to be serious, as he ended up going to the New Balance Nationals Indoor and taking seventh in the long jump (7.07m).

“There were a lot of lows and a lot of times I thought I don’t know if I can push through and get to that finish line,” Wyzard said. “I just made sure to take recovery seriously and make sure my body was at its best when it came time to perform. I’m really proud of how it turned out.”

Wyzard still hasn’t chosen his college home yet. He said it’s down to Illinois State and Southern Illinois as he tries to get things sorted out on a condensed timetable.

“It’s been a lot harder,” Wyzard said. “It just feels like everything has to happen very fast. They’ll be in contact with me and be like, ‘Let’s get a visit right now.’ Things are moving fast, but luckily, with track I have a little more leeway with time and a little more room to work with.”