TRAVERSE CITY -- It was an emotional day for Sue and Joe Shay.
The parents of former world class runner Ryan Shay attended the Record-Eagle Honor Roll track meet Tuesday to present the inaugural Ryan Shay Memorial Cups to the boys and girls winners in the 1600 meters.
Shay, a former Central Lake and Notre Dame standout, collapsed and died unexpectedly last November during the Olympic Marathon Trials.
"This is so wonderful," Sue Shay said. "Northern Michigan meant so much to Ryan. He loved this area. He loved the people here.
"This is still hard. (Joe) and I are still on a rollercoaster of emotions. But this so nice that they would honor Ryan like this."
Traverse City Central boys coach John Lober came up with the idea to pay tribute to Shay, who still owns two Honor Roll records. He met with the Shays earlier this year and told them about his idea.
"I was kind of surprised, caught off guard," Joe Shay said. "I thought they might mention it at this meet, but I didn't expect they would name the mile and an award after him. It means a lot."
Traverse City Central's Jacob Secor and Katie Perkins won the Ryan Shay 1600 and will be the first to have their names inscribed on the Memorial Cups, which will be showcased at their school for the next year.
Perkins ran the 1600 in a personal best time of 5 minutes, 9.78 seconds. Secor was clocked in 4:25.12.
"I'm really excited because it was the Ryan Shay Mile," Perkins said. "He was such a good runner, and an inspiration. I wanted to honor him tonight."
Former Glen Lake standout Marissa Treece, a close friend of the Shays, presented the medals in the 1600.
"I think it's really cool they're celebrating Ryan," Treece said. "It's really awesome they're doing this in his honor, and giving his family the support they really deserve."
Shay set his Honor Roll records in 1997, winning the 1600 in 4:17.04 and the 3200 in 9:23.77.
"It's hard to break one record, but he broke two on the same day," Joe Shay said. "That's amazing."
Print this story
E-mail this story
