Font ResizeEaton (Eastern York) is the defending Middle Atlantic Conference champion in the 200-meter dash, both indoors and outdoors, and is considered a solid contender to repeat this season and go on to the NCAA championships.
Another word to describe Eaton: motivated. Give him a challenge, and he'll be up to the chore. Last year's 200 indoor race is a prime example.
"In the MAC preview of the 200 meters, even though I had the fastest seed time, it listed two other competitors as vying for the gold medal," Eaton said. "So I printed out that little blip in the article, highlighted it and looked at it every day before practice leading up to the race. Then I put it in my bag and brought it to the meet. I looked at it one last time before warming up. I ended up winning, using that little blip as pure motivation."
Eaton finished with the personal best indoor time of 22.80.
Eaton had motivation in the MAC Outdoor Championships last spring as well. The meet was held in Elizabethtown.
"I wanted to prove to myself in front of the home crowd that I was reaching my potential," he said. "Ever since high school, I've dreamt of breaking the 22-second mark, and I finally did it with my first-place finish in the time of 21.91."
His two efforts in the 200 put him second on the
"Completing the sweep will always be a very special moment in my heart," Eaton said.
Unfortunately, his 21.91 outdoors left him 0.22 seconds out of the top 35 runners who qualified for the NCAA championships. The Blue Jays had one more meet after the MACs, but Eaton didn't compete.
"He fell ill right after our league meet and didn't compete after that," coach Chris Straub said. "It was too bad because he just missed breaking the school record held by Mike Bauer."
At first it was thought that Eaton had mononucleosis, but Eaton says it wasn't."I went in for blood tests, and they came back negative," Eaton said. "I'm still not exactly sure what it was, but it did put me down for two weeks or so."
Eaton is also a standout 100-meter runner, relay runner and competes in the long jump and high jump. His name is on Elizabeth's top ten all-time list in all of those events.
Straub says that Eaton is a different person off the track.
"Wyatt is super intense between the lane lines, and the competition is intimidated by him," the coach said. "However, once he steps off the track, he is by all definitions a gentleman and a scholar."
Eaton, a communications major, has a cumulative 3.45 grade-point average. Last fall, his GPA was 3.81.
Straub and sprint coach Joel Hoffsmith have another nickname for Eaton -- "Old School."
"Coach Hoffsmith call's Eaton 'Old School,' and I have to agree," Straub said. "Wyatt has an old-fashioned work ethic with very high expectations. He is hard on himself when he fails to meet his goals. But, most importantly, he doesn't mope or hang his head for long. He picks himself up, dusts himself off and attacks any obstacle that stands in his way."
Eaton has a philosophy about that.
"I've learned that even people you look up to the most make mistakes," he said. "No one will ever be perfect. Sometimes you have to take a step back to go two steps forward. You learn from your mistakes."
Eaton has a couple of goals this season.
"I've got my sights set on breaking school records in the 100 and 200 outdoors, as well as making it to the nationals and fully reaching the potential I know if have," he said.
Straub figures he has a way to motivate Eaton not only to break Bauer's record, but also to qualify for the nationals.
"I might just tell him I think he can't break Bauer's record or qualify for the nationals," the coach said. "It may be the oldest trick in the book, but it usually works with your most motivated athletes who are winners. And Wyatt is a winner -- regardless of the outcome."
Incidentally, his Elizabethtown teammates call him Flash, but Straub gave him the .22-caliber nickname from an old Wyatt Earp movie, because Eaton led the Blue Jays to their 22nd MAC title last Spring.
And, what does Wyatt Eaton think his legacy will be at Elizabethtown?
"I don't ask that I be regarded as the greatest athlete to come through the track and field program here," he said. "I just want to be known for my hard work and effort. That I came and gave everything I had, that I laid all that I had on the track and gave nothing less than my best. I also wanted to be remembered as a dependable and respectful teammate and an athlete who did whatever the coaches or teammates asked of him."
