CHECKING IN WITH ... DYLAN MCGUIRE
— Vickie Fulkerson
(Editor's note: The Day will be publishing a profile of a spring athlete for each day the high school athletic season is suspended.) School: Norwich Free Academy Class: Senior Sport: Boys' track & field Events: 1,600, 3,200 meters College choice: Southern Connecticut State University (plans to continue in cross country and track)
Chosen major: Sports management
Athlete you grew up admiring: Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics), he is one of the grittiest and most fun to watch athletes in basketball and is always looking to support his team at all costs.
Checking in with Dylan: "Norwich Free Academy is a favorite among Preston students. Most of my friends attended NFA with me, which was comforting through my first few months on campus. My eighth-grade class in Preston was roughly 50 students and the current senior class at NFA is roughly 600. Getting to meet new people was my favorite part about NFA."
What you need to know about Dylan: McGuire was a member of The Day's All-Area teams in cross country and indoor track this year, winning the 1,600-meter title at the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I meet indoors in 4:41.27. He lists that race as one of the highlights of his career, edging East Lyme's Chris Abbey by .07. "Chris has been the best kicker I've seen in my three years of competing in the sport and getting to barely outlean him on the last lap was very thrilling," he said. McGuire has also completed all requirements to become an Eagle Scout, although the ceremony has been postponed. His final project included building a 320-meter asphalt track at Preston Plains Middle School, which he previously attended. "The plan was to raise funds to hire a construction company to do the track with us; it took over 350 hours of planning and negotiating, with contractors, scouts and other people involved," McGuire said. "... The school's faculty, students and surrounding neighborhoods voiced their pleasure and appreciation for the project over the course of the last few months." McGuire enjoys running, biking and swimming, referring to himself as "outdoorsy," but he also enjoys old war movies and science fiction. He has been delivering food for Solis Restaurant in Preston during the quarantine. "To the ones that have supported me all the way through, I would not be here if it wasn't for you," McGuire said. "My family endlessly supports me and understands when I leave the house before sunrise to go run with the team or alone. I hope that this support system follows me to Southern Connecticut this fall and continues to watch me and my new team excel."