Sophomore cross country and track and field runner Reesey Byers said he hopes to be one of the top collegiate runners in the nation before he graduates.

Byers already has the Sacramento State record in the 5,000 meters and is training to build on that success.

“So far this fall, he’s training very well. We’ve had a couple of early season contests that indicate, you know, he’s on track to have a really good, solid season,” said cross country coach Scott Abbott.

Byers finished third overall in the men’s race Sept. 2 at the Aggie Open and sixth overall Sept. 10 in the Hornet Jamboree, leading Sac State’s men’s team.

Byers, a graduate of Santa Rosa High School, was heavily recruited and chose Sac State over Cal and UC Davis.

“I really liked the coaching here and the team is great,” Byers said. “The team is really close and the coaches seemed to give more individual attention as well and to the whole team and everything and I liked that a lot.”

Abbott said the team was excited that Byers chose Sac State.

“He was one of the top runners in the state his senior year,” Abbott said. “For us to get him was a really, really successful recruiting coup.”

Byers came close to breaking several Redwood Empire regional records during his senior year of high school, and did break the area record in the 3,200 meters. He also ran the second best time in the 3,000 meters in the nation for a high school student at the Stanford Invitational that year.

Byers was adopted when he was 2 years old and moved to Santa Rosa when he was 3.

“Growing up in Santa Rosa I think was great.” Byers said. “I love the city and I met a lot of cool people there. I think if I wasn’t adopted, my life would be totally different than it is now and I’m very thankful that I was.”

Byers, a psychology major, wakes up at 6 a.m. and stays on routine.

“Usually we have to double, so either I swim or I run again and then I go to study hall,” Byers said. “(Then) I go home and eat dinner, study, maybe watch a little TV and pretty much go to bed. (My routine is) pretty much, run, eat, sleep, study.”

Abbott said that in addition to his obvious talent on the track, Byers impressed as a person during the recruiting process.

“He’s very kind, he’s got a great heart, he’s a genuine person, he really values his relationships with his teammates and with people,” Abbott said. “Sometimes our sport can be a very individual pursuit, but it’s really refreshing when you see people (like him). He’s always concerned about what his teammates are doing and he wants to make his team better.”

Abbott said that Byers is also a “dynamic” person who plays clarinet and saxophone.

“I do it for fun now. It would be too much for me to try to do it for the school,” Byers said. “It was funny because my high school had a concert here last year and my whole team came and my coach came and that was cool and they were cheering for me. I played clarinet for about nine years and saxophone for about five years.”

He also enjoys singing.

“I was actually caught singing in the locker room showers because I thought no one was in there,” he said. “I kind of just came out and all my friends (said), ‘You sounded like American Idol,’ or something, but I had no idea. I just sing for fun.”

He said he likes to sing Justin Beiber songs and others he hears on the radio. Byers said he follows running closely on the national level.

“I really look up to like Galen Rupp, Alan Webb and Steve Prefontaine … what they did, both modern and older runners … and how they progressed and everything,” Byers said. “I remember when I first started running and I saw them on TV and the Olympics. I thought it would be a fantasy of mine, but I’m really starting to have it become a goal of mine to be up there one day, to be one of those guys.”

Katie McMillin can be reached at [email protected].