On the Pegs - May 2021 On the Pegs - Volume 6 - Issue 5 | Page 143

KEEPING UP WITH THE MYERS ' words and photos by : Steph Vetterly

About six years ago , two young trials riders from Pennsylvania , brothers in fact , showed up at the Nationals scene in Toronto , Ohio and entered their first competition .

Alex , then 14 years old , entered the Junior class on his Sherco , and completed his first-ever National competition in first place with a 16-point lead over the other riders in his class . Throughout the following years , Alex would become a sponsored rider for Ryan Young Products ( RYP ) riding a Sherco , and quickly rose to the top of every class in which he competed . In 2016 , he finished second in the High School class for the Eastern Series behind Lukas Gillespie . Moving to the Expert class in 2017 , he moved up and took the win in the Expert class by five points just ahead of Andreas Niederer but had to settle for a second-place Expert finish in a nailbiting 2018 season . Since 2019 , Alex has been competing in the Pro class along household names like Karl Davis Jr , Josh Roper , Sam Fastle , and of course , Pat Smage , coming in only a few points shy of podium positions , and proving that he can run with the big boys .
Younger brother Will has also followed in his brother ’ s footpegs . Starting in 2015 in the Clubman class , the ten-year-old , nicknamed “ Meatball ,” started his career with two six-place finishes . That sparked a fire in Will ; also becoming a RYPsponsored rider , he progressed into the Junior class , taking two secondplace finishes in 2016 and winning the Youth National competition for his age group ( 13 and under ). In 2017 , Will took a comfortable win in the Western Junior class series , 19 points ahead of Californian Robby Graves . Will has two Eagle trophies to his name , earned by winning the top class at the Eastern Youth Nationals at the Trials Training Center . 2020 would have afforded him the opportunity to win a record-setting third Eagle before he aged out of the opportunity , but unfortunately missed the chance due to COVID causing the year ’ s event to be cancelled . In 2019 , Will dominated the Expert class , winning
VOL . 6 ISSUE 5 - MAY 2021 // PAGE 143