MERRY JOHNSON BYERS - INDUCTEE #119
hall of fame fast fact:
Merry Johnson Byers is part of a large and sports-minded family. Her parents, the Rev. William and Lillie Mae Johnson, had six sons and three daughters. Merry was squarely in the middle at No. 5.
Merry Johnson Byers
In track, Merry Johnson led Canyon to three consecutive state titles with six gold medals and set a national high school record in the process.
In basketball, she was three-time first-team all-state, leading Canyon to a 104-2 record with two state titles. She was an all-state guard in the last years of the six-on-six game. In her senior year, she averaged 28 points a basketball game—51 points in the regional finals—and led the team to a 37-0 record and 4A state title. She set a national record in the 440 with a 54.2, then won a third state title.
After high school, she was one of the top amateur track athletes in the country; she attended Texas Women’s University for basketball and later, West Texas State for track.
At the Olympic trials in 1984, she missed a spot for the Los Angeles Olympics by .10 of a second. She handed her shoes to her coach and never competed again.
