University School would like to congratulate UH Cross Country and Track coach Dan Lawson on his recent induction to the Mercer County, Illinois Hall of Fame! “Coach Dan” works with distance runners on our UH running teams in both the fall (cross county) and spring (track) seasons.
A 1974 graduate of Aledo High School (now known as Mercer County High School), Coach Dan broke school records for three distance races: the 800, 1-mile, and 2-mile events. A team captain for both his junior and senior years, he scored the most points during both seasons. At Colorado State University, Coach Dan competed in middle- and long-distance races. Upon graduating college, Coach Dan in 1991 was named "Illinois Runner of the Year" by the US Track & Field organization. While competing through the years in many of the top road races across the country, he collected several top finishes, including an overall top 20 in the Bix 7 Road Race along with winning the Masters Division in both 1997 and 1998. In addition, Coach Dan holds 11 different Illinois and Kansas Master Road Racing records. In 2006, he was named by the Road Runners Club of America as the "Eastern Region Masters of the Year." He continues to race and is approaching 100,000 miles run.
Again, congratulations to Coach Dan Lawson for this exciting news! We are very proud of him and are thrilled to have him working with our student-athletes at University High School.