Boyer (third from left) and the cross country state champions from Middletown in 1984. (Photo from Frederick Steeplechasers Running Club, courtesy of Don and Sharon Boyer)
Longtime Middletown High School cross country and track and field coach Don Boyer passed away July 13 at the age of 75.
According to his son, Monte, Don passed away peacefully after a long battle with Lewy body dementia.
One of the legendary coaching figures in Maryland cross country and track and field, Boyer coached at Middletown High School from 1967 to 2015 after graduating from the University of Maryland, where he ran track as well.
He led the Middletown boys to their first cross country state title in 1970, and was the head coach for six of the school's eight total championships. The Knights also won ten outdoor titles and one indoor title under his guidance. According to the Frederick News-Post, Boyer also coached 76 individual state champions.
Don will be remembered as one of the state's true ambassadors for the sports of cross country and track and field. The Boyers spent nearly half a century coaching at Middletown (his wife, Sharon, led the Middletown girls to six cross country state titles as well). The school's track is named after the couple, and Middletown has hosted the annual Don Boyer Invitational every spring for 15 years.