Even Superman had his kryptonite, but what’s Zye Boey’s kryptonite? Tough to say. Boey’s had his fair share of injuries, but he’s bounced back to secure himself as a prominent figure on the national stage. An All-American, a school record holder, a multiple winner of the Ohio Valley Conference Male Track Athlete of the Year Award, and now Boey can add three-time Daily Eastern News Male Athlete of the Year to his long list of accomplishments.

“It’s been a great journey,” Boey said. “The last five years have been great. I’ve done a lot, and hopefully in the future I can continue to do more, I just can’t believe it’s over.”

Though he may seem like Superman, Boey admits that he hasn’t done it alone.

“Thanks to all the administration, the coaches, teammates, athletic trainers, and just thanks to everybody for putting up with my attitude, and pushing me to be the best I can be,” Boey said

As far as his struggles, Boey said it’s all part of the game.

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “It’s like, you have to pay taxes right? There are going to be times where you have bad times, you just have to make sure that as an athlete you surround yourself with a group of individuals that can pull you through the hard times.”

Boey said it was the coaches and athletes on the team’s staff that pushed him through his times of difficulty.

For Boey, a big part of his success came by not only performing well on the track, but off it as well.

“You do whatever you gotta do, but there just comes a time where you have to grow up and say, ‘hey, I’ve got something good going, why not keep going?’”

Boey attributes that part of his success not only to himself, but the same coaches and teammates that helped him succeed on the track.

“I give myself a lot of credit, but also, I have to give them just as much credit as I give myself, because they help me succeed,” he said. “I mean, I’m 23 years old, I’m grown, but they still give me advice so you can push through any barriers that you got on the outside of the track.”

Boey said his journey has been long and hard, but at the end of the road, he’s still standing and still running well.

What’s next for Boey? Only time will tell, but he still has some unfinished business at Eastern.

“I qualified for the Olympic trials last week,” he said. “But the first thing in my intimidate future is win another OVC title, obviously.”

After that, Boey wants to be back at the NCAA championships, and try and again earn All-American status. He said after Eastern, he hopes to possibly get sponsored, or find a job coaching. However, he said if those things don’t work out, he’s still content with what he has.

“If not, I have a degree, I have a daughter, I have a fiance,” he said. “Live my life, work, take care of my family like anybody else. It’s a win-win situation.

Dominic Renzetti can be 

reached at 581-7942 

or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.