Franklin Regional grad flashing speed in final track season at Westminster

Ryan Beard likes to shave seconds off his track times.

The grad student at Westminster continues to shine in the Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference on a journey that began with soccer and will end at the finish line of a track meet.

Beard won the 200-meter dash in record fashion at the recent PAC Championships, clocking 22.17 seconds at Youngstown State for a personal record.

The mark ranks second all-time in the Westminster indoor record books.

He also claimed third in the 60-meter dash in 7.039 seconds, also his top personal mark.

Beard planned to attend Georgetown, but opted to do a dual-enrollment and take classes at both schools, so he could stay and compete for a rare graduate year afforded to athletes during the covid pandemic era.

“I am super happy I was able to work something out to be able to compete,” he said. “Things are going great so far.”

Beard was a key player on Franklin Regional’s 2018 WPIAL Class 3A championship team. Westminster recruited him to play soccer, but concerns over multiple concussions prompted the speedy Beard to retire his cleats.

Before long, he was on the fast track to becoming an All-American.

Last year, the Titans’ 400-meter relay won indoor and outdoor PAC titles, while breaking program and conference records and competing at the NCAA Division III Championships — the first relay from Westminster to do that.

The team finished seventh nationally with a time of 40.80 seconds to garner All-American recognition.

Beard was the second leg, running with senior Amon Sams, senior Jacob Patton and junior Shamar Love.

Beard also was a recipient of the Elite 90 Award for the top national-qualifying athlete with the top grade-point average.