Senior multi-event participant Trenten Merrill lets no obstacle conquer him as he competes with Azusa Pacific Track and Field and the United States Paralympics despite an amputated leg.
Courtesy: APU Sports Information
Senior applied exercise science major Trenten Merrill is not your typical track & field runner. He is a determined, unique competitor in the 400-meter dash — prosthetic leg and all.
At 14, Merrill was on the back of a dirt bike with one of his best friends. The two were at the edge of a street and looked both ways at an intersection, thinking it was clear to cross.
“We didn’t see a car coming — the car went underneath the bushes in the center median. Right when we got to the next lane, we got hit by a car and my foot was crushed — and that was the beginning of the story,” Merrill said.
After a month and a half of trying to salvage his foot, the doctors decided to amputate it.
“I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason,” Merrill said. “I was learning a lot about God when I was 14.”
After years of recuperating after the accident, Merrill looked to running — turning his story of tragedy into redemption.
During his junior year at a community college, Merrill went to a running clinic with a prosthetist where he met broad event coach Joaquim Cruz at the United States Olympic training center in Chula Vista, Calif. After learning more about the Paralympic track and field program, Merrill became interested and stayed at the Olympic training center for a week.
“My eyes and mind were blown and open to a whole new world that I’ve never seen,” Merrill said. “I said, ‘OK, this is God opening a door for me.'”
Merrill worked his way into Azusa Pacific’s track and field team by contacting head coach Kevin Reid. Within a week of emailing him, Merrill earned his spot on the team and transferred from the University of Colorado, Boulder for his junior year at APU.
“When he came, I had a conversation with Joaquim Cruz. I asked him, ‘What do I need to do differently with Trenten?’ He said, ‘Absolutely nothing — don’t change a thing. He can lift the same weights, and do everything else,'” Reid said.
According to Reid, Merrill broke “up to four” prosthetic legs last year, which caught Reid’s attention.
“It seemed like every other week he was having to go to Chula Vista to the Olympic training center and get refitted for a new prosthetic as he was getting stronger and faster,” Reid said.
Merrill has been training with the goal of running in the Paralympics. Last June, at the U.S. Paralympic Nationals in San Antonio, Texas, Merrill beat his personal records with 23.84 in the 200-meter dash and 53.8 in the 400-meter dash.
Merrill’s teammate, senior jumper and sprinter David Schulte, hopes to see Merrill go to the Paralympics.
“He just has a lot of determination. I’ve seen him in his hard days where he hasn’t been able to run or he’s bummed — he just keeps getting back and going,” Schulte said.
When it comes to competing against runners with two natural legs, he gets a thrill out of it.
“I love it. I love competing against everybody — nobody expects me to win, so I love just being that person,” Merrill said.
Merrill said he hopes to see that his story of trials and tribulations motivates people who are in the same position he once was.
“I want to give hope to others. I want to be able to provide them with a lot and give them the same hope I was given when I was 14,” Merrill said.
The runner said he is doing everything for God.
“I want to say that there was nothing more I could’ve done. I want to know that I put in blood, sweat, and tears — and I want to accomplish,” Merrill said. “I want to become the greatest Paralympian.”