Megan (Blake) Bayer enters her second year on the UW-Whitewater Track and Field Coaching staff for the 2022-23 season after eight years of coaching at Waukesha South High School.
During her first season on staff, Daustin Martin won the individual weight throw title at the 2022 WIAC Indoor Championships and went on to earn All-America accolades with an eighth-place finish in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Martin was also named WIAC Indoor Men's Field Performer of the Meet.
Bayer was a thrower on the UW-Whitewater women's track and field team from 2008-11. She was a five-time national qualifier during her careeer, including twice for the NCAA Indoor Championship and three times for the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Bayer qualified for all Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meets during her career, reaching the podium as a senior in 2011 with eighth-place finishes in the weight throw and hammer throw. She ranks among the top 10 all time in program history in several throwing events.
As a sophomore, Bayer was named the team's Most Improved Athlete after posting a provisional qualifying mark in the hammer throw. Learning under longtime throws coach Dave Hahn reinforced her love for and commitment to the sport, and within two years of graduation, she began her coaching career.
With her first class of seniors at Waukesha South, Bayer coached then-senior Abby Barrett to a new school record in the discus and a lifetime personal record in the shot put.
A native of Waukesha, Bayer graduated from Waukesha South and was selected as the 2007 Army National Guard Female Athlete of the Year. She was a team captain and school record holder in the discus throw. She was recruited by numerous colleges and universities in the Midwest before ultimately choosing to attend UW-Whitewater to continue her education and athletic career.
Bayer graduated from UW-Whitewater with a bachelor's degree in sociology and criminal justice in 2011.
Bayer has been married since 2016 and loves dogs and the Green Bay Packers. She plans to check an item off her bucket list in 2022, when she will attend the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore.
(Updated July 14, 2022)
