Sam Megli, the son of Ben and Cindy Megli, was involved in cross country, swimming, and track while attending Sterling High School. He earned 4 varsity letters in cross country and was all-conference his sophomore and senior years. He was named Most Valuable Performer his sophomore season and won the Brad Onken Award as a senior. Sam was also captain of the cross country team his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.In swimming, Sam was a member of consecutive IHSA Sectional championship teams his junior and senior seasons. He was a member of the record setting Ottawa Pentathlon team and established school, meet, and pool records as part of the 200 Medley Relay team. Sam was also a member of the record breaking 400 freestyle team at the Vito Lopin Relays during his senior season. A versatile swimmer, Sam qualified for the state meet in the 100 breaststroke, 200 Medley Relay, and 400 Freestyle Relay his senior year. He was the first Sterling swimmer to break the 1:00 barrier in the 100 Breaststroke by establishing a new school record of :59.99. A 12th place finish at the state finals earned Sam his first state medal and All-State Honorable Mention honors. Sam was team captain his senior season and earned the Dedication Award and Most Valuable Player Award for his senior year performance. He also was named Most Improved Swimmer his junior and sophomore seasons. A true team performer, Sam helped the varsity swimming team to a 4 year dual meet record of 45-6.On the track, Sam saved his best performances for his senior season. A middle distance runner, Sam was always prepared to sacrifice his individual accomplishments for the success of the team. The NCIC Reagan Division track meet featured a classic dual between the Golden Warriors and host Geneseo. Sam had one of the strongest performances in the history of the school when he volunteered to run the 1600 meter run in order to score points that might enable his team to win the meet. This came after his performances in the 4 X 800 relay and the conference championship in the 800 meter run. His second place points in the 1600 run set the stage for the meet to be in the balance heading into the meet's last event--the 4 X 400 meter relay. With Sterling down 1 point to the host school entering the final race, Sam was able to run the 3rd leg of the race after only a 10 minute rest from the 1600 run. The Golden Warriors won the race and the conference title as those in attendance witnessed Sam Megli at his very best. Sam completed his high school athletic career with a 2nd place finish in the IHSA Class AA 800 meter run with a school record time of 1:54.15. The accomplishment was another first for a Sterling athlete as Sam earned a state medal in 2 different individual events in 2 different sports in the same season.