June 15, 2021
For Dylan Merchant ’16, there wasn’t too much more special than winning the state team golf championship with his closest friends as a senior. “I really enjoyed the moment in every event, and played really well. I made my first hole in one, I won the section championship and placed second in state individually, and I really made some great connections with other athletes outside of MPA.”
Merchant finished as a two time team state championship winner, three time IMAC all-conference honoree, team MVP award winner, two time team section championship winner, two time individual section champion, and two time team state champion.
But in all of that, the 2016 state tournament as a senior was the most special. “This year was kind of a weight off our shoulders,” Merchant told the Pioneer Press. “We knew we could do it, we knew we had the talent and we executed. It was very rewarding.”
Merchant says that MPA athletics prepared him for college in many ways. “First, MPA creates a team feeling unlike any other. It teaches the importance of teamwork and supporting others, regardless of their individual performance. For golf specifically, my coach Sean Barrett taught us patience and a strong work ethic, and that carried over into my college career. MPA sports taught me to respect my opponent, while also finding a way to beat them. Athletics at MPA create an environment where anyone, regardless of skill level, can feel included and strive to improve.”
After graduating in 2016, Merchant enrolled at the University of Redlands in Southern California and joined the golf team. Competing at Redlands, Merchant helped the Bulldogs move up to as high as tenth in the national rankings, and earned medalist honors at the SCIAC Tournament #2 in 2017. Merchant is now a financial advisor at Equitable Advisors.
