Meyer becomes first female track and field champion in UVa history

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Virginia's athletics program experienced a ton of success this spring. The women's swimming and men's lacrosse teams won national championships, three women's swimmers captured individual titles -- including Paige Madden winning three -- and Emma Navarro won the women's tennis singles crown. But that's not all. The final championship of the season for the Cavaliers was won by Michaela Meyer, who snagged first place in the NCAA 800-meter championship. Meyer became the first woman in UVa history to win an individual track and field title.

Read more on Meyer below, and check out this UVa spring sports season wrap-up on Hoos Place, compiled by me and some of my colleagues. Also, in a separate story, check out the baseball awards handed out by my colleague "Karl Hess" (no, he isn't really the former ACC basketball ref), as he wrapped up that season that saw the Cavaliers make a run all the way to Omaha.

On June 12, Meyer, a graduate student, surged ahead of the field over the final 200 meters to claim the 800-meter national championship at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in a personal-record time of 2:00.28 — a temporary personal record, at least.

“I started the same way all of my races do, and I knew that I wanted to stay in the top pack and if I were able to stay up there the first lap, I knew I would have a chance to contend for the title,” Meyer told VirginiaSports.com. “With about 150 [meters] to go, I knew it was now or never, so I just went for it, and I gave it my all. I was just running my own race. I didn’t know the schools that were around me or the people that were around me.”

Second-year track and field coach Vin Lananna, who racked up an incredible 11 team national championships combined between Stanford and Oregon, said, “I am so excited for her. She is off the charts. Even at my experienced years, I still get really fired up and excited when kids do the stuff they might not have thought they could do. That’s how I define success.”

Meyer captured the top spot just ahead of Clemson rival Laurie Barton, who finished in 2:00.65. Barton had won the ACC title by about a second over Meyer, who had finished third (2:00.70 to 2:01.52). That time for Meyer already set the Virginia record.
I said it was a personal best for Meyer temporarily because she has continued to run faster in the event. Most recently, on June 27, Meyer ran a 1:58.55 at the Olympic qualifying final, also hosted by Oregon. She finished fourth, just missing a spot on the U.S. team, which required a top-three finish. Ajee’ Wilson was third in 1:58.39. But Meyer became just the fifth woman in collegiate history to finish under 1:59 in the 800.
Also at the NCAA championships, UVa had three other competitors finish in the top five of their events. Andrenette Knight, also a grad student, completed the 400-meter hurdles in 55.81 to place third. A pair of freshmen on the men’s team placed in the discus throw, with Claudio Romero taking third with a top toss of 61.36 meters and Jacob Lemmon coming in fifth at 57.78 meters.

And also for the men’s team, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, sophomore Derek Johnson placed seventh in 8:32.95, crushing his personal best by almost four seconds.

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