Competing against top runners from around the state at the Hamline Elite Meet last Friday, eighth grader Charlotte Meyer not only set a new CHS record, but she broke the Loyola record too.
With a PR 10:55.83 finish, Meyer came in just under 18 seconds faster than the school record she set just three days prior. The Loyola school record of 11:04.81 was set in 2005 by Sarah Price.
“Charlotte's effort was awesome to see,” said head track & field coach Casey Olson. “I don't know if she thought she could do what she did, but the coaching staff definitely did. So seeing her hard work pay off in such a big fashion was incredible.”
As she typically is way out in front of any other runner, Meyer’s coaches gave her a race strategy that was different from her normal lead-from-the-starting-gun-to-the-finish-line approach.
“We told her not to lead, and she was mostly successful in executing it and letting girls from the triple-A schools like Wayzata pull her to an incredible time. She's already such a fast runner, and the next step of her development is understanding how to race in championship-level races, so getting her exposure to competition like this can only benefit her.”
Meyer finished 12th of 16 runners. The winning time was 10:26.03.
The Hamline Elite Meet started in 2006 and represents the best HS track competition in the state. The meet accepts the top nine to 16 entrants depending on the event. The 3200 takes the top 16. The entrants are chosen regardless of class or school size or grade, so it is the top nine to 16 athletes in the entire state competing in a given event.
“Earning a spot in the Hamline Elite Meet is an amazing honor to begin with,” Olson said, “but when you consider that Charlotte is an eighth grader and from a single-A school, it becomes even more remarkable.”
Last night’s meet in New Richland was postponed. The weather also took out last Thursday’s meet at New Ulm. Meyer and the rest of the Crusaders are scheduled to return to the track on Tuesday (May 6) when they travel to Wells.
(All photos courtesy of Bree Meyer)