Meyer runs second fastest 1500m time by collegian

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia graduate student Michaela Meyer is not done setting records for the Cavalier track and field program. Sunday night she set the school record and ran the second-fastest time by a collegiate runner in the 1500 meters.

Competing in the Sound Running Sunset Tour meet in Mission Viejo, Calif., Meyer (Southbury, Conn.) finished fourth in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:04.02, crushing her previous best school record mark of 4:09.78. It is also the fastest time recorded by a competitor from an ACC school. She was the only collegiate runner in a field of professional athletes. Josette Norris of the Reebok Boston Track Club won the race with a time of 3:59.72.

The only faster outdoor 1500 meter time recorded by a collegiate was 3:59.90 set by Colorado’s Jenny Barringer in 2009. Meyer entered the competition with the eighth-best personal performance this season for the distance. The top overall collegiate mark for the year in the 1500 meters was 4:08.38.

Meyer’s time allowed her to meet the standard to qualify for the 2022 World Athletics Championships to be held in Eugene, Ore. During the recent Olympic Trials, her time (1:58.55) while finishing fourth in the 800 meters qualified her for the World Championships in that event.