Michaela Meyer named ACC Women’s Track Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

NCAA champion Michaela Meyer was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 2021 Women’s Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Meyer (Southbury, Conn.) becomes the fifth Cavalier to win the award for their respective sport this season. Previous recognitions include Alexa Spanstra in women’s soccer, Carl Söderlund in men’s tennis, Sophia Kershner in rowing and Paige Madden in women’s swimming.

In addition, Meyer is one of 12 UVA women’s track and field student-athletes to be named to the All-ACC Academic team. A total of eight members of the UVA men’s team also received the honor. Both of those total number of selections are the highest for each program since the ACC began announcing the teams in 2006.

Meyer, a graduate student in the UVA School of Nursing, became the first female competitor in the Virginia track and field program’s history to win an individual NCAA title when she took first place in the 800 meters.

During the NCAA finals, Meyer ran a personal best time of 2:00.28 that broke her own UVA school record and ranks as the ninth best performance in the 800 meters in collegiate history. It capped a collegiate season in which she also won the ACC title in the women’s 1500 meters and placed first in the 800 meters at the NCAA East Regional with a then-school record and facility record time of 2:00.40.

Meyer posted a 3.85 GPA each of the last two semesters following up on her undergraduate studies at the University of Delaware.

Meyer becomes the second Cavalier to receive the award for women’s outdoor track and field. Cleo Boyd was named the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2016.

The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were established in September of 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the awards must have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for their careers, as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters.

In addition to Meyer, the women named to the All-ACC Academic team included freshman Kayla Bonnick, senior Kiera Bothwell, freshman Maria Deaviz, junior Rebecca Hawkins, senior Halle Hazzard, grad student Anna Jefferson, grad student Andrenette Knight, freshman Maya Maloney, freshman Jada Seaman, junior Alix Still and junior Thelma Kristjánsdóttir.

The men’s selections included junior Rohann Askew, senior Brenton Foster, sophomore Derek Johnson, freshman Jacob Lemmon, freshman Wes Porter, sophomore Owayne Owens, freshman Claudio Romero and senior Jordan Willis.

Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.

On Wednesday, the ACC announced Romero as its 2021 Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year.

Meyer (800 meters) and Seaman (long jump) are scheduled to compete in the first round of the US Track & Field Olympic Trials this evening in Eugene, Ore.