Maddie Meyers from The NorthwestSchool not only avoided the clichéd “Sophomore Slump” but instead exploded on to the national scene. Her freshman year (2008/2009) she posted great performances including 1A Cross, 1600 and 3200 State titles with PRs of 2:17.5, 4:57.90, and 11:02.15.Impressive performances for a freshman, but the best was yet to come. After a slow start in 2009 cross where she finished second to Amy-Eloise Neale twice, Meyers stepped up to a whole new level at State and Foot Locker West Regionals. She defended her 1A State cross title with the second fastest time of the day in 18:01 (Dailey 4A Champion 17:58) then she qualified for Foot Locker Nationals by placing seventh at the West Regionals ahead of all her Washington rivals. At Foot Locker Nationals she placed 23rd, which gave her the confidence to compete on the national level.
Meyers had tasted national competition and wanted more. She traveled back east to race in the Nike Indoor Nationals where she ran a 4:51.05 mile then at the UW Last Chance Indoor Meet she ran a Washington All-Time Best indoor mile with a 4:46.77. She continued traveling during the outdoor season to compete with the nation’s best. She won the mile at the prestigious Arcadia Invite in California with a 4:50.72. When she came home she also posted fast times including a blistering 2:09 800 and a 10:26.40 3200 putting her a top the 2010 state lists in all three distance events. She capped off the school season defending her 1A 1600 and 3200 titles, and picking up the 800 title as well.
Maddie in the State Meet
That wasn’t enough improvement for Maddie, with a couple weeks off from racing she headed to New York this past weekend to run the Jim Ryun Dream Mile at the Addias Grand Prix. Hanging back until the final lap she burst from the pack to win the true mile in 4:41.93. With that time she is now the best in the nation in 2010, the best sophomore ever in Washington and the second best miler is state’s history.
An 8 second PR in the 800, 16 seconds in the 1600, and 36 second in the 3200…Sophomore Slump indeed.
