In what was the first track and field season of her high school career last spring, St. Vincent junior Reagan Meyer did what no other female athlete in school history had ever done before.
Reagan won a state championship — two, in fact — as just a sophomore.
Meyer took home gold medals in both the Class 2 800 and 1600-meter runs in her first-ever state meet, while she also earned the bronze with a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash.
This has, of course, led Reagan to be one of the most revered runners in not only Southeast Missouri, but the entire state as well.
“I just want to compete with those bigger names in the state and potentially outside of the state,” Meyer said. “That really has motivated me a lot, and I’m trying to get there. Last year since I was new, I’d always kind of stick back behind the front person, but this season I’m definitely leading a lot more. I’m not scared to lead like I was last season.”
Unsurprisingly, Meyer has the fastest times in both the 800 and 1600 for Class 1 this season heading into districts this weekend.
Most recently, she dominated in the JCAA Conference Meet last Wednesday by adding two more conference titles to her trophy case with season-best times of 2 minutes, 21.37 seconds in the 800 and 5:15.71 for the 1600.
One big reason why Meyer has continued to improve is the dedication she’s had over the offseason and also in practice now since she’s discovered her newfound love for running.
“This year, I definitely have a better mentality during practice — trying to work harder to get those faster times,” Meyer said. “Over the winter, I started lifting more weights and tried to get stronger there because I wasn’t doing basketball. “Hitting the weight room has allowed me to run stronger and push with more force. This season, I’m trying to be more distance based because last season I would do sprints this day and distance this day back and forth.”
Along with having aspirations to repeat as the state champion in both the 800 and 1600, Meyer hopes to take home a gold medal in the 400 for the first time.
While Reagan hasn’t competed much in the 400 this year, she recorded a time of 58.88 at state in 2024. The top-ranked time in the 400 for Class 1 entering the postseason is 59.18, so it’s likely more than a realistic expectation for Meyer to be in line to potentially win the event.
“I feel like I have to be harder on myself in certain races because I have less meets that I can progress through,” she said. “I feel like I have to do it now, which isn’t good, so I’ve been working on that.
“I feel like I’ve run some really good times to set myself up for districts and look forward to state — try to go for three [state] titles now.”
Prior to this track season, Meyer was a Class 1 All-State medalist in cross country to end her second fall campaign. She placed 23rd overall in the meet to do so, posting a time of 21:40.4 and was also top three in the district meet.
Reagan did all of this even after she suffered a health scare during the season, but she persevered through it. While she hasn’t been impacted by it since, Meyer said it still affects her mentality sometimes.
However, Meyer has a strong support system in her family and teammates, who are continually helping her grow on and off the track.
“My teammates reassure me a lot, especially my boyfriend [Carter Hennemann] — he’s definitely been a big help with that,” Reagan said. “Definitely my coach [Abigail Hager], too, and all the others are just always cheering me on and supporting me. “The people around me have changed me for the better. I think better, and I just try to be better because of it.”
Along with winning two state championships in track last year, Reagan also helped the Indians girls team place in the Class 2 Top 10. St. Vincent took 9th overall by scoring 25 points, which is exactly how many Meyer tallied all by herself.
Meyer was the only state qualifier for the Indians, though, as she will hopefully be joined by some of her teammates this time around.
At conference, St. Vincent junior Sophia Taylor also had quite the meet in her own right despite not winning a title. She took second place in triple jump and also placed ninth overall in long jump.
On the track, senior Abigail Kirn took fifth in the 3200-meter run and also finished in the top 10 running with Meyer in the 1600 as she took seventh place in the event.
St. Vincent senior Reese Zoellner had a top-10 finish also in pole vault, while junior Jenna Unterreiner was eighth out of 18 in the javelin throw.
Along with those performances, senior Brigid Sauer finished 10th overall in the 100-meter hurdles and was also just shy of placing in the top 10 for both long jump and triple jump.
“I love the team culture compared to other sports I’ve played,” Meyer said. “They had good team cultures, but especially cross country, [my teammates] are just really supportive and helped me.
We’re all together — we warm up together and do our workouts together. “We’re always talking to each other and not separating ourselves. Plus, we’re always joking with each other.”
