By Steve Underwood
The girls of Grosse Pointe South, led by the senior Meier twins, continued Wednesday night their assault on the all-time distance relay lists. Running in the MITS series meet at Eastern Michigan U., as Grosse Pointe Track Club, the foursome of Haley Meier, Kelsie Schwartz, Ersula Farrow, and Hannah Meier ripped an 11:37.11 distance medley relay -- good for #3 all-time.
Michigan-based track announcer David Mitchell has reported the splits for GPS on the 200 meter flat oval were 3:33.0 for Haley Meier, 1:01.3 for Schwartz, 2:14.4 for Farrow, and 4:48.4 for Hannah Meier. Only Mountain View, Utah (11:35.43 to win 2006 National Scholastic Indoor Champs) and Suffern, N.Y. (11:35.74 at 2006 NSIC) have run faster.
The performance is the latest in a long string of long-distance relay success for the school during the Meier years. The same quartet ran 11:39.29 (then #4 all-time) to win New Balance Nationals Indoor last winter. In another indoor meet, they hit US#4 9:03.74 for 4x800.
Then last spring, they scorched an 8:48.29 4x8 outdoors at the Michigan state meet, US#1 for the year and #4 all-time. The foursome still hopes to run a 4x1 Mile relay and shoot for the national record there -- possibly at NBNI.
Individually, Hannah Meier is the two-time defending New Balance National Indoors mile champ (4:42.60 in 2012, #4 all-time). She made the World Youth 1,500 final in 2011 and also qualified for the 2012 World Juniors last year with her runner-up 4:18.44 at USATF Juniors (#12 all-time).