Eagle of the Week: Jake Meyer
What are we waiting for?
Overdue recognition
Jake Meyer wasn’t even in action this week, but Eagle of the Week recognition for Mr. Meyer is overdue.
SwimCloud has Jake Meyer ranked as the top Men’s swimmer in Division III. He leads the division in 100 Breast and 200 Breast. His 100 Breast time of 55.11, laid-down against Queens University on Oct. 7 is probably this young season’s strongest swim.
Who is this guy?
Jake Meyer went to Upper Arlington High School in Columbus, Ohio. They have an unusually brawny swim program, and, among public schools, the best Men's program in the state. The year Mr. Meyer graduated, SwimCloud had them ranked second in Ohio, behind only the dynastic private-school powerhouse St. Xavier in Cincinnati.
At Emory, Mr. Meyer's progression has been linear. He A-Finaled at the 2022 Nationals with 54.26 in 100 Breast. Which was fast, but that now seems a long time ago.
Since last season, Jake Meyer has owned Men's 100 Breast. Midway through last season he posted a division-leading 53.23, then went on to win 100 Breast at the NCAA Division III Championship with a time of 52.87. That's fast. In Division III history only Andrew Wilson, Collin Miller, Max Chen and Luke Rodarte have been faster. And they are all retired, while Mr. Meyer is tuning up for his Senior season.
Relays
We could write an entire post dedicated to his relay splits. To put it succinctly: wow.1 His splits are among the fastest in the division's history. At the 2022 Nationals, as a sophomore, Mr. Meyer was a key member of the 200 Medley Relay team that secured the National Championship. His 50 Breast split was an impressive 24.08, a time bested only by Johns Hopkins senior Max Chen.2 At the 2023 Nationals, Mr. Meyer delivered an extraordinary performance in his leg of the 200 Medley Relay, recording a split of 23.54, which contributed to his team setting a new Division III Men's 200 Medley Relay record of 1:25.85.
If that 23.54 split made you do a double-take, then you know what you are looking at. Breaststroke splits in 200 Medley Relay aren't supposed to be that fast; even a 23-high is remarkably rare. Mr. Meyer's 23.54 is the fastest breaststroke split in that event in Division III since the legendary Andrew Wilson.
We could probably give him the award most weeks of the season, so why not now?
Congratulations Jake Meyer, you are D3SO’s Eagle of the Week!
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Max Chen was underrated; he clocked a 52.79 in the 100 Breast at a mid-season meet in 2021.