Lansing alum named All-American

During her time at Lansing High School, Meghan Matheny was a standout athlete on the track and field team and was the pole vault state champion in her senior year in 2018. She elected to continue her athletic journey at Ithaca College, where she recently earned All-American honors in just her sophomore year.

Matheny was unable to compete for a national championship this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic but ended the year ranked second in the nation after a jump of 3.92 meters (about 12’10”). Due to the lack of a national championship, All- American recognition was given to all athletes who were initially selected to compete in those championships. Matheny discussed what it means to her.

“All-American is definitely an incredible accomplishment,” Matheny said. “It feels a little weird this year not having actually competed. But I know that, in my own head, if we had actually been able to compete, it still would have ended up this way. But I think just in general, being named an All- American is something that I had dreamed about.”

It’s certainly a well-deserved honor, as Matheny won both the Liberty League and All-Atlantic Regional championships this season. She and the 13 other Bombers who qualified for the national championships were in North Carolina and ready to compete when the news broke that the remainder of the winter and spring college athletic seasons were canceled.

“I’m not totally sure exactly what went through my mind [when the championships were canceled],” Matheny said. “I think I was just kind of shocked. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. But it was definitely heartbreaking and really tough knowing that we could have – I think that we would have brought home a team national title.”

The Ithaca women’s track and field team ended the season as the second-ranked team in the nation after a fantastic season. The Bombers will be ready to bring home some hardware next season after having that opportunity snatched away from them at the last possible moment.

“It’s something that nags at your mind,” Matheny said. “At this point, it definitely has just made me and all my other teammates hungry to get back and be able to compete and contend for another national championship because I know that’s something that we still all believe that we can do. It was hard to overcome that idea of heartbreak, but I think now it serves as fuel for next season.”

A key to the continued success of Matheny from Lansing to Ithaca has been consistent coaching. Matt Scheffler is on the track and field coaching staff at both Lansing High School and Ithaca College, which causes a rare but incredibly beneficial situation for athletes like Matheny who get to continue training under him after high school.

“Whenever I get asked about where any of my success comes from, I definitely always trace it back to Matt [Scheffler],” Matheny said. “Without any of his guidance or coaching, I would not even be here as the athlete that I am.”

Matheny also credited both her high school and college teammates for pushing her to new heights. She continued to describe what makes Scheffler such a special coach for both her and all of her teammates past and present.

“He truly believes in every athlete more than they potentially believe in themselves,” Matheny said. “That’s one of the big things. Even when I’ve been doubting myself and the ability to accomplish certain things that I’ve wanted to do, Matt has always been the one that’s believed in me and believed in all my other teammates. Just the fact that he cares so much about every athlete that he has and really puts his heart into every athlete.”

Despite having that familiar presence of coach Scheffler, transitioning from being a high school athlete to a college athlete has its challenges. Matheny had to make several adjustments at the next level.

“It’s a tough thing to swallow that first year, that transitioning might not go as well as you want it to,” Matheny said. “We had a very consistent schedule [in high school], and in college, the way that it’s set up is I don’t see Scheffler every day unless we’re jumping or we’re at a meet. A lot of the practices that we have are led by the pole vaulters themselves or different event coaches.”

It’s safe to say that Matheny has adapted to those changes in her sophomore year and she’s ready to make an even bigger impact come junior year. Due to COVID-19, training has not been as easy without the access to proper equipment, but Matheny has been making do and improving with strength and conditioning workouts sent out by the team.

“It’s really been great to have some kind of structure in this very unstructured time,” Matheny said. “I make sure that one of the first things I do in the morning every day is to check our Google doc and do that workout. [It helps me] get into that rhythm of still practicing and being in the same mindset. I don’t know when I’m going to compete again next, but I want to be ready for it. That helps keep me motivated.”

From state champion at Lansing High School to All-American at Ithaca College, Matheny has had a noteworthy athletic career thus far. She has two more seasons at IC to continue bringing in accolades. After the season ended early this year, next year can’t come soon enough for her.