By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher Cedar Creek junior softball player Cheyenne Meyer and Egg Harbor Township senior lacrosse and field hockey player MacKenzie Meyer have a lot in common. Their dads, Jeff and Joe, are brothers. They are about the same height and both have blonde hair. They were born on the same day, one year apart. They have matching hand-painted decals of the mascots of their respective college choices on the spare tire covers of their Jeeps. They have another thing in common. The ability to dominate in their respective sports. MacKenzie has been one of the best field hockey players in South Jersey for the past couple of seasons, leading the Eagles to a playoff berth last fall while also turning in one of the top offensive seasons in the Cape-Atlantic League. She scored 36 goals as a senior and finished her career with 68, and also came into this week with nearly 80 career goals in lacrosse, including more than 30 this year. Cheyenne has emerged as one of the best softball pitchers in the league this season and also is perhaps the CAL’s most feared hitter, having amassed more than 100 career hits already. She’s helped lead the Pirates to a 10-5 record coming into this week. 
MacKenzie Meyer, a senior two-sport star at Egg Harbor Township High School, will be continuing her field hockey career at the University of Delaware this fall after a standout career in both field hockey and lacrosse for the Eagles. (Photos by Ben Hale/Ben Hale Photography) Those are some serious bloodlines the Meyer girls share. Most of their success can be linked to an incredibly intense desire to win at whatever they do. It also helps that they spent the majority of their youth playing sports against boys, namely, their brothers. Cheyenne’s brother, Cody, and MacKenzie’s brother, Zack, were also good athletes. Zack Meyer currently is playing college baseball. “It was always the girls vs. her brother and my brother so we were always going against the boys. I think that’s why we are so tough now, because we’ve always had to compete against our brothers,” MacKenzie said. “I remember when I was little I would be in the backyard and my dad would have me and my brother play, and I just think it made me better. I always tried to beat him and I think that made me a tougher and better player.” Their athletic journeys began to take different paths during middle school, as MacKenzie started gearing her attention toward field hockey while Cheyenne got really into softball. But they did square off against each other once at the high school level in a field hockey game, a sport Cheyenne played her first two years before concentrating more on softball. They were both defensive players, so Cheyenne said she was a little surprised when MacKenzie made a run up the field and they were face to face, on opposing teams. “I was thinking, you’re defense and I’m defense, why are we going against each other right now? I think she ended up getting past me, but I don’t think she scored on that play,” Cheyenne said. Egg Harbor Township lacrosse coach Jonelle Scardino said what separates MacKenzie from a lot of high school players is the level of intensity she brings to the field, whether it be in lacrosse or field hockey. “She’s definitely very intense. When she’s not on the field we can definitely tell. It’s very apparent that she gives everything she has. If she wants the ball she goes and gets it, if she wants to score she goes to goal. She’s always in the moment, she rarely gets distracted on the field,” Scardino said. “We could definitely tell she was an athlete the moment she walked on the field. Once she picked up a lacrosse stick and got used to it and learned the rules and everything, she was in the lineup by the end of (her freshman year). She’s super athletic and we were excited to have her. To get a girl who is that athletic was very exciting for us.” MacKenzie said she and her cousin would play any sport at any time when they were kids, but as she got older she moved away from softball and got more into field hockey and then eventually lacrosse. “Ever since we were little we kind of just shared everything. We always did everything together, like when I was little and went over to her house we would just run around and be crazy. We always did everything together,” MacKenzie said. “We were both very active and we were athletic kids, but we didn’t really know what sport was for us. Then, right around middle school, we knew our sports and that we were going to go pretty far. I played softball in seventh and eighth grade. Field hockey was always my main sport. I went from soccer to field hockey because of my mom, Della. My mom used to play field hockey so she kind of got me into it and I fell in love with it.” 
Cedar Creek’s Cheyenne Meyer might be the league’s best softball player. Just a junior, she already has more than 100 career hits and is one of the top pitchers, and has given a verbal commitment to play at Marshall University after she graduates high school in 2015. Meanwhile, Cheyenne stuck with softball and her decision has paid off, as she got an offer to play at Marshall University despite being just a junior. She has played a lot of travel softball and has gotten some quality coaching, from Cedar Creek coach Shawn Cohen to personal workout sessions with Buena Regional coach Pam Pickett for pitching and former Mainland Regional baseball standout Jason Law for hitting. “I knew she was going to be a star. I went to a bunch of her games (when she was younger) and she was just a standout every time. Now she’s in the paper almost every day and I’m like, wow. I couldn’t be more proud of her,” MacKenzie said of Cheyenne. “It’s a lot of hard work every day,” Cheyenne said. “Watching the sport on TV, listening to coaches and players who are above me. My brother played baseball, so listening to him and going to all his lessons and games. I actually played baseball until I was 12 years old.” Sometimes teammates can have a hard time co-existing in harmony with players who have intense travel ball schedules and have outside coaches working with them in the offseason, but Scardino said the personalities of the Meyer girls have helped to diffuse any potential animosity. “She’s very team oriented. She tries to give everybody some tricks of the trade. She can be silly and goofy, like any teenage girl can be. But I think it’s a nice contrast to her intensity. If she was that intense all the time the other girls might not be so receptive to that,” Scardino said of MacKenzie. Scardino said it was important for MacKenzie to recognize that as one of the top players, her teammates would naturally follow the lead of her and the other seniors. And she’s been happy with the effort her seniors have been turning in this year. “I told her at the beginning of the season, ‘when you are on the field, you have to play hard because everyone on the field follows you. You set the tone for the game.’ She really sets the tone for the intensity of the game,” Scardino said. “She is just so competitive. She wants to win all the time and she’ll do whatever it takes to get there. She’s been focused this entire season. She wants to win and go out on a high note. She and the other seniors always lead the runs at practice and make sure everyone is at the right pace.” MacKenzie said having someone in
her family who understands the demands of being an athlete who is working toward a college career has been a big help to her, and the relationship she shares with her cousin has been part of the foundation of her success as a high school athlete. “We share everything, from birth to now we’re like the same person. Sometimes it’s a sisterly relationship but sometimes it’s not because we’re always competing. But she’s one of my best friends and I’ll always have her. She’s kind of like the sister I never had. It was great because I always had someone to talk to and relate with because we were always so into our sports, so we always had something to talk about,” MacKenzie said. “When we were younger we never imagined we could get to this point, and now that it’s here it’s amazing that we can represent our families when we go to college.” “We do have a lot in common. People say we look alike. I looked up to MacKenzie growing up. When we were around each other there was always a competitive atmosphere. We both had that competitive drive when we were together,” Cheyenne said. “It’s so cool seeing her do well. I’m so proud of everything she’s accomplished. I was so happy she is going to her dream college and that everything is working out for her.” MacKenzie said that while she remains focused on finishing out her final lacrosse season on a high note, she definitely is anticipating the beginning of her college career. Although she said it will be tough to leave EHT, a school where she has left her mark athletically and has made so many friends. “I love Egg Harbor Township. I have so many memories. The girls I’ve played with, I’ll always remember them. They are amazing,” MacKenzie said. “I honestly don’t know how it can get any better at college but I cannot wait to go to college. At the same time I’m a little bit sad because I have had such a great time at EHT.” Said Cheyenne, “I can’t wait to see how she does as a college athlete. I’m sure she will do well and excel in the college setting, in both her sport and academically.” And, as has been the case throughout their lives, next year Cheyenne will be right behind MacKenzie on the road to success. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense type=”banner” align=”center”]
Meyer cousins make habit of dominating CAL in respective sports
