Tara Erdmann Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year (AZ)

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http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/a ... l0525.html

Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year
Richard Obert
The Arizona Republic
May. 24, 2007 09:18 PM

Tara Erdmann

• School: Tucson Flowing Wells.


• Year: Senior.


• Height: 5-foot-4.







• Weight: 110 pounds.


• Events: 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters, pole vault, hurdles, long jump, 4x800 relay.


• Season recap: Erdmann appears to be a heptathlete in the making. She hit personal records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, capturing titles in all three events at the Class 5A Division II championships. Her main emphasis was the 1,600, which she ran in a state-best 4 minutes, 54.79 seconds. She did a little bit of everything near the end of the season. After practicing the pole vault for only a week just for fun to break the monotony of a long track season, Erdmann, who had never pole vaulted before, won the event at a tri-meet, then finished third at regionals with a vault of 8 feet. She came into the track season very motivated after finishing third at the cross country championships in the fall.


• Coach Bob Herrick's comments: "We weren't sure about Tara, whether she'd be dedicated to running her personal best because sometimes the kid will say 'I have my scholarship, and I don't have to do this.' For the most part, she did good work all spring. She was really focused. Her personal bests came within a week of themselves."


• Erdmann's comments: "My emphasis was the 1,600. I just went all out to see what I could do in the other events. It was a lot of fun."


• College choice: Loyola Marymount University.


• Next big meet: Nike Outdoor Nationals, June 14-16, Greensboro, N.C.