Her stunning pace in the 400-meter hurdles earned Tanner a gold medal at the Heptagonal Championships, as well as a bronze medal at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championshipos. Tanner said she was "thrilled" by the gold, but only "happy" with the bronze, as she let up at the end of the race, allowing the third runner, who she said she was was unaware of, to steal the silver.
"It's just frustrating to know that I could've run faster," she said.
Tanner was also named to the All-Ivy first team in the 400-meter hurdles.
Tanner, who hails from Baltimore, Md., said she has been running around ever since she was a child.
"I would run around in the house and run into things," she said.
Even so, Tanner did not actually begin competing on the track until much later.
In middle school, Tanner played whatever sport her school offered for each particular season, namely soccer, basketball and lacrosse, she said. It was not until high school that she followed in the footsteps of her older sister and joined the track team.
During her freshman year of high school, Tanner ran with the indoor track team, which fueled her interest in the sport. By her sophomore year, she was part of both the indoor and outdoor teams. She began competing in the 300-meter hurdles her junior year, as the 400-meter hurdle event was not offered.
Tanner never lost a race running the 300-meter hurdles in high school.
"I was one of the best in my league, but we didn't have much competition," she said. "There was nobody to push me."
Since entering college, however, the presence of fierce competition and a much more intense training program have pushed Tanner to her full potential, she said.
"I've become substantially faster than I was in high school," she said.
Tanner said she believes the biggest difference between high school track and college track is the atmosphere. In high school, very few of Tanner's peers were as committed to the sport as she, while at the college level, commitment is the standard, she said.
"In high school, it felt like only three of us really liked track, and the rest joined just to stay in shape for other sports," Tanner said. "But for those running in college, it's something they love, something they want to do and something they're good at."
Tanner said she trains for about two or three hours a day, five days a week. When not training, she is at competitions that can last for anywhere from one to three days, including travel time. Despite the toll it takes on her free time, Tanner said she appreciates her busy schedule.
"It structures my day, and makes me stick to a schedule," she said. "Otherwise, I'd just lolly-gag."
On race days, Tanner said she follows a very particular regime. She eats a plain bagel topped with peanut butter, wears the same pair of racing socks, tunes in to a set playlist of pump-up jams and performs a particular warm-up routine.
In addition to her tremendous success, Tanner said she has gained something else just as valuable from running track -- the relationships with her coach and teammates.
Tanner said that most of her best friends at Dartmouth are on the track team, and they spend much of their time together. She said that, because track is coed, the team dynamic is even stronger.
"If I ever need advice for anything, it's nice to have both girls and guys to go to," she said.
Tanner's coach, Sandy Ford-Centonze, has also been an integral part of her track experience at Dartmouth, Tanner said. The two first met when Tanner was in high school. Tanner expressed admiration for the special effort Ford-Centonze makes to reach out to the girls on the team.
"I love my coach," Tanner said. "Sometimes I'll have a question about anything, and I'll just text her or call her. She loves it."
Looking ahead, Tanner said she wants to find success by taking care of her body and keeping up with the training. Since high school, she has improved her times considerably by cutting two seconds from both her 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdle times.
Tanner's goal, she said, is to keep improving and breaking her own personal records, she said.
"I just want to continue to PR," Tanner said.
If past performance is any reflection of future accomplishments, the Big Green can expect huge things from Tanner on the track.
