Tiana Wilson
SENIOR / HAMBURG HIGH SCHOOL
OUTSTANDING PLAYER: GIRLS TRACK
>> WHY SHE WON
Hamburg High School senior Tiana Wilson has been running track since she was about 10 years old. “Back then, running was just a fun thing to do,” she said. “As I got older, I started getting more into it, and I tried to obtain as much help and training as I could to enhance my performance. Track has been my favorite sport ever since I was young.” Wilson’s work ethic and dedication to the sport are a couple of the main reasons she was named All-Arkansas Preps Girls Track Outstanding Player of the Year for the second year in a row. “It is a privilege to be nominated for this award,” said Wilson, who also plays basketball. “My parents, coaches and teammates motivate me to be the best I can be.” This year, at the Meet of Champions, the 5-11, 17-year-old runner accomplished a goal she had set at the end of her junior high school track season. She was the 100-meet champion with a new record of 11.72, but she didn’t stop there. She also shattered the current record for the 200-meter with 24.12. “I had been aware of the records awhile back, and I set a goal to beat them — the 100-meter and the 200-meter overall Arkansas records — before I graduated,” Wilson said. “I trusted my training, and I beat them. This was one of my best days. I felt like all my hard work had paid off, and nothing could be better than that feeling.” Wilson will attend the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville this fall. “When she sets a goal, she is going to do whatever she has to to achieve it,” Hamburg track and field coach Lanny Allen said. “Over the past three years, her strength and conditioning have gotten a whole lot better. Most kids, once they become seniors, they kind of taper off,” he said, “but it seemed like she only got stronger as the year went along. She wasn’t satisfied with the times she had; she was always working to lower them.” Allen, who has coached Wilson since she was a sophomore, said she has worked consistently on her starts and a quicker reaction time to get out of the blocks. “All year, she was on a different level than most kids,”
Allen said.