State Champion spotlight: Christopher Tanner Brunswick
Senior Chris Tanner of Brunswick watched his sister win the girls 800m before he toed the line, not to be outdone, he crossed the finish line first as well leading a 1-2 finish for the Dragons in the Class A 800m. We caught up with Chris to ask a few questions about his preparation before the meet, his mindset on meet day, and what it meant to see his sister win as well.
What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
Preparing for the state meet for me was 90% mental. I knew that confidence would be really important, or I wouldn't be able to execute my race plan. I also did some training a couple weeks prior to improve my finishing speed.
How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
I made sure not to think about my race until around 15 minutes before. I had already gone over my race plan and plan B thoroughly so there was no need to make myself any more nervous than I already was. I think that last years states made me want to win even more now, since I had been runner-up that year.
What was your race plan for the 800m, and how were you able to execute that for the victory?
I had previously had a plan to race for time and push the pace early on but the 4X800 took a bit more out of me than I had expected. I then made a plan to simply race for place. I wanted to go with 200m left at the latest because I'm not the best at closing the last 50m very fast.
How exciting was it for you to finish 1-2 with your teammate Keenan Welzel?
We have had a 1-2 finish in every 800m we've raced together so doing it at states too was pretty cool. We had definitely planned on something like that beforehand but having it actually happen was awesome.
What did it mean to have your sister win the girls 800m right before you had to toe the line?
Last year, we had both taken 2nd in the 800m so seeing my sister take 1st this year gave me extra confidence that I would be able to take 1st. We tend to have the same "good meets" and "bad meets" in terms of performance, so it definitely had an effect when I saw her win right before my race (The extra pressure helped as well).
Coming into the season what were your goals and did you achieve them?
My main "doable" goal was to win the 800m race at States however I did also have time goals. I wasn't able to hit the times I planned to in the open 800m, however I did get close in my 4X800, which unfortunately tired me out too much to repeat the time in the open. I managed to achieve one other goal in addition to winning States, which was to break the 2:02 wall I'd been stuck in since sophomore year. My sophomore year, I did a USATF meet during outdoor and ran 2:02.86, which junior year only diminished to 2:02.41. Although I only went a second under, I now believe that I am able to make much more progress during the Outdoor track season.
Tanner's 800m Progression
- 2015 Indoor 2:01.04
- 2014 Indoor 2:02.41
- 2013 Indoor 2:03.67
2014-15 Results
| 800 Meter Run (Graph) | 2:01.04 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:01.04 | 1st | 2015-02-16 | Class A Indoor State Championship | » | |
| 2:03.09 | 1st | 2015-02-07 | KVAC Championship | » | |
| 2:02.02 | 1st | 2015-01-02 | KVAC Indoor Track & Field League Meet # 4 | » | |
