Feb. 27, 2013
TEMPE – The Arizona State University track and field program completed its 2013 recruiting class with the signing of standout sprinter Tatum Taylor (Seattle, Wash./O’Dea High School) who chose track over football, head coach Greg Kraft has announced.
One of the top returning sprinters in the nation this season, Taylor has the potential to make an immediate impact on a Sun Devils sprints squad that has perennially been one of the best in the nation.
Taylor was tied for top-returning 60-meter runner in the country heading into the season (6.71) while he also returns the nation’s fourth-best 100-meter mark (10.39) and is the Washington state champion in the event.
At the Brooks PR Invitational this past weekend, Taylor ran a blazing career-best time of 6.63m in the 60-meter dash in a second-place finish at one of the elite high school track and field competitions in the nation. The time would have been good enough to qualify the senior for the NCAA Indoor Championships this season.
The finish at the event created a lot of buzz for the Sun Devils as fellow ASU-signee Bernie Montoya smashed the Brooks PR Invite record in the two-mile with his time of 8:54.63 to win the event as well.
Taylor chose to compete on the track for ASU over pursuing a potential future in football. The three-star recruit chose the Sun Devils over offers from Oregon State, Washington State, Kentucky and Purdue.
ASU Men’s Sprints Coach Ronnie Williams on Taylor:
“I think Tatum is one of the elite premiere sprinters in the country. It was absolutely huge for us to get him. As we talked through the recruiting process, we talked about giving up the opportunity to do two things (football and track) to really be great at one thing. I think he adds a tremendous amount of depth to our program and it gives us an absolutely devastating 1-2 punch next year between him and Ryan Milus.”
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