Aug. 27, 2008

By DAN ARMONAITIS
For the Herald-Journal
Published: Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 3:15 a.m.

There's no denying that Kenya native Emily Tangwar is naturally fast. But pure speed is only part of what made the USC Upstate cross country and track runner so successful last year.

"She just works extremely hard," Spartans distance coach Ed Schlichter said. "She runs anywhere from 50 upward to mid-60 miles a week, and she trains six days every week. So, she's averaging almost about 10 miles a day when she's training, and for a female athlete to be doing that, it's a lot. Her dedication is unparalleled by most athletes."

Tangwar's impressive training regiment helped turn her into one of the brightest stars in the Atlantic Sun Conference last year as USC Upstate, in its inaugural season at the NCAA Division I level, fielded a cross country team for the first time since 2003.

The 5-foot-2 Tangwar earned A-Sun Freshman of the Year honors, was named to the all-conference and all-freshman teams and finished second at the A-Sun championships with a school-record five-kilometer time of 18:08, just 17 seconds behind the medalist.

To continue reading "Upstate's Tangwar hopes to improve on fabulous freshman season," please visit the article on GoUpstate.com.