Tara Chaplin
Sophomore
5-1
Montpelier, Vermont (U-32 H.S.)

Arizona: Two-time All-American, one in indoor track and field, one in outdoor track and field... Chaplin accomplished a first for an Arizona freshman in 1998-99 by competing in five NCAA Championship events her first year of competition... She not only ran at the NCAA Cross Country meet, but she also competed in two races at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships... Had a great start to her collegiate cross country career in the 1998 season... Finished second in her first collegiate race, the Irvine Invitational, only eight seconds behind Amy Skieresz... Second, behind Skieresz, at the Aztec Invitational, the Mountain West Classic and the NCAA Pre-Meet... Hampered by the cold weather, finished 12th at the Pac-10 Championships... 14th at the NCAA West Regional... Finished 85th, but was the Wildcats' No. 2 runner at the NCAA Championships in Lawrence, Kan... 1999 Track and Field... With the absence of senior Amy Skieresz because of injury, Chaplin stepped up and became the Wildcats' No. 1 distance runner... Competed in four NCAA Championship events (Indoor 3,000m and 5,000m and Outdoor 5,000m and 10,000m)... Won the Pac-10 Conference title in the 5,000m, holding off Standord's Julia Stamps down the stretch to win in 16:35.98... Earned All-America recognition by finishing ninth in the 10,000m at the NCAA Championships (34:52.96)... Finished 15th in the 5,000m at the NCAA outdoor meet... Was the top freshman in the nation in both events... Her top 10,000m time of the year, 34:35.11, No. 5 all-time at UA, came at the Mt. SAC Relays... Ran 16:18.81 at the Cardinal Invitational, also No. 5 all-time, her best outdoor 5,000m of the year... Named the MPSF Female Indoor Athlete of the Year after winning the 3,000m and the 5,000m at the MPSF meet in Reno... Earned the first All-America honors of her career by finishing 10th in the 5,000m at the NCAA Indoor meet with a time of 16:25.25... Also finished 12th in the 3,000m at the Indoor meet... Ran her best 5,000m time of the year, 16:16.06, indoors at the Cannon IV Classic in Indianapolis.

High School: Led her cross country team to three state championships (1995, '96, '97)... Finished second in the national indoor two-mile event... Four-time all-state performer in track and was an All-American in her senior season... A four-year letterwinner in cross country and track... Also won three letters in nordic skiing (cross country skiing) and although they were not varsity sports, competed in indoor track and alpine skiing (downhill)... As a senior, her indoor 3,000m time of 9:46 ranked first in the nation... Was ranked second in the indoor two-mile... Most valuable athlete her senior and junior seasons... Owned personal best times of 4:39 in the 1,500m, 10:28 in the two-mile, 17:01 in the 5K and 57:52 in the 10-mile... Set school records in the 1,600m, 3,000m (9:46) and 3,200m (10:25)... Her times in the 1,500m, 3,000m and 3,200m also established new state records... Her track team was the state champion in 1996 and runners-up in 1995 and 1998... Her cross country skiing team was the state runner-up in 1996.

Personal: Tara Elizabeth Chaplin... Born 10/23/80... Parents are Mark and Jessica Lyle Chaplin... Has two 14-year sisters, Kim and Kelly... Planning on majoring in studio art at the UA... Hobbies include telemark skiing and making jewelry... Her career ambition is to become an artist.