It was about this time last year when Ericka Vanderlende was eyeing up her personal best on the track.
The Rockford (MI) athlete had been running well for much of the season, grabbing first place nods, but it was only until she faced Maggie Farrell and Olivia Schroder in regionals that her best PB effort in the 3200m, 11:15.14, dropped to a 11:02.48 against some finer competition.
Fast forward a year.
Vanderlende is ranked US No. 4 at the distance with her best of 10:05.01 time. Looking deeper, though, she's one of top 100 athletes in the country who have dropped 55 seconds or more in the race -- and she's no doubt the fastest among all of them.
Better yet, Vanderlende is just a junior. So what can she do in another year?
Check out the entire list of most improved girls 3200 runners.
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Most Improved Girls 3200 Runners
