AHTLETES OF THE WEEK: JARED TANZ

Jared Tanz

School: Perryville

Sport: Track

Coach: Craig Knaak

Week Report: Tanz, a senior, qualified for state in four events last Saturday at the Class 3A sectional meet at North County High School. Tanz won the 800-meter run in 1 minute, 59 seconds. He also qualified for state in the 1,600 and was a member of the Pirates' 4x800 and 4x100 relay teams that qualified. Tanz ran the anchor leg on the 4x800 team -- which also includes Nathan Davis, Nathan Moore and James Boice -- which placed second in 8:18. Perryville's 4x100 relay team of Tanz, Josh Boxdorfer, Matt Jenkins and Shawn Statler finished fourth in a school-record time of :44.18.

Season Reports: Tanz has not been beaten in the 800 all season. He got third last year in the state meet in the 800. He set a personal record of 1:57 earlier this year.

Coach's Comments: "From last year to this year, his improvement has been unbelievable.," Knaak said. "He didn't break 2:00 until the state meet last year. He played basketball and he ran on top of that. He was averaging 30 miles a week even during basketball season. He'd do it before school, so he's special. And he's versatile. He runs the mile all the way down to the 4x100. That's what makes him unique (in the 800) is his speed. As far as being a premier 100 runner, he's not. But his endurance allows him to distance himself early. But if it's close, he has the speed at the end. He's a special athlete. Not many like him come around. He's got a lot of God-given talent, but he's worked for every dime."