Kendra
Reimer
Former Prep Heptathlete National
Record Holder Now Asst at Cal St LA
Fall, 2006
Cal State Los Angeles
One of the absolutely top all-around athletes ever at the prep level has
been Kendra Reimer, who went ot school at New Braunfels, Texas, and as
a 1998 graduate set the National Prep Heptathlon record of 5493 at the
World Junior Championships in Annecy, France. Her prep record lasted
nearly a decade, until Shana Woods of Long Beach Poly just broke it this
last summer. We had the chance to see Kendra compete a number of
times, including the Annecy competition through our involvement in those
days with the USA Track and Field Junior program, and there was truly no
better prepared or competitive athlete that I can recall. She had
an amazing coach during her high school years in Tim Hooker, with Kendra's
sister (Lauren (5357w at altitude in 2001) and Jodi Anderson (5198 from
1998) giving New Branfels HS three of US prep history's top dozen
heptathletes! I remember looking at the results of Kendra and her
teammates and man, those people were all over the track and in the field,
had super relay times, and were certainly part of a magical period during
their time at New Braunfels. As Kendra indicates below, she
went on to Texas A&M and had a fine collegiate career.
Surprisingly she has ended up in Southern California as a fine
addition to Coach Chris Asher's Cal State LA staff. When we heard that
we were really excited and were able to ask her some questions, and she had
the time during the busy start of the school year to respond below. Our
area is very lucky to have an individual with such great experience to help
area athletes in the fine Golden Eagle program.
Her credentials below speak for themselves with the multi-events
an area that a number of prep athletes with abilities or efforts above average
in a couple of areas should give thought to---
Thanks Kendra
Best of Luck
Doug Speck
DyeStatCal.com
1) Tell us a little bit about the part of the country you are originally
from?
I am originally from a small town in Texas called New Braunfels. It is
located between San Antonio and Austin, TX.
2) Where did you go to high school and what sports did you play while
growing up and at your high school?
I went to 4A Canyon High School in New Braunfels for my first two years of
school. I later finished at New Braunfels High which is a 5A school. I played
Varsity
Volleyball for one year and then decided to just focus on track. Growing
up I played a variety of sports, softball, basketball, track, volleyball,
gymnastics,
and swimming.
3) How many different events did you compete in for your high school team
at different track meets?
I competed in 100, 200, 400, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, shot put, long
jump, triple jump, high jump, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400. Just about everything…
4) What steered you towards the multi-events along the way?
My club coach, Tim Hooker, was a multi-event athlete in college at ACU and
he offered to train us in the event when I was 14. He knew long term that
I didn't
have the foot speed for the open sprints, but saw my potential in the multis
from my diversity on the track.
5) How much of a commitment did you make year-round to the preparation for
the heptathlon while in high school?
Wow, it was my life....We trained seven days a week. We got days off
for Christmas I remember, but we trained through birthdays and I believe
Easter
maybe.. I
trained all summer when the other kids took breaks, trained in the rain and
cold. We
were on very strict diets and had to read books and take quizzes on what
we read. I had very regimented sleep cycles. Our families didn’t take
vacations and such, we would travel to track meets, which was our vacations.
We had a
very developed weight room program. The dedication came from a whole support
system
of my family, my coach, my teammates and their families, my high school;
everyone was working together for a common goal.
6) What were some of your accomplishments while a prep in the heptathlon
and what was some of the travel you were able to do because of that?
-- USA Jr. Team vs. Netherlands, 1st Place – Heptathlon, Netherlands,
1999
-- Jr. Pan Am Games, 2nd Place – Heptathlon-Tampa, Florida, 1999
New Braunfels Track Club
-- World Jr. Track & Field Championships, 7th Place Heptathlon – Annecy,
France, 1999
-- Most Inspirational Athlete at the Golden West Invitational, Champion in
100H and Javelin, placed in 4 events, California 1998
-- Runner Up – High School Athlete of the Year, Track and Field News,
behind Angela Williams, 1998
-- Former National High School Record Holder – Heptathlon, 1998-2006
New Braunfels High School New Braunfels, TX
-- Texas State Meet Champion, 5A 4x400m relay, Runner Up LJ, 1998
-- Texas State Meet Qualifier 10 times in 4 different events 1996-1998
-- Texas Relays High School Long Jump Champion, 1998
7) How was collegiate track different than high school track for you?
I wouldn’t say that my training load changed a lot, since I always had
a developed program but I guess training philosophies and styles were different
than what I was used to. In high school, I peaked and trained for the meets
that I wanted to focus on and in college it’s more of a team effort so
sacrificing your performances and health for the team is sometimes necessary.
I also had two major injuries, which required surgeries in college and I never
had that before in high school.
8) What were some of your accomplishments as a collegiate athlete?
--4 time NCAA Championship Qualifier
-- NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifier in LJ, Javelin, and 100H, 2003
-- All-American Honors- Heptathlon, 2001
--Big 12 Conference – Placed 8 times in Conference Meets in 4 different
events, 1999-2003
9) What steered you to coaching along the way, and how did you end up out here
at Cal State LA?
I always knew that I wanted to coach the multis, I just wasn’t sure when
and where I would start at. I have had two major knee surgeries since last
june and wasn’t able to compete these past two years at USA nationals,
so I have taken some time off to really think about what I want to be doing.
I wanted to get back into track & field, so when a great coaching opportunity
at Cal State opened up, I jumped on it.
10) What has been the biggest change in moving to Southern California from
where you are from?
Definitely the weather is a major plus out here, but then there is the
bad traffic so I guess there is a trade off. But track & field has a very
tight supportive community out here, there are always competitive track meets
that
are close by and you never know who is going to pop up in a race, I love that
about southern california.
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