"You've never been to Bradford, have you?"
It's a fair question. And it's exactly the question senior jumps specialist Erin Hannon poses when asked how she got so involved in sports. "We don't have that much to do around here."
As a sophomore at the indoor champs,
Hannon was 4th in the High
and Long Jumps, 6th in the Triple Jump,
and made the Semis of the 60 Hurdles.
But this athlete would have probably found her way to sports no matter where she lived. And now her 5-10 High Jump, 18-05 Long Jump and 39-06 Triple Jump are going to take her to the University of Nebraska next year where she will expand her repertoire to include the multis.
Along the way, Hannon has gathered many District 9 titles, a ton of second places at states – "Thanks for the competition and memories Nicole." – and a national title in the High Jump at the 2005 Nike Indoor Championships. But she has also gathered a well-earned reputation for toughness.
Erin comes by both her interest and talent in athletics from her parents. Her mother, Tammie, participated in volleyball, track & field and cheerleading while at Kane High School, and until Erin started high jumping, Tammie had held the school record in the high jump at 5-05. Her father, Bob, is a University of Pittsburgh-Bradford Hall of Famer after becoming the first in school history to top 1,000 career points in basketball, finishing with 1,570. He is a Bradford HS grad.
"They're both good athletes, and they set a good example," says Erin. "But my dad is the competitor."
As a sophomore at the outdoor champs,
Hannon was 15th in the 100 Hurdles, 5th in the High Jump,
7th in the Long Jump, and 2nd in the Triple Jump (38-08.50)
to then fellow-soph Rachel Gehret of Altoona.
Pictured: adidas Outdoor Champs in NC
Erin was a latecomer to track, not starting until the 8th grade. But it doesn't mean she wasn't active before that. In fact, much of her ability in the motion aspects of the jumps can be traced to a long career in gymnastics. She started when she was five. Erin got interested in the sport when she and a friend watched the Olympics. She won a state title when she was seven or eight, competing in both all-around and individual events. The beam was her favorite. "Gymnastics was my life. There's not a lot for kids to do around here, so once you get started on something, you stick with it."
As with anything athletic she tries, she does it well. By the time she was 11, she had joined a gymnastics team in Lakewood, New York. It was an hour drive one-way, and she practiced with the team for three hours a day, five days a week. Year round. That ended her freshman year in high school when track took center stage. "Track has become primary because I have gone a lot further." But before she moved into track full time, she had competed nationally, placing and medaling along the way. It was during her freshman year when a real growth spurt occurred. "There are not a lot of 5-10 gymnasts." She still coaches a local team at the Bradford YMCA.
Hannon's other sports included both volleyball and diving. She once continued playing volleyball even after breaking her nose in two places. It did force her to take some time off. And in her first game back in October 2004, she injured her hip – actually, the bone was exposed and would require eight stitches to close. "I just didn't want to come out." She got it patched and continued in the game. But that was nothing compared to what she accomplished in May, 2005 at the PIAA T&F State Championships. More on that in a minute.
Indoor 2005, her best meet to date, with three 2nds
(HJ 5-10 in jump-off with Nicole Smith / LJ 18-03.25 /
TJ 39-06.00 / and advanced to the Semis in the 60 Hurdles).
She won her national title at the Nike Indoor meet,
taking the High Jump (5-08.75),
a 5th in the Triple (38-08.25),
and 17th in the Long Jump.
And the diving came naturally thanks in large part to the years of gymnastics. "It was the same flipping and twisting in the air." She placed at Districts, but had to miss the regional because it was the same day as indoor states in track. "I probably would have advanced."
It's that quiet confidence that would lead her to try track. "A lot of friends were in it, and it looked like fun. Plus, I wanted to try something different."
She started with the long and triple jumps, plus the 100 and 300 hurdles, competing in those events through 8th and 9th grades. She didn't add the high jump until 10th grade.
Hannon started her 2005 outdoor season at the
PA Track Classic with wins in the Triple Jump
(37' 8 3/4" Meet Record), High Jump (5-04),
Long Jump (17-01.50) and a 3rd in the 100 Hurdles.
Not afraid of risk. Not afraid to listen.
Much of Hannon's success can be traced to her personality. Her competitive nature is apparent, and an obvious plus. But it's her work ethic and approach to both training and coaching that help her to excel. "I want to get better, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes."
Hannon credits one of her gymnastics coaches with teaching her the importance of cross training. "He showed me how important lifting is. That set me on the right track."
But it's a team approach to the coaching at Bradford that not only benefits Hannon, but every athlete on the school's track & field teams. "I have been fortunate. I get a lot of help from our coaches, but also from coaches from other schools." And this doesn't count the ones who just walk up and ask she or her coach if they can offer any help. The answer is always yes.
BRADFORD AREA HS COACHES
Larry Stillman – girl's head coach, jumps
Tom Tessena – boys head coach and has worked with Erin in the hurdles
Greg Ambuske – high jump coach
Bob MacFarlane – distance coach is in charge of her weight lifting and distance asst.
Mark Kelley – teaches at Pitt-Bradford, provides Hannon's stretching routine
Lyle Dosser – boys jumping coach, also helps Coach Stillman with Erin's long and triple
Winter 2005
– got help in the high jump from Al Dines of Montour and Randy Gunther of McDowell , – Jim Sirianni of Kane and Mark Curtis of Punxsutawney have been very helpful with LJ, TJ tips
Tuning up for Districts and States as a junior
at the West Central Coaches Meet @ Altoona, Hannon won
the 100 Hurdles in 15:27, the HJ (5-06) in a jump-off
with Altoona's Rachel Gehret, and 2nd to Gehret
in the Long Jump (18-04.00), and Triple Jump (38-01)
Hannon is the ultimate coachable athlete. "You have to be willing to try new things and be open to other ideas. My coach wants me to succeed, so she's willing to listen. If your coach says you have potential in an event, take their word for it."
Girls' Head Coach Larry Stillman knows he has a rare talent in Hannon, but he focuses his program and his coaches on helping each athlete reach their potential. "We try to work together for the good of all our athletes. All of our coaches try to pitch in and make sure our athletes are getting the coaching they need."
To try to give them the environment they need to improve, Stillman travels, going out of their way to find more competitive meets, now making the Pennsylvania Track Classic at Plymouth Whitemarsh in late March a regular stop to get the outdoor season off to a good start.
You can't coach drive.
Hannon believes that goal setting is a personal thing. She knows what her coaches think. She knows what her training is telling her. But keeping goals to herself helps her to focus on the task at hand – each competition. "I set goals for the meets I am competing in."
Cutting out distractions is something Hannon takes seriously. Like many athletes, she uses music to help her get away from the pressure, the competitors, and the enormity of a meet. "I think if you watch other people, that's when you can get down on yourself."
The one time she felt the pressure was when she won the Nike Indoor Nationals High Jump. Hannon was coming off three second place finishes in the High, Long and Triple Jumps at the PTFCA Indoor State Championships, and was facing the nation's best, among them, Pennsylvania rival Nicole Smith, now graduated from Erie McDowell. "We were always out to get each other. But it definitely helped to get me motivated."
Her 2005 Outdoor Champs was not as productive
as she had hoped, with good reason
– she was competing on a broken leg.
Hannon went back to her gymnastics training for the help she needed to divert any pressure. "In gymnastics, you are the only one going. Everyone is watching you, more so than in track." Hannon knew the other competitors were watching each other's every move. But with the gymnastics experience and the intrastate rivalry experience with Smith, Hannon was able to focus on all that mattered – "it's just me and the bar."
Broken noses, exposed bone... all just a warm-up for 2005 states.
To be quite honest, Erin Hannon doesn't enjoy competing with broken noses and other injuries. She's just tough, and obviously has a higher desire to compete than to succumb to pain. And her coaches have never let her compete when she was at risk of further injury or turning something minor into a career-threatening injury.
So when you hear that she took a medal at 2005 states while competing on a stress fracture in her left leg, you should know that no one – Hannon included – knew it was broken.
She had come into the meet with hopes of her first state championship. She had been 2nd in the High Jump at the indoor meet when both she and Smith cleared 5-10. She lost on a jump-off. And she had two other runner-up finishes to Smith in the same meet, in the Long (10.5 inches shorter) and Triple (1.5 inches shorter).
The pain had started midway through her outdoor season, and gradually became worse. It was looked at, and was assumed to be a shin split just below the left knee. She iced, and tried to rest it between meets. Her coach and others had noticed a hop in her steps, but with the assumed injury, attributed it to the pain and kept going.
She had been 5th in the High Jump as a sophomore, so when she finished tied for 10th as a junior, she was disappointed. "And I always have problems with the Long Jump." She would finish 12th in that event.
Rain and pain make little difference
– 38-10.50 for 2nd in the Triple Jump... on a stress freacture.
And then it was on to one of her two favorite events, the Triple Jump. It was cold and raining, and not ideal conditions in which to compete, even when totally healthy. "But I'm used to the rain. We never have any good weather in Bradford."
She competed. "I knew that it was my hop leg in the triple, and if I am off, I can make up for it with my step. You're not going for height in the Triple Jump."
She gritted her teeth. She forgot about her high jump and long jump. She blocked out her competitors. And then she focused on the runway, ran, and leapt 38-10.50, just 4.5 inches from a PR set a week earlier at the District 9 Championships.
She was 2nd again. Again, to Nicole. But this one was more than a physical victory. It was for pride.
The pain did not subside, and she visited the doctor within a few days of the meet. The diagnosis? A stress fracture. The doctor had no idea how she even competed. "I have no idea how I finished track season."
Moving on to new heights, distances (and, possibly, times).
Hannon knew she had found her future college home almost immediately upon her visit to the University of Nebraska. "It was a perfect fit." Nebraska early signees.
She will take her first crack at the Multis this year when she tries the Pentathlon at Nike Indoor Championships. "I think it would be more fun to be a multis athlete. It wouldn't always be the same thing. One day you'd practice the shot, then high jump. But I will have to start to run more." To prepare, she is training in the Shot Put and 800. She'll give those events a try at the January 13 and February 3 meets at Slippery Rock University. She also hopes to compete at the Simplot Games on February 16-18 in Idaho.
She'll get excellent coaching in college, as well. The new Multis coach is Kris Grimes, who most recently was the Jumps coach at Division I Washington State, and was a three-time NCAA All-American pole-vaulter in Division II. Grimes says they see Erin as an immediate Big 12 and NCAA contributor in the High Jump, and that they will place her in events where she will have the most success. Grimes says that because of Hannon's overall athletic talents, "I don't expect her to have significant challenges with new events. Her greatest challenge will be being patient while developing her skills."
Hannon says she can see herself as a competitive athlete for a long time. "I hope to possibly go to the Olympic Trials someday."
She is thinking of majoring in education, either physical or secondary. And she definitely hopes to coach.
No doubt she'll quickly recognize her own best traits in other athletes – drive, focus, coachability, and yes, toughness. But first – with no apologies for winning a national title – she has a state title or two to win.
Erin Hannon's complete list of elite performances on PennTrackXC.com
Erin Hannon's Indoor and Outdoor Bests:
HIGH JUMP-INDOOR
2005-02-26
HYPERLINK "https://www.milesplit.com/meets/9249"PTFCA Indoor State Championships
005-10.00
HIGH JUMP-OUTDOOR
2005-04-16
HYPERLINK "https://www.milesplit.com/meets/10071"Kane Invitational
005-08.00
LONG JUMP-INDOOR
2005-02-26
HYPERLINK "https://www.milesplit.com/meets/9249"PTFCA Indoor State Championships
018-03.25
LONG JUMP-OUTDOOR
2005-05-18
HYPERLINK "https://www.milesplit.com/meets/10474"PIAA District 9 AAA Championship
018-05.00
TRIPLE JUMP-INDOOR
2005-02-26
HYPERLINK "https://www.milesplit.com/meets/9249"PTFCA Indoor State Championships
039-06.00
TRIPLE JUMP-OUTDOOR
2005-05-18
HYPERLINK "https://www.milesplit.com/meets/10474"PIAA District 9 AAA Championship
039-02.75
HURDLES-INDOOR
HS Indoor 60HH (00:9.31)
2005-02-19
HYPERLINK "https://www.milesplit.com/meets/9305"Penn State High School Invite
00:9.31
HURDLES-OUTDOOR
HS Outdoor 100HH (00:15.21)
2005-04-16
HYPERLINK "https://www.milesplit.com/meets/9613"Kane Invitational
00:15.21
"You've never been to Bradford, have you?"
It's a fair question. And it's exactly the question senior jumps specialist Erin Hannon poses when asked how she got so involved in sports. "We don't have that much to do around here."