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Erika Rucker

  • position Sprints
  • class Junior
  • Hometown Flowery Branch, Ga.
  • High school Flowery Branch
  • position Sprints
  • class Junior
  • Hometown Flowery Branch, Ga.
  • High school Flowery Branch

Erika Rucker Bio

8x All-American
Indoor 400m: 2012 Second Team, 2013 Second Team All-American
Outdoor 400m: 2012 Second Team All-American, 2013 First Team All-American
Indoor 4x400m: 2013 Second Team All-American
Outdoor 4x400m: 2012 Second Team All-American, 2016 Bronze Medalist
2013 SEC Indoor 4x400m Relay Silver Medalist
2016 SEC Outdoor 4x400m Relay Silver Medalist
2012 SEC Indoor Freshman Runner of the Year
2012 IAAF World Junior Championships 400m Bronze, 4x400m Gold
2012, 13, 14, 15, 16 USTFCCCA All-Academic
2013, 2014, 2015 SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll
2011-12 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll

2016
Indoor: Ran the 400m at three meets… finished second overall at the Armory Invite, with a top time of 53.09… came 10th overall in the prelims at the conference championship, running 53.34… ran the anchor leg on the mile relay team that won the Armory Invite… led off the 4x400m team at the conference championship, where they finished sixth overall.
Outdoors: Earned All-American honors as part of the bronze-medal-winning 4x400m relay… regional qualifier in the 400m… helped the relay win silver at SECs with a time of 3:28.53, the eighth-fastest time in school history (best since 2007)… finished 12th at the SEC Championship with a time of 53.51… ran her fastest 400m time of the season at the regional meet, finishing in 53.09 in the prelims.

2015
Indoor: Competed in the first two weekends before missing the remainder of the season with an injury… won the 800 at the Orange and Purple Classic (2:16.71)… won the 500 at the Virginia Tech Invite (1:10.06).
Outdoor: Did not compete.

2014
Indoor: Finished fifth at the Armory Collegiate Invitational with a time of 54.04… was plagued with injury difficulties throughout the season, but returned to the track at SEC Indoors, running a 54.57 to finish 17th.
Outdoor: Redshirted

2013
Indoor: Picked up where she left off in 2012, winning her first meet of the season at the Auburn Invitational and collecting the victory at the prestigious Armory Collegiate Invitational with a then-season-best time of 52.93…went on to run an indoor PR in the finals of the SEC Indoor Championships, taking fourth with a time of 52.22…qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, narrowly missing the finals by .03 with her ninth-place time of 52.88…member of the 4x400m relay team that won silver at the SEC Indoor Championship (3:33.68) and finished 10th at the NCAA Indoor Championships (3:35.49).
Outdoor:Ran the 800m twice, posting the third-best time in school history at the Hurricane Invitational (2:07.27) before transitioning to her natural 400m distance…took fourth at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a time of 53.22…ran her best time of the season at the NCAA East Preliminary, posting a 52.07 in the preliminaries…qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships where she ran a 52.25 to qualify for the finals and a 53.20 in the finals to finish eighth…ran lead-off on the 4x400m team that posted their fastest time of the season at Florida Relays (3:35.19)…4×4 finished fifth at SEC Outdoors and moved on to the NCAA East Prelims narrowly missing out on an NCAA bid.

2012
Indoor: Competed in the 400m and 500m… placed second at the Rod McCravy Memorial in the 400m…top mark of 53.08 in the finals of the SEC Indoor Championships to claim fourth…finished 11th in the preliminaries of the NCAA Indoor Championships…placed 4th in her only 500m appearance of the season, with a 1:13.51…ran second leg on the 4x400m relay team that placed 6th at the SEC Indoor Championships with a 3:38.70…ran leadoff for the 4x400m relay that ran 3:36.87 to finish 3rd at the Last Chance Qualifier meet.
Outdoor: Competed in the 400m and 800m…won the Spec Town Invitational in the 400m…claimed ninth overall at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a 53.68…ran a then season-best 52.95 in at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to finish 15th in the prelims… won the Weems Baskin Invitational 800m…top 800m mark at the North Florida Invitational with a 2:10.00…ran leadoff for the 4x400m relay team that took fourth at the SEC Outdoor Championships recording a 3:34.77, placed fifth at the NCAA East Preliminary by running a season-best 52.58 and ended the season placing 11th in the prelims at the NCAA Outdoor Championships… Ran at the USA Junior Nationals and qualified for the IAAF World Junior Championships where she won bronze in the women’s 400m with a personal best of 51:10 and helped bring home the gold as a part of the 4x400m relay…ran the lead-off leg for the team with a split of 50.89 to pace the Americans to a nearly three-second victory time of 3:30.01. Rucker, Olivia Ekpone, Kendall Baisden and Ashley Spencer combined to run a new World Junior leader for this year in the event.

HIGH SCHOOL
Competed at the USATF National Junior Olympics in the 400m and 800m, taking bronze medal honors in the 400m … two-time 400m and one-time 800m Georgia state champion … ranked No. 17 in the nation in the 400m … placed sixth at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

Indoor Personal Records

200m
24.15 (1/18/14 Virginia Tech Invite)

300m
37.62 (1/17/14 Virginia Tech Invite)

400m
52.22 (2/24/13 SEC Indoors)

500m
1:10.06 (1/16/15 Virginia Tech Invite)

800m
2:11.93 (1/26/13 Hokie Invite)

Outdoor Personal Records

400m
52.07 (5/25/13 NCAA Prelims)

800m
2:07.27 (3/16/13 Hurricane Invite)