Induction Graduation Sport Type

2018 2013 Cross Country | Track Athlete

Natalie Tanner, a 2013 graduate, is a gifted runner who excelled on the cross country and track teams during her years at Rye Neck.

Natalie was a competitive distance runner as soon as she joined the team, but hit her stride at the end of her junior year, winning the Class C Section One title and garnering All-State recognition. The end of her junior year was the start of what was to be a record setting senior run.  During her senior season, Natalie was honored with the ConEd Scholar Athlete Award for her stellar performances at meets during the season, and academically for her work in the classroom.  She capped her senior season by capturing the Class C Section I Cross Country Championship and topped that by winning Rye Neck’s first ever Class C Cross Country State Championship.  And, in the spring, she out ran all competitors in the 1500 meter race to claim the league and section titles.  Natalie ended her unparallelled career at Rye Neck as a three-time section, and a one time state champion.

She continued her competitive career as a distance runner at Columbia University.  In 2015, she earned All-Northeast Region Honors finishing in 14th place.  In 2016, she was a second team All-American in the 5000 meters and an NCAA 2016 Division I Outdoor Track All-American in the 5K, placing 15th overall.  And in 2017, she was Ivy League Champion in the Outdoor 10,000m, All-Ivy League in the Indoor 5,000m, while being an NCAA finalist in both of those races, being only one of three athletes in Division I to do so.

Natalie ended her career at Columbia as a three-time All-Ivy Academic, a three-time USTFCCCA Academic All-American,  and a three-time All-American.  She graduated from Columbia with a BA in Neuroscience and Behavior, and presently works at the Memory Lab at Stanford University studying the aging brain and Alzheimer’s Disease using neuroimaging.

In 2018, Natalie competed in the German National Championships - placing 5th in the 5,000 meters, and in the European Championships placing 14th in the 10,000 meters for the German National Team. She also helped the German National Team to a Bronze Medal Finish by placing 13th in the European 10K Cup.  At home, Natalie trains and competes with the Strava Track Club.