WEST BLOOMFIELD – Batting .500 is impressive in baseball or softball, but it’s even more so these days when talking about the track & field program at West Bloomfield. 

When gazing at the school record book for the girls program, junior Kamryn Tatum has her name listed at the top for six of the 12 running events. 

She owns the school records in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes and is a part of three relay teams (400, 800, 1,600) that own school records. 

All of those have been established over the last two years. And if all that wasn’t enough evidence that it’s been quite a start to her high school career, Tatum already also owns three individual MHSAA Finals championships. 

Two years ago as a freshman, Tatum won the 200 (24.20) and 400 (55.74) dashes at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 state meet, and followed those up by winning the 200 (24.63) at last year’s MHSAA finale at East Kentwood. 

So, what’s the expected encore this spring? Well, more championships and really fast times, of course. 

“She’s always a student of the sport, but she’s always driven to beat her previous times,” West Bloomfield head coach Nick Stration said. “She’s always trying to get better. You don’t have to coach her much because she always wants to get better.

“Her will to win is what stands out. She is one of the fiercest competitors I’ve been around.”

Tatum is the younger sister of two past West Bloomfield standouts – current assistant coach Raven Tatum, who ran at Wayne State and Indiana Tech; and current Michigan State football player Dillon Tatum. 

Kamryn said she has never actually raced Dillon, but good-naturedly said she’d have a good shot if they did now. 

“I believe I would win, especially since Dillon is all about football now,” Kamryn said. “He’s much stronger and bigger, so that makes a difference on how fast or slow he can run. However, back in high school he would have beaten me for sure.”

Kamryn said she started running track at age 7, but didn’t really enjoy it at first, only doing it because her siblings were racing.

But the love of the sport eventually developed.

“When I got to middle school, that’s when I started having fun,” she said. “I was breaking school records, winning, and getting lots of exposure. Overall, I am somewhat searching for my purpose and enhancing my passion in running.”

It certainly didn’t take long for Tatum to make her mark on the rest of the state with those two Finals titles as a freshman, and the thought of her still having two more seasons at West Bloomfield to go faster has to make other runners cringe.

As a junior, Tatum’s college recruitment is peaking. At the moment, she said she has not received any scholarship offers, but she has been communicating with both in-state and out-of-state coaches. 

“My biggest goal right now is to work on my self-confidence,” she said. “From my perspective, it’s been a little tough so far, but I will continue to put in the work and believe in the plan God has for me. I would love to beat my freshman personal records and break more school records and hopefully earn a medal (or two) at the state meet and nationals.”

Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

PHOTOS (Top) West Bloomfield’s Kamryn Tatum (5) runs the final leg of the 400 relay at last season’s LPD1 Finals. (Middle) Tatum, left, leads the 200 last spring at East Kentwood. (Photos by John Brabbs/RunMichigan.com.)