Deerfield’s Tarah Young signs with Wingate

ALBANY — Tarah Young wasn’t going to make one of the biggest decisions of her life without some advice.

Luckily, for the Deerfield-Windsor track & field star, she could rely on her older brother, Andre, who not long ago was making a decision of where he would be playing college basketball. He ultimately decided on Clemson.

Young made her own decision on Friday, signing a letter-of-intent to become part of the track & field team at Wingate University.

“He gave me a lot of insight,” Young said. “He kept it real with me and I think it really helped guide my decision in what I wanted to do.”

In her time at Deerfield, Young excelled on the track. She won numerous individual state titles and helped Deerfield win three straight state titles as a team.

Just last weekend on the final day of the Georgia Independent School Association state meet, Young won three individual events and was the anchor on two first-place relay teams

“She still has room to grow,” Deerfield-Windsor coach Allen Lowe said. “When they put her on the workout program, I think you will really see her blossom as a mid-distance runner.”

Young picked Wingate despite receiving late interest from Georgia.

“I had been liking Wingate for a really long time,” she said. “It is a smaller school, something that is very suitable for me. When I went to visit, the atmosphere was perfect. My future teammates were really like a family and that is what I am looking for.”

When she began to consider where she would attend college, Young was undecided if she even wanted to run at first.

“It seemed very time consuming,” Young said. “I was very hesitant because I knew a lot of my time would be put into running track. I looked at my talent and I was like ‘You know what I’m going to give it a shot.’ ”