Eastern High School track phenom Natalie Dumas has only been running for three years.

She joined the Eastern track team in her freshman year, but just one year later, she shocked the world by winning the 400-meter hurdles in the "New Balance Nationals Outdoor."

"I was in pure shock that I knew that I did it," Dumas said. "The next day my phone blew up and I was freaking out because I never had my phone blow up like that before, and everything changed for me then."

In May, Dumas tied four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's New Jersey State 400-meter record at 51.87.

"She'll dig deep to find that extra gear," said Mike Tangeman, the Eastern Regional High School Girls Track & Field Head Coach. "She's one of the most focused athletes I've ever coached."

Five weeks later, she broke that record with a 51.14 in the 400-meter for the fastest time in the world this year for runners under 20 years old.

"At the end of my 400, I had a small fall. I was so upset, I worked so hard for this," Dumas said. "I was sitting there laying on the ground like, 'I got second.' And I lift my head up, and it said Natalie Dumas 1st place and I'm freaking out," Dumas said.
 
Dumas went on to win a total of three national titles: the 400-meter, 400 hurdles, and 800-meter.

"I was most worried about winning [the 800-meter] than every other one, because this is the one I had to defend," Dumas said.  

"I appreciate being one of the people who coaches her, and I love that I had the opportunity to coach such a great athlete," Eastern Regional High School Girls Track Assistant Coach Barry W. Jackson said.

Dumas will wrap up her high school career as she enters her senior year, with dreams of one day competing in the Olympics.