Inducted 2017
I have been writing the bio’s for IATC and IATO Hall of Fame inductions for quite some time now. If any of you have done any writing at all, you know that there are times when the words come easy to you and everything flows together so smooth and it sounds so good.
Then there are times that no matter how hard you try, the right words seem so hard to come up with.
The problem with writing a fitting bio for our next inductee, is where in the heck do you start?
When said inductee has won more state track titles than any Iowa prep EVER….. or when said inductee finished in the top 5 at state cross country all 4 years, winning 2 individual titles….. or when said inductee led her team to 4 consecutive state cross country and 4 consecutive state track and field team titles; it forces you to work as hard to come up with the correct words to describe her unbelievable career, as she did, to solidify herself as the most decorated prep in Iowa High School track and field history. Regardless of era… Regardless of gender… Period.
Ashley Miller is the epitome of what a true champion is.
She gained her love of track and field by tagging along with her Dad, Darren, at the age of 11 or 12, to the Drake Relays and State track meet while Darren took pictures for the Tipton Conservative.
After witnessing great athletes perform, Ashley was determined to be a track and field champion for Tipton High School one day. A 15-time state champion in fact.
Among her track titles, 4 came in the open 800 and 4 more in the DMR, when everyone sitting in Drake Stadium hoped she would get the stick at least 50 meters behind.
After winning the 800, as a freshman, she knew she had a target on her back, but wasn’t about to let people think she was “some freshman phenom who would just fizzle out”.
The term “fizzle out” is not in Ashley Miller’s vocabulary.
Miller’s best team memories were the car rides home after winning state team titles, and the Tipton Tigers were fortunate enough to have eight of those during her career.
Ashley said, “These were some of the best moments to bond, celebrate, and decompress from the season with my teammates and coaches. Hopefully the community of Tipton still recalls these memories with the same level of fondness I do”.
The Drake Relays was her favorite high school meet because she got to see where she ranked among all the state’s best. She fared pretty well, winning 3 Drake 800 titles, but they didn’t come easy racing against the likes of Katie Flood, Ellen Ries and the Dinsdale twins, who would go on to be Ashley’s college teammates.
After high school, Miller earned a full-ride scholarship to compete at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. While at UNL, she competed in cross country and as a middle distance specialist for the Cornhuskers track and field team. Her go-to event became the 1500 meters, where she was a two-time conference champion, 1 each in the Big 12 and the Big 10.
In addition to winning 5 conference titles, Ashley was a 3 time All American, Olympic Trials qualifier, Nebraska MVP, Big 10 Medal of Honor recipient and Nebraska’s Female Student Athlete of the Year.
Track and Field has taken Ashley to many wonderful places and many of her close friends have some sort of running connection. Her husband Jazz was also a collegiate runner and the two have a become a dynamic duo in road racing in Oklahoma and around the Midwest.
Ashley works in Norman, Oklahoma as a registered dietitian specializing in weight loss and pre/post-operative counseling for weight loss surgery patients.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with extreme pleasure, that I introduce to you 2017 IATC Hall of Fame inductee, Iowa’s only 15 timer, Ashley Miller-Carreon.