Arriving for her freshman year of college, Erin describes herself as "relatively new to running and having never raced a 5k before. Rod had his work cut out for him."
Ten weeks later she was an All-American, a feat she achieved nine more times in her career.
The second of nine children, Erin grew up in a homeschooling family. In the mid 1990's there were no homeschool or club team opportunities for cross country.
In her first meet, Erin managed mid 22's for 5k, finishing in the middle of the pack. Two meets later, she ran 19:46, breaking the school record and finishing second. The meet after that she ran 18:48 and finished near the front of a large invitational. After placing a close second at the conference championship Erin qualified for the national championship. In her first national meet, Erin was barely in the top 100 at the mile mark but moved up steadily then passed ten women in the final mile to earn All-America honors in 28th, improving her PR to 18:36.
Erin's freshman year was also Coach Wortley's first season as a head coach. "She really put our program on the map and handled all the attention with grace and humility. Three weeks into her first season, the Grand Rapids Press sent over a reporter and photographer."
That experience set the stage for discovering what was possible. "Erin started out as someone who enjoyed running and became someone who enjoyed competing. After a few seasons she knew who the competition was and who she was going to challenge for the win," said Wortley.
"Rod patiently coached me on the basics initially and then guided me to racing with greater confidence and skill by my senior year," Erin recalls.
In addition to earning All-America awards twice more in cross country, Erin became nearly unbeatable on the track as well, over an impressive range of events. At the conclusion of her career she stacked up All-America status in the mile, 3000 meters, 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. Her school records in the mile (5:05), 3000 meters (10:07), 5000 meters (17:20) and 10,000 meters (36:50) lasted over 15 years.
Along with marrying teammate, Nate Clason (a three-time All-American middle distance runner), Erin has worked in the physical therapy field since graduation. They have three children who've all been successful high school cross country and track athletes.
