South Jersey track star Natalie Dumas proves it’s never too late to reach full stride

When Eastern High’s track and field coach Mike Tangeman is asked about star senior runner Natalie Dumas, he will not call attention to the more than 20 program records she’s broken. Instead, he will mention that she does not own any of the program’s freshman records.

Before becoming one of the most accomplished runners in New Jersey history, Dumas first got involved with the sport as a freshman to bond with her sister, Kadence, who was then a senior.

As a junior, at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, Natalie became the first girl in state history to place first in three events — the 400 meters, 400-meter hurdles, and 800 meters. A few weeks later, she placed first in the same three events at the New Balance Nationals held at Penn’s Franklin Field. Her accomplishment at both meets made Dumas a prominent name in national track circles and won the attention of the University of Arkansas, where she will be running next year.

» READ MORE: Eastern’s Natalie Dumas is breaking records on the track — and she’s just getting started |From 2025

This past year was no different. At June’s Meet of Champions in Pennsauken, Dumas placed first again in three events to cap her outdoor scholastic season. She clocked in at 57.04 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles, 52.14 in the 400 meter, and 2 minutes, 03.46 seconds in the 800 meter.

“With track, you have to trust the process because you work up into becoming better time wise,” Dumas said. “Obviously, you’re really out of shape at the beginning, and then you get better and better.

“At the end of the day I’m not afraid to lose.”

Last month, Dumas flew to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the USATF U20s and the Nike Nationals. To combat potential jetlag and the difference in climate, she arrived on the West Coast a few days before she was slated to race at University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

In the U20s, she won a spot on the U.S. World team after a first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, running a season-best 56.13. The next day, she returned to the same track to compete in the 400-meter dash at the Nike Nationals and placed first at 52.21 to claim her eighth national title.

“It was a lot of races,” Dumas said. “But honestly, I didn’t even mind racing that much.”

Dumas’ participation in the Nike Nationals was possible because of the event’s intentional geography and calendar proximity to the U20s. It was also a sign of the ever-evolving nature of high school sports. Dumas is one of 20 female high school track and field athletes signed to Nike Elite. The program, which includes a coveted name, image, and likeness deal with the world’s largest supplier of athletic attire, has increased Dumas’ national appeal. It has also improved her performance on the track.

The partnership offers support from Nike’s team of trainers. Since signing with the company, Dumas has revamped her strength training regimen in line with Nike’s guidance and learned more about injury management. Through the program, she also connected with other Nike athletes and Nike Elite’s personal training staff.

“It’s just great overall,” Dumas said. “I feel like high school athletes tend to be more on the lazy side than everyone else, because they kind of don’t have anyone like kicking their butt into gear.”

“Sometimes being called out is embarrassing. [The Nike trainers] will say something like, ‘Hey, you didn’t finish this last set, go do it.’ But they definitely stay on top of you. … They all help us push to be our greatest.”

NIL is not the only change in Dumas’ life. After coming onto the national scene last year, Dumas’ popularity in the track world skyrocketed. The 17-year old currently has nearly 14,000 followers on Instagram.

» READ MORE: Winslow’s Jasmine Jackson emerges as one of the nation’s fastest hurdlers: ‘She is running with a purpose’

“Coming into this year, she was a minor celebrity,” Tangeman said. “Dealing with all the attention and everyone knowing her. Other athletes from other schools saying hi to her, wanting to take pictures at meets and just all that other stuff. It was definitely a lot different.”

Dumas had to get used to the constant noise around her — which she admits has been “hard to handle” at times.

“At the end of the day, you shouldn’t worry about making sure everyone’s responded to and everyone’s answered to,” Dumas said. “If they’re closest to you and if they know you, they’ll kind of understand. [They will] be like, ‘Well, I know Natalie. I know the type of person she is, and she wouldn’t do that to me.’ It’s kind of just hard to keep up with it.”

As one of the top talents in the country, Dumas had her pick of the upper-echelon of college programs, which was a blessing and a curse.

“It’s kind of like when you go to a restaurant and there’s a huge menu,” said Tangeman, laughing.

Dumas spent most of this past year scheduling and taking recruitment visits. In order to woo her, she said several programs pulled out all the stops. One treated her to an outing at Topgolf. Another pitched their school to her on a boat. Ultimately, it was the last school she visited that won her over.

“[Arkansas] just set my goals in front of me,” Dumas recalled. “They said, ‘These are your goals, this is what you want to do. If that’s what you want to do, we will make an attempt to reach them.’

Arkansas has won three NCAA women’s outdoor track and field team titles since 2015, and another five in indoor track over that span.

“There’s not too much to be said about Arkansas. You look at the program, you look at the athletes that they have produced, and you see what they have done. I put my trust in them. I’m not afraid to run the workouts that they’re running, lift the workouts that they’re lifting. I’m not afraid to go out there and try something new, and I’m definitely excited for them to kind of just shape me into a better runner.”

While Dumas is looking forward to running at one of the best collegiate programs in the country, she is also mourning the end of her high school career. She graduated last month, cutting her Nike Nationals appearance a day early to make the ceremony. In the weeks since, she has found it “weird” to have a summer away from the track where she first learned to run.

“She brought a lot of positive attention our way,” Tangeman said. “Going forward, the kids coming up throughout our school system will say, ‘Hey, you know this Natalie Dumas? She ran track and field at Eastern, maybe that’s something I want to do too.’”