WENDA VEREEN
- mercertrackhall
- Sep 22
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 26
Trenton Central High School 1984 -- Olympian
Wenda Vereen made her mark as not only the most consequential sprinter in Mercer County history, but also as one of the greatest athletes in any sport--men or women--to ever come out of the county.
Vereen was world class by her junior year at TCHS. She achieved an amazing high school personal best in the 100m of 11.18 seconds. Her high school "pb" for 200m was just as remarkable at 22.99.
In outdoor track, Vereen was the Meet of Champions winner of the 100 & 200 meters in 1983--setting state records for each in the process. She was also State Group IV champion for the 100 and 200m in 1983 and again in 1984.
In indoor track Vereen was just as dominant. She won 2 golds at the indoor Meet of Champs in 1984, setting the meet record in both the 55m Dash and 55m Hurdles. In indoor Group IV state meet competition she won back to back 55m Dash titles in 1983 & '84, and took gold in the 55m hurdles in '83.
Vereen led the Trenton girls team to the 1984 Group IV Outdoor State Championship, the 1984 CJ Sectional title, and the 1983 Mercer County outdoor title.
In the summer of '84 after her senior high school season, Wenda qualified as a 4x100m relay runner for the United States Olympic team. The US team won the gold medal in Los Angeles later that summer.
Vereen attended Morgan State and continued to pursue track and field achievements as a collegiate athlete and afterward as an international competitor. She earned a 4x100m relay bronze medal competing for the US national team at the 1989 World Cup in Barcelona Spain. In 1993 she was again a member of Team USA and earned a silver medal while running the 4x100m relay at the IAAF World Championships in Stuttgart Germany. She qualified for her final Team USA roster in 1995 when she ran the 200m at the indoor world champs.
Vereen still holds multiple state and county records. She was elected into the Morgan State Hall of Fame in 2014, and she coaches the Racing Cheetah Track Club in Indiana.
