Scholar Stories: Tapper Measured by More Than Just Her Throws
3/4/2026 11:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each week MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Jonathan Franchi
As a program record holder and All-American in the indoor and outdoor shot put, one might think that Elizabeth Tapper of the University of Michigan women's track and field team has been training for these events her entire life.
That is not the case. One policy at Tapper's high school changed the outlook of her athletic career and helped lead her to her current position.
Originally a pole vaulter, Tapper's high school enforced a rule that track and field athletes were required to participate in a minimum of two events. Knowing she was not a runner, Tapper figured she would try throwing events in addition to her main activity of pole vaulting. Having not even trained to be a thrower in the shot put, discus or hammer throw, it was evident that Tapper possessed a lot of raw potential and upside that could be utilized for her future.
"I ended up really liking throwing, and it picked up pretty fast," Tapper said. "I started my sophomore year of high school, and then by the time I was a junior, I had been recruited. And then, at the end of my junior year, I had won nationals in the discus, and I was probably top three in the shot put. So, everything happened so fast. It was such a shock and a big turnaround in my life."
Knowing she had room to grow in unlocking her full potential, Tapper began to see major improvements in her throwing ability after she began lifting more weights and participating in dedicated training to be a thrower. Once she saw the improved results toward the end of her junior year, she garnered national attention from top colleges and had a difficult decision to make.
"Well, I took all my visits, and you kind of learn through that process. I feel like it's one of the most stressful processes now, even looking back on it, and you kind of just look for where you're going to fit in," said Tapper. "I just wanted to find a place where I can do everything I want to do at a really, really high level, and I think that Michigan is one of those only places that I can truly say that's like, you're competing with super high level and athletics, and you're getting a really, really good education while you're doing it. I didn't have to give up anything to do that. I'm still the major I came in with. I love the team; the people on the team are my best friends. So it was like the best of every world."
Coming into Michigan, Tapper participated in the hammer throw, discus, weight throw and shot put, but she now specializes in the shot put and has achieved national success. After her sophomore season, Tapper was named a second team All-American in indoor and outdoor shot put, setting Michigan program records with distances of 18.26 meters (59 feet, 11 inches) indoors and 17.65m (57-11) outdoors. Additionally, she earned a bronze-medal finish at the USA Track and Field U20 Championships with a throw of 16.07m (52-9) in the shot put.
The success and accomplishments are what everyone sees from the outside, but it is difficult to comprehend the mental fortitude required to succeed as a thrower in track and field.
"I've done thousands and thousands of reps of the same movement over and over and over and over and over, and I'm still constantly messing up, still constantly trying to fix the same thing. And I think that there's a really hard mental aspect of that and knowing that I've done this for the last seven years of my life, and I'm still trying to get it right," Tapper said. "I haven't got it right yet, so just trying to iron that out is really, really hard, and it's hard to see those results not be there when you've done it so many times. But yeah, it's definitely been a humbling process at times, but that's every sport, and that's every athlete going through their process."
Tapper, a native of Greensburg, Pa., is in her junior season and is grateful for all the accomplishments and success. She believes she has gotten here through her hard work, but is still motivated to improve and surpass her personal-best throws. With her goals and ambitions in track and field set, Tapper is just as committed to her career as a medical professional.
Tapper is a biomolecular science major, enjoying its added emphasis on chemistry content, and she is studying to take the MCAT as she prepares for medical school after Michigan. Despite her busy schedule with track and field, Tapper has more than 100 hours of shadowing doctors in the hospital to get a better sense of what area she wants to pursue. She has shadowed a pediatrician and an orthopedic surgeon, in addition to working in a women's health clinic and pediatric cardiac ICU, and her biggest takeaway from those experiences is something she encounters every day: teamwork.
"My takeaway from every single one of those experiences was actually just the ability for the people to work together in those environments. I think that when you come into a hospital, people don't see how much teamwork goes into treating one patient," said Tapper. "A physician has to talk to a respiratory therapist, and a respiratory therapist has to talk to the nurse practitioner, and a nurse practitioner needs to talk to the other nurses, and it's just so much teamwork."
In addition to her shadowing experience, Tapper works for the state of Michigan in a home care program, taking care of a person with a disability, helping them with everyday aspects of life. From getting changed to running errands to going out to eat, Tapper assists wherever she can and has developed a strong relationship with her patient.
Now finishing up her junior year, Tapper has gained great experience inside and outside of the classroom, and through track and field, which have helped shape who she is today. Tapper has learned to be more vulnerable in different situations, learning from various events along the way, and she believes that she has improved her mindset as she approaches everyday life.
"I think I've just kind of learned what kind of person I am and learned what I'm going to initially think, but then back that up with positive input during comps, during practice, and even when I'm here studying. If something happens in practice, I'm not going to sit here and dwell on it. I'm going to move on, and then I'll come back to it the next day. I'll review film, I'll talk to my coach, I'll do all the things I need to get this back, and back in fact, and then we'll move on and go to the next day."
Tapper's story is a reminder that many careers rarely follow a straight path. One high school rule helped launch an All-America level career for Tapper, breaking Michigan records in the shot put along the way. As she has worked to pursue her athletic goals, Tapper has balanced that with her ambitions to become a medical professional. Tapper's hard work and determination have allowed her success, changing the legacy of the Michigan track and field program, and that same mentality will lead her to an impactful career working in a hospital, helping change lives far beyond the record books.
Players Mentioned
