Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Freshman Spotlight: Lauren Hartman
08/16/2016 | 12:17:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- SIU women's basketball freshman Lauren Hartman recently finished up her first summer workouts with her new teammates. For Lauren, the offseason itself was a new experience, as she was a three-sport athlete in high school and a honor  student to boot.
As a high school student at Tremont High School, Lauren was busy, year-round. Volleyball season quickly transitioned to basketball season, which gave way to softball season. As if that wasn't enough, Lauren would also play 60-plus games with her AAU basketball team, the Central Illinois Predators, from March to July. What makes it all the more impressive is that she was selected to the All-Heart of Illinois Conference first team in each sport at least once during her four years.
In volleyball her senior season, Hartman accounted for almost half of Tremont's offense, registering 319 of the Turks' 639 total on the season while averaging an area-best 4.98 kills per set. The Turks went 18-12 and Hartman was named to Pantagraph All-Area first-team.
On the softball diamond, Lauren, who stands 6-foot-3, was the team's catcher and hit .460 as a junior. The Turks went 106-15 in her four years at Tremont, including a 41-1 record in conference play en route to winning four-straight conference titles, two regional crowns, a sectional title and a runner-up finish at state.
On the basketball court, she averaged 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds as a junior on a team that amassed a 27-2 record, went unbeaten in Heart of Illinois Conference play and brought home Tremont's first regional title since 1992. As a senior, Lauren was selected to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) All-State Third Team, and led the Lady Turks to their second-straight Heart of Illinois Conference/McLean County Tournament championship. In the championship game, she packed the stat sheet with 15 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks and finished her career with over a 1,000-points.
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VIDEO: @LHartman31 hits a 3-pointer to go over 1,000 career points. Story: https://t.co/tCmUg2AVOC #pjspreps https://t.co/VDuIMbgbjt
— Adam Duvall (@AdamDuvall) January 29, 2016
Lauren is the first Lady Turk to letter in three different sports all four years of high school. With there never being an offseason, she learned valuable life lessons like time management, discipline, the true meaning of hard work, and the value of never giving up.
"These achievements took a lot of hard work and dedication not only physically but also academically," Hartman said. "Managing my time for school, practices, games, and long bus rides proved to be very challenging."
Lauren plans to major in human health and science at SIU, and has set her sights on another championship: a Missouri Valley Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
