Tammy Peeples-Mbengue a 1992 graduate of Weston H.S. During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the US Olympic Team had its “Flo-Jo,” Florence Griffith-Joyner, who was known for her style and grace as well as her performances and medals. Around the same time, the Weston HS track team had its “Tammy, “ Tamara Peeples, who had the nails, the clothes, the style, and the performances to match. Tammy burst on to the scene as a freshman, clearing 5’0” in the high jump very early in her first indoor season. When the bar opened at 5’0” in her first major meet, the MSTCA Coaches’ Invitational of 1989, however, she failed to clear. When she arrived at practice on the following Monday, she announced to her coach that from now on, she was only practicing at 5’0” or higher. “I am never going out at opening height again,” she declared. She never did. By the end of 9th grade, Tammy had won the MIAA Division 4 high jump and placed 3rd at the All-State meet. As a sophomore Tammy learned to hurdle, and found immediate success. She placed 4th in the All-State 55 meter hurdles indoors, while also winning her first All-State title in the indoor high jump. Her success continued in the spring; despite being knocked out in the semi-finals of the hurdles when another competitor hit a hurdle and fell into her lane, tripping her up, she bounced back and won the All-State title in the high jump once again. During her junior year Tammy was at the top of her game. She won both the hurdles and the high jump at the Division 4 meet, then won the high jump and placed a close 2nd in the hurdles at the All-State. She capped a fantastic season by winning both the hurdles and high jump at the Eastern State Championship at Harvard, then traveled on to the National Scholastic Meet where she placed 4th in the high jump. As she headed into the outdoor season, it seemed that the sky was the limit, and there was a new event on the horizon for Tammy, the triple jump. At the MSTCA Coaches’ Invitational in May, in her first major triple jump competition, Tammy broke the meet record on her first attempt. As she prepared for her 2nd jump, rocking back and forth heel to toe on the runway, her Achilles tendon snapped with a “crack” that could be heard all over the field. She lay in pain on the runway as coaches, spectators, and the trainers came over to help, and she left in an ambulance to the local hospital. After the injury had been confirmed, her leg casted, and the surgery scheduled, an undaunted Tammy made her way home, got dressed and ready, and made her way on crutches to the Weston HS prom that night. It would take more than a ruptured Achilles to keep Tammy from her big night at prom. As she rehabbed from this devastating injury during the fall of her senior year, her surgeon advised Tammy that she was OK to run and even hurdle during the upcoming indoor season, but that high jumping was not advisable until spring, as her ruptured Achilles was on her takeoff foot. Never one to be stopped by such an obstacle, Tammy and her coach decided to work on jumping off her other foot. It was a challenge at first, trying to reverse the muscle memory of several years’ work, but Tammy adjusted well enough to place 3rd in the All-State meet off her other foot – as well as 4th in the hurdles – during the indoor season of 1992. By March she was cleared to triple jump again, and she placed 3rd in the triple jump at the National Scholastic Championship in Syracuse. Senior spring saw Tammy return to the triple jump with full force, winning both the Divisional and All-State Meets, and setting the All-State Meet record in the process. She traveled to California to place 5th at the Golden West Invitational and to Columbus, Ohio to place 5th in the US Junior Nationals, setting her high school best of 40’7.75” in the process. In between she also won the divisional and placed 2nd at All-State in the hurdles, and won the MSTCA Heptathlon with 4226 points, capping a great comeback from the previous year’s injury. Tammy always displayed great team spirit and commitment. The Weston HS indoor team only lost one meet during her tenure (in her freshman year) and her outdoor teams were undefeated during her four years and according to her Hall of Fame Coach, John Monz, in large part due to her willingness to do whatever it takes. A true example of the best of our sport, she is highly deserving of this honor. Tammy currently lives in Dorchester MA and the Elementary METCO Coordinator for the Town of Needham. She is married to Abdoulaye Fall Mbenbue and has a son Birakane Laye. I’d like to now ask Tammy to come forward as the MSTCA is proud to induct Tamara Peeples Mbengue into the Athlete Hall of Fame.
Class: 1992 Inducted: 2020