1. Mindy (Taylor) Albrecht
Central Dewitt Hall of Fame
Induction Class 2008

2. Inducted for Outstanding Contributions as an individual of Central High School

3. Biography
Mindy Taylor is a 1985 graduate of Central High School.  Throughout her high school career, Mindy competed in Girls Track for Central.  Her long jump record from 1984 still stands as the school record today.  She was Central’s outstanding female athlete her senior year and was a finalist in the Quad City Times Female Athlete of the Year contest.  Mindy competed and excelled at gymnastics and her gymnastic career culminated with an IGHSAU State Championship in the All-Around competition in 1985.

4. Article from the Observer
Even 23 years after her graduation from Central Community High School, Mindy Taylor-Albrecht’s record for the long jump still is intact — 17 feet and 6 1/4 inches, set in The daughter of John and Sandy Taylor, now of Bettendorf, and a 1985 Central graduate, excelled in a number of areas during her high school career. As a junior, she took second place in the long jump event at the state track meet. The following year, she was named Central High School’s “Female Athlete of the Year” and was one of the Quad City Times’ “Female Athletes of the Year.” Yet, her sport of choice — a sport in which her achievements and abilities were unparalleled — was a sport that didn’t even exist at Central. Due to an athletic budget that didn’t have the funding to pay for a coach and all the expensive equipment the sport requires, Central had no gymnastics team. As it turned out, however, Taylor-Albrecht was Central’s gymnastics team. Her extraordinary talent made her one of the most outstanding gymnasts in the entire Quad Cities area.

5. The Observer (cont.)
Although TaylorAlbrecht came from a school with no team, her accomplishments brought honor and recognition to Central. According to her dad, Taylor-Albrecht started tumbling and did plenty of “bouncing around” her living room at the tender age of six. She competed in her first major meet at the age of 10, and ended up winning the all-around title at the USGF (United States Gymnastics Federation) state meet. From that point on, she continued competing in USGF meets and traveled several nights a week to Bettendorf to practice with her club. Once she reached high school, Taylor-- Albrecht knew she had worked too hard and had come too far to quit. So, she entered meets at other area high schools as a solo competitor. For Taylor-Albrecht, going it alone was not a problem. “I think it was kind of easier because then I could choose the meets I wanted to go to,” she said in an 1985 interview with The Observer. Taylor-Albrecht had a special arrangement which enabled her to compete in several of Davenport Assumption’s home meets and several of Pleasant Valley’s meets. She also was eligible for the state sanctioned meets.

6. The Observer (cont.)
And, at each and every competition, Taylor-Albrecht proudly represented Central by wearing a purple and gold uniform to match the Saber colors and a warmup suit with “Saber Gymnastics” inscribed on the back. As a freshman, she qualified for the state meet and advanced in the vault and uneven parallel bars, in which she took third place. As a sophomore, she qualified for state in every event and took home a second- place medal in tumbling. As a junior she qualified once again in every event and earned her first gold medal in tumbling As a senior, she won the state high school all-around title. Albrecht broke a tie with the defending all-around champion in the final vault and took first- place on the bars, second-place in the floor exercises and fourth-place on the balance beam. Her outstanding performances got plenty of notice from area colleges, and as a senior she signed a letter of intent with the University of Iowa to participate in the school’s gymnastics program. Consequently, Taylor-Albrecht became Central’s first female athlete to ever receive a full ride scholarship to a Division I college.

7. The Observer (cont.)
Her career continued to excel at Iowa and as a freshman, Taylor- Albrecht quickly made a name for herself on the women’s gymnastics team. Even after graduation, she became a coach in Iowa for a couple of gymnastics programs.
Now, the mother of two, who resides in northwest Iowa with her husband, Brian, and their son and daughter, is thankful her achievements of over 20 years ago are being honored and credits Central coaches including Dwight Spangler and Pam Duncan for making high school athletics so enjoyable.
“Gymnastics had certainly given me a wonderful focus to work for,” TaylorAlbrecht shares. “High school track gave me the opportunity not only to compete individually, but it also gave me the unique experience of team competition with my own school friends.”