Tina (Keller) Montez

Keller was a four-year letter winner for the Southern women’s track and field team. She qualified for the 1998 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in three different events (100m hurdles, 400m hurdles and the 4x100m relay), and earned All-American status in the relay and 400m hurdles, placing third in both events.

She qualified for the 1999 indoor and outdoor championships as well, placing third in the outdoor 400m hurdles, earning her third All-American honor at the school. Keller holds the school record in the 100m hurdles and the indoor 55m hurdles, as well as being a member of the record-holding 4x100m relay team. She holds nine of the top ten times in school history in the 100m hurdles, as well as the second-best time in the 400m hurdles. In the indoor 55m hurdles, she owns eight of the top ten times. She was the conference champion in the 100m hurdles in 1999 and was an All-MIAA pick each year, as well as being a Commissioner’s Honor Roll member.

Keller graduated in 1999 with a degree in environmental science from Southern. She has since been employed by the Empire District Electric Company. She is married to Manuel Montez and has four children, daughters Mayson, Ally and Bella and a son, Manny.