What does it mean to be one of the greatest athletes to ever compete at West Virginia Wesleyan College? It means fighting through the pain of running; it means pushing through to that next level; it means 6 a.m. runs, it just means more. Leigha Hall embodies these characteristics and is one of the greatest athletes to come out of West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Leigha is a senior nursing major that just ran the largest race for NCAA Division II athletes. The NCAA Cross Country National Championship in Sacramento, California hosted over 200 runners in late November. She placed 110th, running a 6k at the time of 22:16.1, and was only behind the leader by 1:47. This is one of the highest finishes for any Cross Country athlete in the history of the program.
"My time at WVWC has been an amazing experience," Leigha said. "It was so much more than I ever thought it would be. Being part of the cross country and track team has allowed me to make so many amazing memories and friends that I would not have without being a part of those Teams. I hope to inspire other athletes to work hard and to give themselves a chance, because you never know what you can accomplish if you work hard and believe in yourself."
Coach Kelsey Stowers knows Leigha's impact from her side of the program. "I want Leigha to show other women who come through the program that they are stronger than they believe and women can do hard things," she said. "We really saw that with the success the women's team had this year and how much confidence they had getting the highest finish in program history. Her impact has completely changed Wesleyan cross country for the better and I cannot wait to see how much further the program goes because of it."
Stowers said that Leigha not only impacted other athletes' expectations, but also made a big difference for the program as a whole for the coach. "We all knew going into this season that we wanted to make history and with the leadership of Leigha and other upperclassmen, it made that goal easy to accomplish. Going forward, our women's team can carry that confidence they have built this year. The ultimate goal moving forward is to get the team to the NCAA championships and I truly believe we can. Leigha showed a glimpse of how that goal can be achieved and it definitely put a fire under the men's and women's teams."
Yet, the story is not over for Leigha and Coach Stowers. The upcoming Indoor and Outdoor Track season is set to start in February and they are excited to get back to work. Coach Stowers has high expectations for both seasons in the Spring. "Leigha and I spoke about goals on multiple runs this season, but the biggest one she has is to hit the NCAA provisional mark in the steeplechase. The goals after that in the steeple, indoor 3k, and outdoor 5k are just to see how fast we can run. We aren't putting too much pressure on time goals, just seeing how fit she can get!"
The future of the Cross Country and Track programs are on a great trajectory. Leigha and Stowers both have put this program on that trajectory. Come out and cheer on the Bobcats this Spring during their seasons. Let's Go Cats!!
