Leigh Daniel Having a Dream Season
June 21, 1999 | Indoor Track
February 25, 1999
By Greg Hulen, Texas Tech Media Relations - Texas Tech distance runner Leigh Daniel's career has been like something out of a storybook. She has risen from relative obscurity to become one of the most dominant running forces in the Big 12 conference and the entire nation. Ironically, just a few years ago probably no one would have thought this to be possible, especially Daniel.
"I look at the internet and see my name at the top of the standings, and I can't believe it is true," Daniel said. "Sometimes, I have to just pinch myself. It still seems like its a dream."
Unlike most of her racing competitors, Daniel's high school career wasn't centered around running. Instead, her years at Monterey High School in Lubbock were spent playing basketball and tennis. It wasn't until one lucky day in the weight room her senior year that everything changed.
"The distance coach knew I had quit tennis, and asked me if I would be interested in running track," Daniel said. "I wasn't too keen on the idea because I was more interested in just getting out of school early, but he kept on hounding me and finally I decided to give it a try. He originally tried me out at the 400 and 800, however, that didn't work out to well. Then he put me in the two mile and I won my first race."
Daniel went on to claim third at the state meet in the 3200 meters and earn the team's MVP award. In just a few short months with little training, she was beating people and earning recognition that many of those that had run for all four years of high school could only dream about.
Despite this, Daniel hadn't caught the eye of many college coaches. In fact, she had already decided to attend Texas A&M and not even run track.
"I never wanted to run in college because I didn't think I was that good," Daniel said. "Even after I made it to the state meet I wasn't sure. I loved running, but I still didn't know anything about what it took to compete at the collegiate level - times, training or any of that stuff. I never had a clue my times were good enough to move on."
Right before the state championships, the Texas Tech coaches offered her a scholarship to come and run for the Red Raiders.
It was a difficult decision for Daniel. While she had wanted to attend a university outside of Lubbock, the opportunities to have her education paid for, remain close to her family and continue running were all very appealing. In the end, these factors led to her becoming a member of the Texas Tech women's track and field team.
While many first-year team members struggled to make the adjustment to more rigorous training and talented competition, Daniel had no problem establishing herself as one of the top talents for the Red Raiders. In fact, her freshman year is one of the best first years ever for an athlete at Texas Tech.
Of all the newcomers on the team, hers was the biggest impact. She won the Texas Tech Open in only her fourth ever collegiate cross country race. Daniel went on to finish eighth at the District VI Championships and become the first Texas Tech woman since Maria Medina in 1984 to qualify for the NCAA National Cross Country Championships. At the championships, she finished 50th out of 184 competitors.
Daniel also made a huge impact as a freshman on the track team. She finished fifth in the 5,000 meters and fourth in the 10,000 meters at the Big 12 championships, as well as, picking up first place trophies in three different meets.
"It was weird how everything just fell into place," Daniel said of her instant success. "I don't want to say I was lucky, but I feel like I just ran well in the right races. My freshman year was a huge surprise to me, and I'm sure to everyone else who knew my background in running. I was fortunate to have good coaches and teammates that really showed me how to run."
While not a total disappointment, Daniel's sophomore year didn't have the big jump in improvement that had characterized her freshman campaign. Distance coach Kirk Elias had left Texas Tech. Things were in a state of flux. Daniel was forced to push herself in still a relatively new sport.
However, she continued to lead the team. In cross country, Daniel was the team's top runner leading the women in four of the six races on the season. This included three top four finishes, an 11th place finish at the Big 12 championships and an 18th place effort at the NCAA Mountain Regional.
During track, she took fifth in the 10,000 meters at the Big 12 outdoor championships and 14th in the 3,000 meters and seventh in the 5,000 meters at the indoor championships
Coming into the 1998-99 season, Director of Track and Field Greg Sholars made the decision to bring in a new distance and cross country coach. His choice was David Smith. Smith was a former Big Ten distance champion at Michigan State and was the head of the Northwest Running Club in Seattle, as well as, serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Washington.
From his experiences as a competitor and coach, Smith brought a new attitude and expectations for the distance runners. He expected them to compete at the highest levels of competition and be successful. In order to help his runners achieve this, Smith implemented a rigorous training schedule consisting of long intense workouts everyday in preparation for the upcoming seasons. Under his direction, Daniel benefited almost immediately.
After redshirting the cross country season, she shocked the track and field world when she recorded an NCAA indoor championships automatic qualifying time of 16:15.29 to win the women's 5,000 meters at the Cannon IV Classic meet in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was Daniel's first time competing in the event in 1999. Her mark would rank her No. 1 in the nation for the next three weeks and set a new Texas Tech and Big 12 conference record. Most impressively, it improved her previous best time in the indoor 5,000 meters by over 45 seconds. The best she had run before was 17:01.45. Currently, the time stands as the third best in the nation.
"It was one of the most amazing performance I've ever seen," Smith said. "It was a great personal record in her first performance of the year. She showed great speed at the end of the race passing in the last 200 meters the three women she had run with the entire race."
Daniel credits her new coach for much of her success.
"This is the level that I've wanted to be at since I came to school here," Daniel said. "I have such respect for Coach Smith because he has trained so many elite athletes. As soon as he got here, I was very excited to train with him. I knew that he knew what he was talking about. By his workouts and his confidence in me, it has all come together. When he tells me I can win a race, I trust him. Going into the race at Indianapolis, I would have normally been uncertain in myself and thought that the other girls were all better than me. He made me think I could be one of the top runners anywhere and that has helped a ton."
Even though she was assured a trip to the national championships, Daniel didn't rest on her laurels. She still had something to prove. Her opportunity would come at the Big 12 indoor championships in Manhattan, Kansas. She would run the 5,000 meters and 3,000 meters on back-to-back days and be expected to pick up vital points for the women's team. Daniel proved to be up for the challenge.
The 5,000 meters would be a battle similar to the one she had experienced in Indianapolis. Daniel and Sherri Smith of Baylor battled for the top spot the entire race. Each lap, it seemed as if one would pass the other. As the number of laps remaining quickly dwindled, it became more and more evident that neither girl would be broken; the winner would be decided in the final 200 meter lap.
With the clang of the last bell, the crowd rose and cheered in anticipation of the race's outcome. As the two runners made their way around the first turn, Daniel stumbled and almost fell. This allowed Smith to take her largest lead in the race. However, Daniel quickly recovered and began closing the gap. Going into the last fifty meters, it became a battle of wills; who wanted it most. Daniel kicked into a sprint and passed Smith right at the finish line to win her first Big 12 championships. Her time of 16:31.38 set a new meet and Ahearn Fieldhouse record.
"I really didn't feel like I ran a great race like I did when I had a 16:15 at Indianapolis," Daniel said. "I stuck to the leader's heels and fought her hard to the last 200 meters. In the end, I felt I had a little more and pulled on through to win. All I wanted to do was win and get points for our team. I wasn't concerned with my time, but it was nice to set a new record."
Although fatigued from her race in the 5,000 meters, Daniel returned the next day and took fourth in the 3,000 meters to score more points for Texas Tech. It would be another gutsy performance in which she would post a time good enough to qualify her for the NCAA championships in the event.
For the meet, Daniel would lead the women's team with 15 individual points in the meet and help them to their best scoring performance at the Big 12 indoor championships in school history.
With the indoor national championships and the upcoming outdoor season on the horizon, the future is very bright for Daniel. The incredible thing is, her running career has just begun.
"Leigh Daniel is the most special women's running talent I have ever seen," Smith said. "She hasn't even come close to reaching her potential yet because it is so early in her running career. Leigh is already running times with just a few months of training that would earn her All-America status almost any year. If the focus and dedication is there, she has the talent to be a future Olympian."
"I look at my times and think how in the world did I do that," Daniel said. "Seventeen minutes in the 5,000 meters use to seem so hard. Everything has just fallen into place. It's exciting and kind of scary, but definitely a dream come true."