The Maroon wants you to get to know Loyola’s athletes. This week we’ll introduce you to cross country runner Rachel Leonard.
Rachel Leonard, psychology sophomore, may only be in her second year as a cross country runner for the Wolfpack this year, but she is anything but a stranger to the sport. Leonard joined the team but has already made a name for herself on campus. As a freshman she consistently finished as a top two runner for the Wolfpack in their six meets last season only behind teammate Mary Erin Imwalle, A’08, who was named to the All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and All-National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Region XIII teams. Leonard posted a personal best time of 22:50 in the Rhodes Invitational, a time she is determined to eclipse this season. Leonard has clearly set herself apart from her teammates partly because of her experience and her commitment to improving herself. “We do have a lot of new young talent on the team,” Leonard said, “but I’m expecting everyone to do well this year.” Andy Canegitta, cross country and track head coach, said, “We are a young team but Rachel uses her experience from last season to help her teammates in practice with their running.” During practice, the team normally runs six miles per day together at the Fly, in preparation for five kilometer races. On other days they work on improving their speed. These drills include 400 meter and 1000 meter repeats. When asked what she has done differently this year that has helped her make the most strides in her development as a runner, Leonard said, “I have just put in more work this season as far as lifting weights to improve my leg strength along with the six miles I run daily.” Other experienced runners include biology sophomore Kristen Francis, Madeline Falcone, music performance junior, and Melissa Wilson, psychology junior. Rachel is poised to qualify for the NAIA Region XIII Championships and lead the team past cross town back to back Gulf Coast Atlantic Conference Champions, Xavier University.Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected].
