AUSTIN, Texas – Elizabeth Leachman entered herself into the Olympic Trails conversation by breaking the indoor and outdoor national high school 5,000 meters record, as well as the 3,200 meters outdoors, all as an underclassman.
However, still top of mind for the Boerne Champion runner was bringing home gold at the 2024 UIL State Track & Field meet.
Leachman opened Class 5A competition Friday with a staggering performance in the 3,200-meter run. The sophomore broke the 5A record with her time of 10:11.40.
“It was definitely a relief,” Leachman said. “I really didn’t know what to expect going into today. So, you know, just for it to work out well like that, and to have all the support I had around me, it was great to be able to finish that home stretch and realize that I was able to pull through it.”
This time, Leachman did not offer her signature wave and smile to the crowd before she crossed the finish line. After the race, Leachman said her focus was to run the race comfortably after sustaining a hamstring injury at regionals — where she also won the 3,200-meter regional title in record-breaking fashion.
“The focus was just trying to make sure that I felt OK to get through the whole race, instead of, you know, working for a certain time,” Leachman said. “As long as I could kind of stay out there, out front and feel comfortable with the moves being made, that was the main idea.”
Boerne Champion’s prized distance runner later took home the gold medal in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:41.36 on Friday night.