June 2, 1999

LUBBOCK, Texas - Leigh Daniel Looks to Capture National Championships

Texas Tech women's distance runner Leigh Daniel will look to capture her second and third individual national championships when she competes at the NCAA outdoor championships this week. She will race in the 10,000 meters on Thursday at 9:10 p.m. and the 5,000 meters on Saturday at 9:45 CST. During the indoor season, Daniel took Texas Techs first ever track national championship when she won the 5,000 meters in a collegiate best time of 16:01.11.

National Leader in Distance

Leigh Daniel is one of the nations top distance runners. As of June 1, she is among the top five collegiate womens runners in three different races. She holds the nations best collegiate time in the 10,000 meters, second best in the 5,000 meters and fifth best inthe 3,000 meters.

Red Raider Women Ranked

Thanks to Leigh Daniel and her tremendous outdoor season, the Texas Tech womens track and field is ranked 11th in the final track wire team poll with a projected 20 points at the NCAA outdoor championships. It is the highest rating for the team this season. Individually, Daniel is ranked No. 1 in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in the Trackwire Dandy Dozen.

Daniel Dominating the Field

Distance runner Leigh Daniel has not lost a race in her seven competitions this outdoor season. In fact, in every outdoor race 3,000 meters or greater she has won by four seconds or more. The only time she didnt take first in a race in 1999 was at the Big 12 indoor championships when she took 4th in the 3,000 meters oned day after winning her first conference championships in the 5,000 meters.

Record Setting Raider

Besides making her mark winning races, Daniel has also done it setting new records everywhere she has gone. So far she has set ten new records this year

Indoor Records 
Texas Tech 5,000 meter indoor record 
Texas Tech 3,000 meter indoor record
Big 12indoor championships 5,000 meter record
Ahearn Field House (KSU) record in 5,000 meters
Outdoor Records
Texas Tech 3,000 meter outdoor record
Texas Tech 5,000 meter outdoor record
Texas Tech 10,000 meter outdoor record
Big12 outdoor championships 3,000 meter record
Big12 outdoor championships 5,000 meter record
Cobb Track (Stanford) 10,000 meters record

Daniel Receives National Attention

Daniel has become quite the celebrity in her breakout season of running. So far she has been recognized in Sports Illustrateds Faces in the Crowd and Trackwires Athlete of the Week, as well as, in feature stories in Track and Field News San Antonio Express-News, Dallas Morning News, Associated Press, Lubbock Avalanche Journal and Red Raider Sports Magazine.

Daniel Finalist for Honda

Perhaps one of the most significant honors Leigh Daniel has received this year has been being named one of the four finalist for the Honda Award along with Suziann Reid of Texas, Tricia Smith of Pittsburgh and Sielala Sua of UCLA. The award is given to the top womens collegiate track and field athlete each year.