Pictured, Elizabeth Leachman races at the 2023 UIL State Track and Field Championships
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Elizabeth Leachman's improvement has been trending up and to the right for most of her freshman outdoor track and field season. Her UIL season ended with a 5A state title in the 1600m as she ran a 4:47.28; that currently still sits as the fourth fastest time of the season in Texas. The Boerne Champion distance runner's lone defeat at that distance came at the Texas Relays where she finished fourth after leading the race for over three laps.
This weekend at the Nike Outdoor Nationals, Leachman showed her continued improvement when she ran the two mile. Competing for Celerity Track Club, she ran in the championship race and the end result was a 9:57.62 and third place finish. That run now sits as the TX No. 3 all-time best performance according to the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association (TTFCA) records. She ranks behind Natalie Cook's 9:41.05 (2022) and Brynn Brown at 9:47.57 (2021) .
Leachman just ended her academic freshman year, but was still able to run an extremely fast and elite time. While it isn't a phenomenon, it is a good sign. It's fairly common for girls to excel in the distance events at younger ages and grades. Yet, Cook and Brown ran the top two record marks in their senior years giving cause to be optimistic to Leachman's future performances and could propel her towards the upcoming cross country season.
***Table from TTFCA records
The Nike Outdoor Nationals two mile race could have been personal redemption for Leachman. The end of the UIL season in the 3200m came down to a tougher ending to handle for her than the 1600m did.
Leachman ran a 10:31.65 two mile indoors at the Nike Indoor Nationals. She initiated her outdoor season by running 10:52 and 10:53 in her first two 3200m races. When the championship season rolled around, things looked to be clicking as Leachman ran 10:22 at the District 26-5A and then 10:17 at the UIL District 5A-25/26 .
At the Region 4-5A Championships, her season ended early. Leachman failed to qualify for the state meet with a DNF in the event. She led by nearly 200m, but the last lap and a half laps looked to tax her energy systems and she did not cross the finish line.
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This weekend's Nike Outdoor Nationals race, Leachman who is accustomed to leading races went out with the field and was in 11th place after the first quarter mile with a 1:14.72 split. She followed with a 1:16.64 second lap for a 2:31 800m split. The remainder of the first the mile, Leachman continued to run with the leaders of the race. She followed that up with splits of 2:29.52 and 2:30.02 to throw in a sub five minute middle 1600m.
With the reputation of being a lead the race and press the pace strategist, Leachman now showed she she could successfully employ a different tactic. Although at the time, she was only less than a second behind the leader, there was a point in the race where she ran in 13th place, a far cry from her usual race positioning. However, she kept contact and made moves to stay engaged in the race and found herself in third place with only two laps to go.
The soon-to-be Boerne Champion sophomore ran a sub five minute mile middle mile and was still able to end with a speedy 2:26.71 last half mile. She placed third overall behind Jane Hedengren (9:54.37) of Provo, Utah and Charlotte Sinke (9:56.44) from Alberta, Canada to run the third best time in Texas history.