TUSCOLA — Everyone was already curious about where Leah Patterson would continue her collegiate athletics career.
She won two more Class 1A state titles last spring and won the News-Gazette Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year award for the second year in a row. In her fourth year, her performance has become one of the most anticipated in the field.
But when Tuscola announced the star runner’s signing date in late October, curiosity only grew. The ceremony was scheduled for Friday night, but Patterson wanted everything else to be a surprise.
“I could be going to the smallest school or the biggest school there. I just wanted to keep it a secret so it would be more exciting.” Patterson said. “I was really excited to share it with everyone on the same day. I feel like spreading the word about where you were going as soon as you commit takes away the shine and I think it’s better to have everyone wait.” It will be much more fun and rewarding.”
For Patterson, it was worth the wait. On Friday night, she was surrounded by friends and family celebrating her commitment to Ball State.
Patterson’s recruiting process, which she said began in earnest last July, was long and stressful, but it was easy to join the Mid-American Conference program from Muncie, Indiana. It wasn’t a great decision. She wanted to put her academics first, so even though her times were worse than some freshmen attending large schools with historically successful track and field programs, she considered all her options. I left it open.
“I really fell in love with the campus. As soon as I stepped on campus, it just felt like home,” Patterson said of what drew him to Ball State. “The most important thing to me is that I feel comfortable. When I stepped on campus, I knew I could make this place my home for the next four years. And of course, I really liked the coaching staff. . They were so welcoming and really excited and really made me feel like I was hired and not just a name on the roster. did.”
In the end, Patterson is simply happy to have the opportunity to continue competing at the collegiate level, especially considering he wasn’t sold on the idea just a few years ago.
When Patterson was young and just starting out in sports, he played soccer and ran cross country. It wasn’t until eighth grade that she started considering the possibility of focusing on track and field.
“Eventually, I started doing track and field and a lot of people started saying, ‘She’s definitely going to run in college.’ She was able to make a career out of it,” Patterson said. “I thought people were just being nice. Being young, that was kind of crazy. At one point, I didn’t really think I’d end up running in college. For a long time, I thought it was a good thing. I liked thinking about it, but it never dawned on me that I would enjoy it enough to make a career out of it. I wasn’t into trucks until much later.”
She currently holds four Warrior personal records in the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles, and was a member of the record-setting 400-meter and 800-meter relay teams. Ta. In addition, she is a five-time individual state champion and helped Tuscola win its first girls track and field state title as a team in 2022.
Patterson has her sights set on lowering most of those records this spring, but her biggest goal is to break Jenny Kimbro’s 1A state 300 hurdles record (42.57 seconds) set in 2016. I finally achieved it with just 25/100 seconds left. This year’s state qualifier.
Patterson will spend the entire offseason training to achieve that goal. She decided to forego her senior basketball season to focus on staying healthy for track and field, a decision that surprised her colleagues.
Because of her dedication and the lack of basketball this winter, Patterson is already eager for spring.
“I’m glad I was able to give it my all now and go into track season without any stress,” Patterson said. “I know where I’m going and I love it. The coaching staff is great and I feel really comfortable and supported. With that mindset, I I’m really excited about what we can accomplish this track season.”
