CU Athletic Hall of Fame Profile: Donna Waller

Editor's Note: It's Hall of Fame Week for Colorado Athletics! The 11-member Class of 2018 will be inducted on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Boedecker Gym in the CU Events Center, and will be recognized at Saturday's football game against Washington State at 1:30 p.m. Our third CU Athletic Hall of Fame Profile is Donna Waller, All-American track & field hurdler.

Donna Waller (Queen) paved the way for female sprinters at the University of Colorado through the numerous accolades she acquired during her time in Boulder from 1984-87, and now her legacy will forever be cemented in the Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame.

Waller received All-American honors twice during her senior year. She placed fifth in the 55-meter hurdles (7.77 seconds) at the 1987 NCAA Indoor Championships, and later that spring finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (13.33) at the NCAA Outdoors. Additionally, Waller was a two-time Big Eight Conference champion in the indoor 60-yard hurdles.

Waller began her career in middle school when she tried out for the 100-meter sprint in the seventh grade. After losing out to a group of eighth graders her coach suggested she try hurdling, which at the time was an event she had never even heard of.

"I thought that I wasn't going to run track because I had no idea about all the other events," Waller said. "But I was really good at hurdling. It's tough to teach a person how to three-step so when I ran through it initially I just jumped with whatever leg came up, and when we came back the coach said 'hey try this, try to take three steps in between.' I did and got even better at it."

Waller was leaving her mark in Colorado's history books before she even stepped foot on CU's campus, winning the state championship in the 100-meter hurdles her senior year at Pomona High School in Arvada, Colo.

The track program was still in its early stages when she was attending CU, and because Waller was the only female hurdler on the team, she would regularly practice with the male sprinters, which is something she heavily credits to her success as a runner.

"I always considered it an advantage because I feel like you practice how you perform," Waller said. "And if I was practicing by myself I could do repeat after repeat and not necessarily get any faster if I didn't have anyone to push me."

After her college career Waller spent time running professionally for Nike, Reebok and the Goldwin Track Club and was a three time qualifier for the Olympic trials (1988, '90 & '92), missing the 1992 Olympic team by only .01 seconds.

Waller's greatest memory as a Buff, however, didn't come from her time running. Instead, it came from the culture of comradery that continues to exist amongst athletes at CU.

"I just have fond memories of the relationships that I created at that time, I think we got more intimate relationships because it wasn't a large team," Waller said. "A lot of the football players and other athletes were good friends of mine too, there was just a great culture at CU and I'll never forget it."

After her professional career, Waller spent some time coaching at Long Beach State (1997) where she coached eight Big West Conference champs and then at CU (1999-2002) where she mentored three Big 12 champions and one Olympian. Her most recent coaching endeavor was at a high school in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 2015 before relocating back to the United States.

Waller now resides in Pensacola, Fla., with her husband Matthew Queen, another former All-American at CU, and two children. She is as an academic counselor at Georg Stone Technical College.

Waller joins a long list of successful athletes that have had their name forever inscribed in the CU's history books, an accomplishment that she holds very dear to her heart.

"I've always felt that I was a runner, running is just what I did," Waller said. "Being inducted to the Hall of Fame is one of the biggest honors I could never have imagined. It's absolutely an honor and I'm thankful to be able to have my name next to all the great men and women that competed at CU."

Colorado University Athletics

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