Lesley Higgins

Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Littleton, Colo.
High School:
Arapahoe

Wetmore on Higgins: She has scored for us regularly us on a conference level and qualified in the past for the NCAA steeplechase. I'm sure she hopes to improve her personal bests in her senior year and contend for a scoring position in the NCAA steeplechase.

2001 Track & Field: Higgins showed by example why she was noted as one of the premier mile runners in the nation, as well as one of the top distance runners in the Big 12 Conference. Higgins was one runner away from being the NCAA Champion in the mile run with a time of 4:42:36, after taking first in the prelims a day earlier. She took second at the ISU Last Chance in the mile run, while getting sixth place at the Big 12 Championships in the 3,000 meter run (9:38:44). Higgins' dominant running ability continued into the outdoor season when she placed second at the Cardinal Qualifier (4:24:71) in the 1,500 meters, and took home championship honors during the Cowtown Classic (10:51:18) in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. She broke the CU record, and set her personal best time of 10:17:69 in that same event just six days later at the Mt. SAC Relay's a 30 second difference between the two meets. Higgins took second in the Big 12 Championships with a time of 10:37.96 behind NCAA record holder Kerry Hils of Missouri. Higgins stayed with Hils for the first seven laps, however over the last 600 meters, Hils was able to pull away for the win in 10:28.82.

2000 Track & Field: Again Higgins had an outstanding track season competing in both the indoor and outdoor campaigns. During the indoor season she competed in the 1,000 meters run finishing 8th and 7th at the Big 12 Indoor Championships (2:53.9/2:55.10). She had an outstanding outdoor season competing in five events including the CU record breaking distance medley relay team (11:03.82) which broke the previous record of 11:23.34 obtained in 1999 (Higgins was also a part of this team as well). In the first race of the season she finished 2nd in the 800 meters dash (2:14.5) at the Colorado Invitational and set a personal record at the Jim Click Shootout in April (2:11.60). Higgins also achieved a personal best in the 1,500 meters (4:26.73) and 3,000 meters (9:26.02) which also provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships. At the NCAA Championships she placed 8th achieving another personal best for the 3,000 meters run (9:24.32). She was also a member of the 1,500 meters relay team finishing 4th at the Penn Relays (17:50.66).

1999 Track & Field: Higgins was outstanding during the indoor season, earning Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships Freshman of the Year. She continued to improve her time in the 1,000 meters run, where she not only won the event at the Big 12 Championships, but also set a personal best of 2:50.89. Higgins also excelled in the 3,000 meters run in her first collegiate season, running a personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 9:39.81. She was also a part of the CU record breaking distance medley relay team of along with Carrie Messner, Cynthia Newsome and Kara Grgas-Wheeler, which won the DMR at the Cannon IV Classic (11:23.34). The previous CU record time was 11:32.81, set in 1998. Her momentum carried over to the outdoor season where she attained a personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying 9:34.77 in the 3,000 meters relay at the Cardinal Qualifier.

High School: Higgins was an all-state selection her sophomore through senior seasons. Her prep cross country career culminated in a third team all region performance with an 18th place finish at the 1997 FootLocker Midwest Regional Championships. Higgins was the 1998 Colorado State 5A Champion in the 1,600 (5:06.46) and 3,200 (11:34.81) and 3,200 meters Relay State Champion. Graduated from Littleton's Arapahoe High School with prep records in the 1,600 meters (5:06.46), 3,200 meters (11:34.81), 5,000 meters (18:58.09) distances as well as a member of the 4x400 meters (4:00.75), 4x800 meters (9:27.17).

Personal: Lesley Anne Higgins was born June 10, 1980 and is the daughter of Joe and Barbara Higgins of Littleton. She is a 1998 graduate of Arapahoe High School. Chose Colorado after being recruited by Big 12 opponents Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Kansas State as well as LSU, Arizona State, West Point, TCU, South Carolina, Princeton and Columbia.