Niki-Lynn LeDuc '16 Recruiting Profile

It is my dream to compete as a college freshman long distance/cross-country runner. I am attending my Senior year at Plano West Senior High.  I am looking for a program and a group of girls that will challenge me to be a champion in every facet of my life. 

Academics - I am an accomplished student and have consistently challenged myself with AP and Honors courses throughout my high school career.  I value the lessons from the classroom as much as athletics because of the long-term benefits of an excellent education.

Athletics - Early in my athletic career, I worked hard to become a 2nd Degree Blackbelt and earned the silver medal at the National Championships.  During my taekwondo career in preparation for the National Championships, I found I really enjoyed the running part of our annual summer training.  Because of this experience, I decided to retire from competition in taekwondo to focus more on my new love, running.  Soon, the hard work each day to improve became a passion for me and I would like to continue that work in college. 

In my first year of high school, I ran times equivalent to those of my teammates on the Plano West varsity track team, but due to UIL rules over transfer students, I was not able to compete at the varsity level during my freshman campaign.

Last year, I ran both cross country and track.  I worked to becaome the top cross country runner on my team and have improved my times by over three minutes (CC 5K) since my first Varsity season my Freshman year.  I worked equally hard in track where I have worked to bring down my times by 0:28 (1600m) and 1:05 (3200m) respectively.  I achieved my PR in the 16K and 32K in my final meet of the year in a newly formed 6A super district which includes Allen, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Hebron, Marcus, McKinney Boyd, Plano, Plano East and my Plano West High Schools.  Some of my highlights from 2014-15 are listed below:

Major Wins

• 1600m @ 2015 Plano West Meet
• 1600m @ 2015 Plano East Relays
• 3200m @ 2015 Plano West Meet
• 3200m @ 2013 Wylie Invitational
• 2014 Lovejoy XC Fall Festival 
• 2014 Lake Highlands Invitational

I am again working daily to improve as a person, student and athlete this summer and have taken on a leadership responsibily with our Cross Country team. I beleive great thing are in store for my girls and I this coming year.

In my Sophomore year, I ran both cross country and track.  I qualified in the 3200m Run out of UIL District 10-5A (Allen, McKinney, Boyd, Plano, Plano East, Plano West) to the Area (Districts 9/10) meet where I attained the Silver medal.  At the Regional Meet, I ran hard and finished within 2 seconds of my PR.

Major Wins

• 3200m @ 2013 Wylie Invitational
• 2013 Plano ISD Invitational

Commitment - I am committed to practicing each day to achieve the goals I have for myself in my running.  I would bring the University my skills as a strong runner, a tenacious work ethic and a dedication to my team & academics.  I believe my skills and abilities could fit well into a national caliber program and enable me to contribute to the success of the Team.  I will be participating in high school cross-country in the fall and track this upcoming spring.

Goal Setting - Since I was in middle school, I sent and discussed with my father my goals for the week, the year, and the goals I want to reach within five years.  My goals cover everything for a balanced life that not only include the times I want to run during practices and during meets, but also my academic and personal goals.  This practice helped me to develop my goal setting abilities. 

My goal in college is to earn a degree in business and to push myself to the limit.  I love to compete and especially the most challenging competitions.  Running against ladies that are the very best in my sport help motivate me to have my best day.

Leadership - I pride myself on being a team leader.  The thing I love the most is developing goals with my teammates and encouraging them to achieve them. I also enjoy helping them push them to run through the pain when it's difficult. I try to keep a positive mental attitude and let them know when they are having a great workout and when they have to deal with the pain and push through.  I also feel strongly about setting a good axample by my actions and also not to show when I'm weak when i feel tired because then they will think that it's okay to not try hard when you are tested to the limits. Additionally, I communicate with the team to discuss other things outside of the sport.  Overall, I try to keep a positive attitude and teach others to have a positive attitude too because it makes life so much more fun!

Family - I come from a large family with four sisters and one brother.  Each of them have been four year letter winners in High school and champions in their sports.  One of my sisters won the JO National Championship in taekwondo and received scholarship offers as a pole vaulter and another earned a full scholarship to an SEC school in gymnastics.  Each one has provided leadership and inspiration in my journey. 

I am excited and look forward to getting to know you in the very near future.