Marty Gordon
Leila Haley, a senior track and field performer from Christiansburg High School, has announced a commitment to continue her career at Davidson College.
In a social media post, she thanked her family for their constant encouragement and support.
“I am deeply grateful for the role models in my family who have guided me and continue to show me the way,” she said.
Haley’s father, Dennis, is a former Salem, University of Virginia and professional football player.
Leila said she chose Davidson because of its strong academic reputation and supportive community.
“The college offers a great balance between athletics and academics, which is important to me as a student-athlete. Additionally, the track and field program at Davidson is exceptional, and I felt a strong connection with the coaches and team during my visit. Where they all welcomed me like i was one of their own. The sprint coach Zach Haupt started recruiting (me) last year, and I’ve built a great relationship with him during the recruiting process,” she said.
During her high school career, Haley has had several standout performances. She won the regional championships in the 55m (Indoor 2024), 100m (Outdoor 2024), 400m (Outdoor 2023), and Triple Jump twice (Indoor and Outdoor 2023).
She also broke separate school records including the 100,200,300 and 400m dashes and according to her, plans to break more this upcoming season.
Haley has also been honored as the MVP Track Athlete of the Year for two consecutive years and have received all-state recognition multiple times starting as early as Freshman Year.
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina and has a current enrollment of 1,922 undergraduate students. The school participates as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference in all sports other than football and wrestling.
Last season, Davidson finished the conference meet with three gold medals, two silvers and two bronze enroute to a sixth place finish out of 14 teams. Jen Straub, the longest tenured coach at Davidson College, is in her 24th season with the Wildcats and 10th as the Director of Track & Field/Cross Country. Straub led the charge as the program shifted from the Southern Conference to the Atlantic 10 in 2014 and has seen growing success each year since.
In college, Haley plans to compete in the 100m 200m and 400m sprints, as well as any relay.
She hopes to major in Biology. “I’ve always been passionate about science and understanding how living organisms function. Davidson’s rigorous biology program will provide me with the knowledge and skills I need for a future career in healthcare that I have already started working towards with already having my CNA and Pharmacy Tech licenses.”
