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Leah Soro                  Class: Senior Hometown: Knoxville, Tenn. High School: West Height: 5-4 Birthdate: 07/22/1986

AT TENNESSEE:

2007: Leah did not compete during her junior campaign...She did fare well in the classroom, though, earning SEC Academic Honor Roll recognition for the second time...2006: Leah battled some nagging injuries early in the year before appearing in the last four meets of the season...The best performance was a gutsy effort at the SEC Championships, where she scored in the fifth position for the Lady Vols by taking 21st in a season-best time of 21:06.05 on the 6K course in Baton Rouge, La....Her first appearance of the campaign, she ran in the "Open Race" at the 6K ISU Pre-National Invitational and came away with an eighth-place outcome in 21:45.0...Reported in sixth for UT and 238th overall at the NCAA Championships in 24:00.9...Was 43rd of 155 entries and UT's seventh runner at the NCAA South Regional in 22:38.6...Off the course, she was a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll...2005: With only one season of high school distance running under her belt, Leah proved to be a very pleasant surprise as a freshman for UT Head Coach J.J. Clark...Earned both All-SEC and NCAA All-South Region accolades as a rookie...Wasted little time demonstrating her talents, as she was UT's second finisher and was third overall in a career-best 14:28.92 at the 4K Belmont Opener...In the Lady Vols' home opener, the Tennessee Invitational, she was third again and was the third Big Orange scorer in a 5K personal-record 18:21 as UT claimed victory...Ran second for the squad and was 21st overall in her first 6K foray, checking in with a time of 21:10.5 at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa....Was team's No. 3 scorer and was 26th overall in 21:40 at the 6K Penn State National Invitational...Contributed to Tennessee winning its third-straight SEC trophy by placing 11th overall and running fourth on the squad in a 6K career-best 20:20.22 at the league meet in Columbia, S.C....Was one of four Lady Vols to earn All-SEC acclaim...Elevated her game and was UT's number-two finisher, taking ninth out of 171 entrants in 21:01.54 at the NCAA South Regional...Earned All-South distinction for that performance...Closed out her first season in orange by running fourth for Tennessee and placing 199th in a time of 22:04.9 at the NCAA Championships...Also excelling in the classroom, she was a member of the Thornton Academic and Student Life Center Honor Roll...

HIGH SCHOOL:

Attended Knoxville's Catholic High School as a freshman and sophomore before completing her final two years and graduating from West High...Began her prep track career as a sprinter, running 100, 200 and 400 meters...Was on Irish 4x100-meter relay that placed eighth at state in her freshman season...Helped that relay take sixth the next year...When she transferred to WHS, however, coach Sam Roberts converted her into a distance runner...Saw action in only a junior varsity track meet as a junior before blossoming into the 2004 Prep Xtra Girls' Cross Country Runner of the Year in Knoxville as a senior in addition to being named the regional and Knoxville Interscholastic League Runner of the Year...Helped the Rebels win KIL and regional cross country titles that season, finishing first individually in each race...Was unable to run in the state meet due to injury, but West still came in fifth in the team standings...Logged a readout of 11:30.73 to win the 3200 meters at the 1-AAA sectional track & field meet in 2005...Charted a fifth-place effort of 11:59.26 in the 3200m at the AAA state meet...Career bests include 18:15 for three miles in cross country and 11:13 for 3200 meters, 5:21 for 1600 meters, 2:20 for 800 meters and 61 seconds for 400 meters in track...Also played volleyball for two seasons and swam one year during her high school career...Member of National Honor Society, Young Life and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at WHS...

PERSONAL:

Leah is majoring in environmental and soil science at UT...In her free time, she enjoys hiking, biking and reading...Her father and uncle competed in track & field at the University of Memphis, while her grandfather was a four-sport athlete during his college days at Southwestern...Has an older sister, Holley, 23...Leah Denise Soro was born in Knoxville, Tenn., on July 22, 1986...Her parents are Chris and Anne Soro.