2012 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE | MEGAN LEASE
Megan Lease graduated cum laude in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history.
A cross-country standout, Lease was a five-time NAIA All-American and competed in 11 national championship events. She was a member of three straight Appalachian Athletic Conference and NAIA Region XII cross-country championship teams from 2003-05. Notable finishes include a 12th- place run in the marathon at the 2006 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, and a 15th-place finish at the 2005 NAIA Cross Country Championships. Lease was also the NAIA Dr. LeRoy Walker Champion of Character award recipient from Region XII in 2006.
Coach Chris Layne, who regrets that he could not be here this evening, has this to say about Megan: “Megan had an important attribute you can't coach - toughness. She was a gentle, caring person but she had this ability to push herself to a point most don't realize exists. I remember meeting her at the finish line after one of her outstanding 5k's at indoor nationals and I gave her a big hug and picked her up off the ground. When I put her down the first thing she said was "Coach, I almost passed out with a lap to go. I'm not sure how I finished."
That perseverance and determination have served Megan well. She has continued to run, training for two marathons in 2006 and 2011. After being waylaid by injuries weeks before each race, she says she decided she needed to find a different sport. In the beginning of this year, she began to train for the Kansas City Sprint Distance Triathlon, which she competed in May. She says she’s now hooked and plans to continue to train for longer distances.
Since graduating from Milligan, Megan has gone on a short-term missions trip to the Ukraine; served one year with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, living with and building Habitat for Humanity houses with other volunteers in Wilmington, Delaware; and completed a master’s degree in English literature at Appalachian State University. Currently, she is working on a PhD in Women’s Studies at the University of Kansas.
Please join me in recognizing Megan Lease as a 2012 Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.