By: Eleanor Bruce
Joe Leventry made program history at the University of Montevallo by qualifying for both indoor and cross-country national finals.
Leventry is the first athlete to qualify for the national finals for both indoor and cross-country and said that his biggest achievement is holding nine of the school’s records for dis“I hold nine of our school records for distance running,” Leventry says is his biggest achievement. tance running.
Leventry is a senior at Montevallo, finishing his degree in management. He currently works at a local running shop in Homewood, “work is hardly work, it is in the running industry,” says Leventry, “the flexibility and understanding of my work makes it a lot easier to balance everything.” Leventry hopes to go into shoe sales after college and to continue running competitively.
Leventry started running in 7th grade after he quit football and his mum signed him up for a cross-country race. “I wouldn’t consider myself a very good high school athlete, I was pretty mid-tier,” said Leventry, “when I came here, what really helped was the care and compassion that came from my coaches.”
Leventry said that it is easy to work hard for his coaches because they are some of his best friends, “you are more than just a number to them.”
Leventry set the Freshman cross country 8k record and remembers his Coach Tommy Barksdale telling him, “there is so much more you’re going to do, you just don’t see it yet.” Leventry said, “I didn’t see the potential until he saw the potential in me.” Leventry also credited Coach Julia Marquardt for helping him with the mental side of his training and racing.
When talking to other schools during the recruitment process, Leventry was told many times that he was making a mistake choosing Montevallo. “Every time I go out there, I’m putting on not just for myself but for the University as a whole,” said Leventry, “I need to show people that good athletes come through this school.”
Leventry plans to take a fifth year here at Montevallo. “I have realised how much the program has invested in me this year,” he said. The program flew him to Boston to race indoors which is where he qualified for nationals. “When I went to cross-country nationals, my team had a watch party and got together to watch me on the livestream,” said Leventry. This team support is what urged him to stay at Montevallo, “the support from them has been huge.”
After he graduates, Leventry hopes to sign a small contract or sign with a club and continue competitive running. “The Olympic trials would be my ultimate goal, either in the 5k or the marathon,” he said.
Leventry works closely alongside Athletic Trainer Kailin Parker, “he is probably the most laid back, easy to work with, caring and funny dude I’ve ever met,” she said. Kailin expressed her enjoyment working with Joe, “he will do anything you ask him to do with an absolute smile on his face and 100% at all times.”
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