Hall of Fame
Leleith Hodges, a five-foot sprinter from Islington, St. Mary in Jamaica, won the Caribbean high school championship in the 100 meters at the age of 17 and graduated in 1972. But she decided not to pursue a college education and spent the next six years working. She made the Jamaican national team and ran only during the summer months. Hodges, who competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, realized that running just three months a year was not what she wanted. So she spoke with former TWU track student-athlete Audrey Reid, who is also from Jamaica. Reid told Hodges about TWU's excellent academic programs and top track and field team. After some delays in receiving a student visa from the Jamaican government, Hodges arrived at TWU in January 1978.
Her freshman season turned out to be her best ever. The 24-year-old sprinter entered the AIAW outdoor track and field national championships in Knoxville, Tenn., with the nation's best time in the 100 meters (11.05). In the finals, she established an AIAW record with an 11.18, besting the meet record of 11.32 set by UCLA's Evelyn Ashford the previous year. Hodges ran away from Ashford, who finished second at 11.42. She also anchored the Pioneers' 4x100 meter relay team, which finished second with a time of 45.41.
Two weeks after the AIAW championships, TWU went to the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national meet in Los Angeles. Hodges and Tennessee State's Brenda Morehead set a new AAU record in the 100 meters on the first day of the championships. They finished in a dead heat with a record time of 11.14 in the semifinals. That pace was also a record for a Jamaican sprinter as well. The following day in the finals, Hodges hit the wire with a time of 11.23 to Morehead's 11.25. Then she captured her second national title of the day with a record-setting victory in the 440-yard relay. TWU ripped off a 44.61, beating the old meet mark of 44.9 set by Tennessee State in 1971.
Hodges was ranked the number two sprinter in the world behind Marlies Gohr, a German runner. For her outstanding accomplishments, Hodges was named the Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year for 1978.
In 1979 in East Lansing, Mich., Hodges defended her AIAW 100-meter title with a first-place time of 11.81 against a strong wind. Dr. Bert Lyle, TWU's head coach, commented on how strong the wind was blowing, so much that it kept breaking the finish tape. Hodges went on to earn third place in the 440-yard relay, which TWU ran in 45.83.
Hodges began her junior season with a national indoor title. She ran in the AIAW Indoor National Championships in Columbia, Mo., in March 1980 and took first place in the 60 meters with a time of 7.30. At the Texas AIAW state championships in Austin in April, Hodges helped TWU set a new state medley record of 1:40.37. She was also part of the 4x100 meter relay team that took first place with a time of 46.53. She finished second in the 100 meters in 11.75 seconds after suffering cramps in her hamstring. For the first time ever, she had her leg wrapped before a race.
Set to defend her back-to-back titles in the 100 meters, Hodges prepared for the AIAW national championships in Eugene, OR, although her hamstring was sore. She finished fifth in 11.50 seconds. She also placed fifth with TWU's sprint medley relay team, which ran a 1:40.6, just .1 seconds slower than its best time of the year. The Pioneers' 400-meter squad was forced to scratch from the finals due to injuries.
Hodges came back in the 1981 season and won the 100 meters in the Texas Relays in April after stumbling in the blocks. The TWU 4x100 relay, led by Hodges, also placed first. She set a new meet record at the Baylor Invitational in the 100 meters with an 11.61, breaking her own mark of 11.70 set the year before. She also ran the leadoff legs on the Pioneers' winning 440-yard and sprint medley relay teams.
Her fabulous collegiate career ended with her final appearance in the AIAW outdoor national championships in Austin in May 1981. Hodges raced to a second-place finish in the 100 meters. Her time of 11.24 was just four-hundredths of a second behind winner and fellow Jamaican, Merlene Ottey of Nebraska. Also, the Pioneers' 400-meter relay team took third with a 44.95 clocking.
Hodges stayed at Texas Woman's to finish her degree and graduated in 1982 with a B.S. in physical education. She received numerous AIAW All-America awards during her collegiate career. She represented Jamaica on the national team for 13 years, competing in the Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games, World Cup Championships, Caribbean Games, and three Olympics (1972, 1976 and 1980). In Moscow in 1980, Hodges earned her highest Olympic finish when the 4x100 relay team placed fourth.
Hodges resides in Altadena, Calif., with her husband, Daniel, and their three children, Randy, Tanya and Natasha.
