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AT USC: Leah Gaeta enters her fourth year on the USC cross country team...2010: Among USC runners, finished second twice, third once and fourth once during the season...Set a 6K PR of 21:52.9 in finishing 12th overall and third among Trojans to help USC place third at the CS Northridge Invitational on Oct. 16...Earned the Coach's Award for Fall of 2010. 2009: Was USC's third finisher at the UC Irvine Invitational with a time of 18:50.80 as the Trojans placed fifth with its top four runners being separated by 3.6 seconds....Went back home to compete in Palo Alto at the Stanford Invitational and placed 116th as USC's sixth finisher with a time of 23:31...Had a season-best 20th-place finish and a time of 18:44 to help lead USC to the team title at the Vanuard Invitational on Oct. 10...Was USC's eighth finisher at the Pac-10 Championships with a time of 22:43.78 on Oct. 30...2008: Had a solid first season as a Trojan, being one of the top seven Trojans at every meet in which she competed...Had a best 6K of 22:05.90 to place 14th at the Pepperdine Invitational which the Trojans won on Oct. 4...Also helped USC win the CS Bakersfield Invitational with a 5K PR of 18:04.40 on Oct. 17...Also ran on the track team in the spring with a best time of 4:44.30 in the 1500m.
HIGH SCHOOL: Gaeta is a 2008 graduate of Palo Alto Senior High in Palo Alto, Calif...Was a three-sport star in high school, competing in cross country, track and soccer...Only ran cross country her senior year (2007) and was selected to the All-League team...Was Palo Alto's top finisher in her first race with a time of 14:26 on the 2.2 mile course...Finished eighth at the Palo Alto City Championships with a time of 13:54 on a 2.2 mile course...Ran 2:22.96 at the De Anza League Finals to take fourth place...Was her high school's 2008 MVP in track and field...Ran PRs of 1:01.00 in the 400m, 2:19:.34 in the 800m, 5:20 in the mile and 20:00 in the 5K...Was a midfielder/forward on the soccer team and was the team's captain as a senior.
PERSONAL: Leah was born on Sept. 18, 1990 in La Jolla, Calif...Her grandfather received a football scholarship to USC, but hurt his back before enrolling...Her mother Laura was a synchronized swimmer at Bucknell...Favorite pastimes outside of running are spending time with her family and following Major League Baseball...Lists her favorite food as paella...Places she would like to visit include Australia, Morocco and South Africa...Lists her favorite MLB team as the San Francisco Giants, favorite band as the Dave Matthews Band, favorite TV show as The Franchise and favorite movie as Field of Dreams...Is working towards a B.S. in Kinesiology and a B.A. in Biological Sciences, Pre-Medicine...Is a member of the Dean's List, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society...Named honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic in 2010.
