The nation's No. 1 rated 3200m runner in Destiny Collins revealed that she will attend the University of Texas at a signing party on Sunday afternoon in her hometown of Temecula, Calif.
Collins revealed her final three schools in the form of balloons emblazoned with a school logo: Texas, Baylor and the University of Southern California. She popped the USC and Baylor balloons to reveal her decision to sign with the Longhorns, who recently qualified for their fourth NCAA Cross Country Championships appearance in the past six years.
She also considered Oklahoma State University.
"I'm so excited to officially be a Longhorn!" she said via text. "I had three great schools in front of me, but out of the three, I felt Texas for me was going to do the best job of not only helping me achieve in running... but helping me after college when I...pursue my career!
"They are an amazing school with so many alumni and Austin is a great city! I'm so excited to be attending in the fall!"
Collins is the defending California state 3200m champion; she set her personal best of 9:53.79 at the CIF State Finals in May. She also owns personal best times of 4:40.34 for 1600m, 4:43.45 for One Mile, 15:58.3 for three miles (XC). She ran 10:00.90 for two miles to finish runner-up to national 5K record holder Anna Rohrer at the Brooks PR Invitational in June of this year.
She is one of a few recruits who already has international racing experience under her belt. Collins qualified for the IAAF World Youth Championships this past summer in Cali, Colombia, where she placed 16th in the 3K.
Collins is coached by Doug Soles, who heads the top-ranked cross country program in the nation in Great Oak High School. Collins' girls team currently ranks No. 2 and the boys team ranks No. 1 in the nation. Her teammate, Spencer Dodds, is the lead runner for the boys' team and also signed with the Longhorns during the early decision period.
See more signings from the Class of 2016 here.
