When Nicki Southerland was six years old, she found out the University of Notre Dame had a leprechaun as its mascot. That was all it took for Southerland to determine Notre Dame was her favorite school; says she was obsessed with leprechauns at the time.
As the years passed, however, Southerland learned more about the college and its academic and athletic reputation, making it even more of an aspirational school for her.
Earlier this month, she made that dream a reality, committing to run for the Fighting Irish.
Southerland is a senior distance star from Delta (IN) High School and MileSplit's No. 19 girls recruit in the Class of 2024. She also visited Virginia, Oregon and Michigan this fall before heading to Notre Dame, which is about 140 miles north of her hometown of Muncie, Indiana.
"On my way home, I was making a list of pr...
