Elaine Canchola was no ordinary freshman high school distance runner.
At the 1994 CIF-Southern Section cross country championships, the Nordhoff freshman bettered the Division III-A meet record by 62 seconds with a time of 17:35, the fastest-overall performance for all divisions of the day. But, Canchola wasn’t done that fall.
Over the next three weeks, Canchola would place second at state Division III finals in Fresno by six seconds and 19th at the Footlocker Nationals.
Canchola was off and running to become the section’s first four-time girls cross country champion and for nearly two decades as Ventura County’s only runner to achieve that feat.
Over her career, Canchola would add two state cross country and three section track individual titles.
The first of her state titles came at the 1995 meet, winning the III-A title by 36 seconds and setting a meet record in the process.
After being the 1996 state runner-up, Canchola stormed back to capture the 1997 Division IV title by 35 seconds.
With Canchola setting the pace, Nordhoff won four section and two state team titles.
At the 1997 section track and field finals, Canchola won the Division III 1,600- and 3,200-meter titles. She placed sixth in the state 1,600 final.
She repeated as a section 3,200 champion in 1998 as well as her second Masters 1,600 title.
Canchola had an immediate impact with the UCLA women’s cross-country team as a freshman. She helped the 1998 Bruins team qualify for the NCAA championships for the first time in a decade. Canchola was 45th at the Pac-10 finals. The next fall, UCLA returned to the national championships. Canchola placed 46th at the West Regionals.
Canchola set a school record for the 3,000-meter steeplechase with 10:39.62 for a seventh-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships. More than two decades later, the performance ranked No. 9 on the school’s all-time list.
Transferring to the University of Wisconsin for her senior year, Canchola placed second in the mile at the 2002 Big Ten Indoor Championships and helped the Badgers qualify for the NCAA cross country championships.
She and her husband Jeffrey Ley reside in Vancouver, Washington, with their son Leo.