Former UALR Trojan Leah Thorvilson won the women’s segment of the Little Rock Marathon Sunday, completing the 26.2 mile course in 2:44.19, almost five minutes faster than second place.  She competed in both cross country and track and field for the Trojans.

Ashish Bhakta of Little Rock, a graduate student working a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling, won the wheelchair division of the marathon with a time of 4:36. It was his second marathon.

Thorvilson won the women’s division besting 520 female runners and finished 16th overall out of 1,382 total runners.

While at UALR, Thorvilson set records in both cross country and track and field and is still listed on many top performance lists.

The two-time NCAA South Central All-Region, two-time All-Sun Belt, and three-time Sun Belt Conference Runner of the Week for cross country won the 2002 Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships leading her team to their second-straight team title and earning her Sun Belt Conference Outstanding Performer.

At the 2002 NCAA South Central Region, she recorded the highest finish of any Trojan women’s athlete with a 11th place finish and led the women’s team to their highest recorded team finish of fifth place.