Track & Field | 12/4/2025 4:41:00 PM
GREENSBORO – When Deavion Deleon, a Papillion, Neb., native, lines up at the start of a race, she brings more than her speed. She carries two major surgeries, a move across the country, and a determination that refuses to fold.
That resilience pushed her into the history books, making her the first North Carolina A&T runner ever to earn All-Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) honors in cross country. A&T indoor track and field season begins on Saturday at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, NC, on the heels of the men's and women's cross country seasons ending in October.
She hopes to bring that same resilience to both indoor and outdoor seasons. To understand how she got to Aggieland from the University of Nebraska, you must understand everything she fought through on the way. Deleon's journey to A&T began with a feeling she couldn't ignore. Growing up and competing in Nebraska her whole life, Deleon often found herself in overwhelmingly majority spaces.
"I needed to get away from my PWI (predominantly white institution)," she said. "I knew it wasn't where I wanted to be, even when I first arrived. "I've never had a Black distance teammate in my life. In track, I'd have black teammates, but they were sprinters and jumpers. Never someone who looked like me doing distance."
The desire to find community and a better environment started growing louder. Deleon described going home recently and getting reminded of how isolating it often felt.
"I walked into a restaurant with about 100 people inside, and I was the only black person. That's what Nebraska is like."
Therefore, she started looking for somewhere she could grow fully. In that, Greensboro offered something Nebraska never did. The people, the culture, even the landscape, they were all different. Greensboro has hills, while Nebraska is flat. There was no other major university next to Nebraska, whereas A&T is in proximity to other HBCUs, ACC schools, and even another Division I school, only a few miles away. Greensboro feels open and full of possibilities.
But the most significant difference came down to relationships.
"I've never had a Black coach before," she said. "Having a coach who understands me, who believes in me, it matters. A lot. I felt stuck in Nebraska," she said. "My experience wasn't positive, and the atmosphere around running felt negative. There are coaches here who believe in me. That encourages me to do more."
That belief paid off quickly and historically. When Deleon crossed the finish line at the 2025 CAA Cross Country Championships, Deleon finished sixth overall. But in true Deleon fashion, she barely paused to celebrate.
"I haven't really sat down and thought about it," she said. "I'm already thinking about the next thing, which is track." I'm proud of what I did. But I know there's more."
She did, however, reflect on how cross country has prepared her for track. Cross country races are long and unforgiving. Thoughts creep in. Pain creeps in. Anxiety creeps in. But DeLeon runs with intention. Her confidence comes from the work she does when no one is watching.
One workout stands out: mile repeats beginning at 5:30 pace, dropping down to tempo at six minutes for multiple miles, and finishing with a 5:07 mile. Her success this year feels even more remarkable when you know how much she had to overcome physically. Her first major injury, which was a torn patellar tendon, went unnoticed for six months as she ran on it.
Deleon said she got an MRI exam and had surgery, which forced her to miss five months of training. Months later, she sustained a torn labrum in her hip, requiring another surgery in the summer of 2024. As a result, she did not compete during the 2024 cross country season at Nebraska.
"Running is all about consistency," she said. "And I didn't have that. Not for years."
The 2025 season marked the first time since her freshman campaign that she competed fully healthy. And it showed. Despite her cross country breakthrough, Deleon believes her true potential lies on the track. She plans to run the 800m and the mile this indoor season and already has ambitious goals:
- 2:07–2:06 range in the 800m
- Under 4:50 in the mile
"I feel like I'm underdeveloped in track because of all the injuries," she said. "This will be my first real track season where I'm healthy and in shape. I want to see what I can do in the mid-distance events. I think there's a lot there."
Deleon may have made history, but she speaks like someone just getting started. Her move to A&T didn't just change the trajectory of her career; it changed how she sees herself. She found teammates who resemble her. Coaches who believe in her. A community that feels like home.
For the first time in a long time, she isn't running from something; she's running toward it. And as she heads into track season healthier, faster, and hungrier than ever, one thing is clear.
She's just getting started here.
