TROY — Friends and family have always been at the top of the priority list for Troy High School senior Leah Harnish.

And it factored in to her decision to continue her track and field career at Wright State University.

Harnish, the daughter of Kevin and Nikole Harnish, made it official Thursday morning in the Trojan Activity Center, signing her letter of intent to run for the Raiders.

“I like the program and it is close to home,” Harnish said about her decision to run for Wright State.

And it will reunite her with former high school teammate Brennah Hutchinson — a sprinter like Harnish — at Wright State.

“Brennah (Hutchinson) is going to run for them and Gavin (Hutchinson) will be on the team,” Harnish said. “So, I am looking forward to that.”

Troy girls track and field coach Kurt Snyder said Wright State is a great fit for Harnish.

“She (Leah Harnish) looked into everything, making sure they had the major she wanted and everything,” Snyder said. “We had a run like this five or six years ago with a three or four Troy runners at Wright State. And Blake Guillozet is an assistant coach so we have that connection. It is great to see.”

Harnish is coming off a break-out junior season in track.

She broke the Troy school records in the 100-meter dash (12.37) and 400-meter dash (57.26), finishing seventh at the D-I state meet in the 400.

“I am hoping for a really big senior season,” Harnish said. “I am not going to say winning at state, but certainly finishing higher than I did last year.”

It was Harnish’s first full season in track after losing her freshman season to Covid and being injured part of her sophomore season.

Being the competitor that she is, Harnish was hoping for more.

“I know Leah (Harnish) may have been a little disappointed with the way it ended, but I certainly wasn’t,” Snyder said. “He first full season and she sets the school record in the 100, 400 and some relays and make All-Ohio. I thought she had a great season.”

And Snyder said she will only get better.

“I expect her to have a big senior season,” Snyder said. “With only having had one full season, she still has a lot of running left in those legs. Which is good news for Wright State.”

Harnish was also a standout in soccer for Troy.

She scored 48 goals and and had 24 assists in her career, including 21 goals and seven assists this season.

“I loved soccer,” Harnish said. “But, I was ready to be done playing soccer.”

Now, she focuses on another big season on the track at Troy and doing the same for Wright State.

You can reach Sports Editor Rob Kiser at [email protected]