(Photo: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)
Allie Kieffer ran for Arizona State but only for one school year as a grad transfer from Wake Forest.
She was ASU's top finisher at 49th at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships and ninth in the 3,000-meter at the 2010 Mountain Pacific Indoor Championships.
A nice contribution, but not an indicator of great things to come.
Nearly a decade later, Kieffer is among the top American marathon runners and a 2020 Olympic contender along with fellow former Sun Devils Amy Cragg and Desiree Linden.
That didn't seem possible even to Kieffer in 2013 when she gave up on professional running primarily due to injuries, moved from Boulder, Colo.