With each step, Kaleigh Higgins is pushing beyond the boundaries.

“Running is just as much physical as it is mental,” said Higgins, a senior at Shaker High School.

She’s working every day to get just a little better and faster.

“We have fun when it’s time to have fun,” Higgins said. “But we are also serious and we get our work done. And we work hard for each other, and I think that has made all the difference.”

Over the last six years, Higgins has made quite the impact in cross country and track & field for the Blue Bison.

“As a junior high athlete, when I coached her on the high school team, she had great role models to look up to back then. I think that really helped her develop as a person and athlete,” said Marbry Gansle, who coached Higgins when she was in middle school.

“The thing about Kaleigh is that at a young age, even as a seventh grader, she was already a good competitive athlete,” said Keith Weiss, Higgins’ cross country coach and teacher.

That competitiveness has resulted in her claiming multiple school records, including the indoor and outdoor 3,000 meter run, the indoor 1,500, and the indoor 3,200 meter relay, which earned Higgins and her teammates All-American honors at March’s New Balance Nationals Indoor meet.

“She’s bubbling with confidence and she’s got a plan,” said Dave Schroeder, Shaker’s girls track & field coach.

“I think she brings a lot to our group too,” said Leonni Griffin, a Shaker junior and Higgins’ teammate. “She’s always encouraging us at practice.”

But beyond the athletic performances, Higgins is also a leader as a three-time captain for the cross country team, and a dedicated student carrying a 3.85 GPA. All those accomplishments have made her one of Spectrum News’ Upstate New York Scholar Athletes of the Year.

“She has all the qualities it takes to find success,” Weiss said. “Whether it’s determination, dedication, perseverance, she has it all.”

While her high school career will wrap up in a few weeks at the conclusion of the outdoor season, Higgins’ running career is far from over. This fall, she’ll head to Providence College to compete in cross country and track & field.

“Girls look up to her, and I keep saying ‘this is who you want to be,’ ” Schroeder said. “This is what you want to be. Watch what she does, and that’s who you want to emulate.”