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Wayne State University Athletics

Catherine Leix headshot

Catherine Leix

UPDATED June 28, 2024

Catherine Leix finished her seventh season assisting with the Warrior swimming program in the spring of 2024 following a highly successful career as a Warrior swimmer, which culminated with her induction into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.

She was the first WSU student-athlete to be a CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year (2012 At-Large) [There has only been three - Cedric Drenth, Men's Tennis in 2023 and Anais Ruyssen in 2024].  Leix was a two-time CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.  In addition, she earned the GLIAC Commissioner's Award for Academic and Athletic Excellence in both 2011 and 2012.  A three-time member of the GLIAC Academic Honor Roll, Leix was the 2011-12 WSU Female Student-Athlete of the Year.

Leix won five GLIAC titles during her collegiate career, including back-to-back years in both the 500 free and 1650 free.  Nine times she finished either first or second in a GLIAC Championship race.  Leix was a 16-time All-American (11 First Team, 5 Honorable Mention) along with a national champion in the 800 free relay as a senior in 2012 as WSU won its only team national championship since 1990. 

She was a three-time First Team All-American in the 500 free, 1650 free and 1000 free, and a two-time First Team All-American in the 800 free relay.  In addition, Leix was a two-time Honorable Mention All-American in the 200 free, while earning Honorable Mention All-America accolades as a freshman in the 800 free relay, 1000 free and 1650 free.

Since graduating from WSU in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in education (biology major, math minor), Leix has served as a math teacher at Warren De La Salle High School, while spending five years (2012-17) as an assistant swim coach for the Pilots.  In addition, she was the head girls swim coach at Macomb Dakota for two seasons (2012-13, 2013-14).  Leix also completed a master's degree in 21st Century Teaching and Learning from Marygrove College in 2016.
 
2011-12:  NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:  Earned a national championship on the 800 free relay which set a school record (7:22.27) … posted four top-10 individual finishes to total five All-America honors altogether … placed third in the 500 free (4:51.87), seventh in the 1650 free (17:06.02) and eighth in the 1000 free (10:11.11) … finished 10th in the 200 free (1:50.64).  GLIAC CHAMPIONSHIPS:  Repeated as conference champion in the 500 free (4:54.40) and 1650 free (17:09.60) … broke the Jenison pool records in both events and the 21-year-old GLIAC record in the 500 free … was also part of the first-place 800 free relay (7:27.69) which set school, pool, league and meet records … placed second in the 200 free (1:52.23).  SEASON:  Competed in 11 meets … top time in 100 free (53.83; relay leadoff) at Eastern Michigan Invitational … 2:13.27 in 200 butterfly Nov. 18 vs. Ashland ... named the Detroit Athletic Club's Michigan Female Student-Athlete of the Year ... selected as the CoSIDA Academic At-Large All-American of the Year (becoming the first WSU student-athlete in school history to earn Academic All-American of the Year honors) ... voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Women's At-Large First Team ... selected WSU's Female Student-Athlete of the Year ... Deans' Award winner from the College of Education for having the highest cumulative grade-point average among all student-athletes in that particular college … selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-Distrct Women's At-Large First Team ... named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team and the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team ... recipient of the Winter 2012 GLIAC Commissioner’s Award for excellence both in the classroom and on the field of play ... 2011-12 recipient of the DII ADA Academic Achievement Award ..

2010-11:  NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:  Collected four All-America accolades (three First Team, one Honorable Mention) … finished fifth in both the 500 free (4:56.98) and the 1650 free (17:07.80) … placed seventh in the 1000 free (10:13.98) and 12th in the 200 free (1:52.08).  GLIAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: Won conference titles in the 500 free (4:58.60) and 1650 free (17:16.98) … placed third in the 1000 free (10:15.41) … led off the fifth-place 800 free relay (7:46.04).  SEASON: Top time in the 200 butterfly (2:15.80) Oct. 30 at Oakland ... named GLIAC Swimmer of the Week (Jan. 10) and CollegeSwimming.com Counsilman-Hunsaker National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week (Jan. 12) after accumulating nearly 15 percent of WSU's points in a 152.5-147.5 dual meet victory Jan. 8 at Grand Valley State, winning the 500 (5:09.20) and 1000 (10:35.25) freestyle events and placing fourth in the 200 butterfly (2:18.98) ... received a Winter 2011 Meijer Commissioner’s Award ... voted to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America At-Large First Team … selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's At-Large First Team ... named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team... 2010-11 recipient of the DII ADA Academic Achievement Award. 

2009-10:  Competed at the Nov. 21 dual meet at Calvin, but missed the rest of the season due to an injury … named to the GLIAC All-Academic Team.

2008-09:  NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Claimed four First Team All-America titles ... finished fourth in both the 500 and 1000 freestyles (4:55.48, 10:08.59) ... placed eighth in the 1650 free (17:07.96) ... led off the fifth-place 800 free relay which set a school record (7:27.82) ... came in 19th in the 200 free (1:53.07).  GLIAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: Finished second in the 1000 free (10:21.02), third in the 500 free (5:01.62) and fifth in the 200 free (1:54.55).  SEASON: Made a national "A" cut in the 1650 free (17:27.68) on Dec. 5 at the EMU Invitational ... swam third leg of the school-record setting 800 free relay (7:40.40) the next day ... named to the GLIAC All-Academic Team and the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV Women's At-Large College Division Second Team.

2007-08:  NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Earned three Honorable Mention All-America awards ... finished 13th in the 1000 free (10:32.21) and 15th in the 1650 free (17:58.44) ... swam the final 200 of the ninth-place and school record-setting 800 freestyle relay (7:41.26) ... anchored the preliminary 200 free relay, which placed 21st (1:40.22) ... came in 17th in the preliminary 500 free (5:09.36) and 33rd in the 200 free (1:57.47).  GLIAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: Finished second in the 1000 free (10:28.84), third in the 200 free (1:55.44) and fourth in the 500 free (5:06.34) ... swam the third leg of the second-place 800 free relay (7:49.59) and the second portion of the third-place 400 free relay (3:35.59). SEASON: Swam the second 200 of the school record-setting 800 free relay (7:41.35) Dec. 1 at the Eastern Michigan Invitational.

High School:  A 2007 graduate of Flint Southwestern Academy ... earned four varsity letters for the Knights ... earned all-city and all-conference as well as the MVP award as a senior ... finished 14th in the 200 freestyle at the state meet ... set varsity records in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.47), 200 free (1:58.16), and 500 free (5:22.07) in 2006 ... was part of a record-setting 200 free relay (along with her sister Laura) in 2005 (1:45.27) ... graduated with a 4.00 GPA as valedictorian of her class ... was one of only six Flint students honored as a Saginaw Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2007.

Personal:  Full name--Catherine L. Leix ... born in Flint ... daughter of William and Carol Leix ... has a brother, Matt, and a sister, Laura, both former WSU swimmers ... is a science education secondary major with a biology minor... named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term gpa 3.5+) for Fall 2007 (4.00), Winter 2008, Fall 2008 (4.00), Winter 2009, Fall 2009 (4.00), Winter 2010 (4.00), Fall 2010 (4.00), Winter 2011 (4.00), Fall 2011 and Winter 2012.