| Height: | 5-0 |
| Year: | Freshman |
| Hometown: | Canton, Ga. |
| High School: | Cherokee HS |
Lera is a Golden Eagle newcomer who adds depth to both the cross
country roster and the distance events in track & field.
AT TECH (2014): Lera had a solid freshman season
in cross country, placing in the top four for the Golden Eagle team
in all six meets during the fall...posted a career-best 5K time of
20:13.07 at the OVC Championships when she place fourth on the
squad and 63rd overall...had times under 21 minutes in the final
four races of the year, establishing her initial career-best at
Vanderbilt in 20:53.87...cut eight seconds off that time at the
Greater Louisville Classic, then another four seconds at Florida
State.
HIGH SCHOOL: Lera attended Creekview High School in
Canton, Ga...well-rounded student-athlete receiving awards in both
athletics and academics...for academics, she received the
President's Education Award...for athletics, she received the
Scholar Athlete Gold Award...freshman year of HS she played soccer
and was on the swim team...the rest of her high school career she
stuck to cross country and track where she went to the State meet
multiple years...received the teammate award twice...was named Team
Co-Captain, National Elite, and Top 10 County &
Region...personal record for the 5K was 19:57...the Mile was
5:48...the Two Mile was 12:26... and the 800m was 2:43.
PERSONAL: Lera is the daughter of Paul and Kathy McNamara...full name is Valeria McNamara...prefers to be called "Lera"...was born on March 25, 1995 in Feodosia, Ukraine...majoring in pre-physical therapy.
