Virginia Military Institute’s cadet-athletes have to juggle cadet life, heavy academic course loads, and their NCAA Division I sport. Committed to both academic and athletic pursuits, balancing their rigorous schedule in both sports and school requires a certain level of commitment and discipline. Behind the Balance is a series that focuses on those cadet-athletes and how they handle the hurdles of the day-to-day. 

LEXINGTON, Va. Feb. 25, 2025 — Adrenaline and nerves flow through Eleyah Armstong ’25 before she starts a race. As a captain and sprinter on Virginia Military Institute’s track and field team, the anxiety dissipates quickly as she runs. The downside to sprinting is that it’s over faster than it began. Then, she has to start all over.  

"Even though I've been running for so long, still, to this day, I get performance anxiety,” she admitted. "I try to calm myself. And the two words that I repeat to center my mind, to calm down, is ‘inner peace,’ because I meditate before I get into competition mode.”

She doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on her anxiety, instead she puts a lot of her faith in God.  

“I also talk to God, and I just put it in his hands, because I know he’s got me through it before, he'll get me through it again,” Armstrong explained. "The path that he has me walking, I know there's success at the end, and I'm going to accomplish the goals that I have for myself.” 

She’s been running track for over 14 years. She said her parents put her in track after she raced a girl during her brother’s football practice when she was 7 years old. The girl she raced, who was just a year older, was known to be one of the fastest in the area and ran with a higher age group.  

“My dad decided to put me in it,” she said. “I like to compete a lot, and I like the adrenaline that comes behind it. I just stuck with it.” 

The psychology major is in her last year at VMI and plans on commissioning into the U.S. Army in May.  

Cadet-athletes at VMI not only have their responsibilities with their selected sport but cadet duties on top of that. Cadets are also required to take physical fitness classes twice a week, participate in ROTC all four years, prepare for room and uniform inspections, practice for parade, guard duty, and more. 

In her previous three years, Armstrong would have to get up early and split her day between practice, classes, and then practice again.  

“You have to shift your focus a lot. You have to start with this, and then go back into this, and then you have to get back into the rhythm,” she explained. 

Now, she’s able to have devoted afternoon practices, which leaves her mornings more open for studying and other obligations. Her role as captain has also allowed her to discover her own leadership style. She spent last year with a captain role under a 1st Class cadet, which gave her the opportunity to be able to shadow and learn. Last year, she qualified for the NCAA East Regional first round of the 2024 NCAA Track and Field Championships, making her the first women's qualifier from VMI since 2011. 

“I already had a good communication system with the coaches, because I just like to make sure my team is on the same page. I like to have harmony,” Armstrong stated.  

Track served as an outlet of stress relief for Armstrong. Overall, VMI has also helped build her as a person. 

“I think VMI has prepared me for the future, as far as working with different people from different backgrounds and creating bonds with different people from different backgrounds,” she said. “You never know who people really are, or where they come from, until you get to know them and work with those people, whether that's in the classroom or in the ROTC department or your teammate.” 

Laura Peters Shapiro
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE