Sharay Hale, born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, is a renowned track and field athlete with a remarkable career marked by an impressive collection of individual performances. In addition, the high point of her career came when she helped lead the Lions to the first Indoor Track & Field Ivy League Championship in program history.
Her career started with being named the No. 1 first-year in the country in the 400m dash in 2009 after advancing to the NCAA semifinals and winning an Ivy League championship. Her impressive first year included four second-team All-Ivy performances, two indoors and two outdoors, in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
She would burst onto the scene even more as a sophomore in 2010. Hale would secure gold medals at the Indoor Heps in the 200m and 400m dash, leading to her being named Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet. Then, in the outdoor season, Hale won Ivy League Championship titles in the 4x400m relay and 200m dash while earning second-team All-Ivy League honors in the 100m dash. She would even qualify for the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Northeast Regionals in the 4x400m relay.
Continuing her meteoric rise, Hale dominated once again in 2011. She repeated as the Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet at both the indoor and outdoor Ivy League Championships, winning the 200m, 400m, and 4x400m relay again in both competitions, setting multiple Ivy League records. Hale would finish seventh in the final heat at the 2011 NCAA National Indoor Championships in the 400m dash.
Her impact extended far beyond her accomplishments, as Hale would help make program history when she helped lead the 2012 Columbia women’s track and field team to its first-ever indoor Ivy League Championship.
Throughout her tenure at Columbia University, Hale earned several prestigious athletic honors. Her exceptional performance during the 2010-11 season earned her USTFCCCA First Team All-America honors in the indoor 400m. Similarly, her excellent skills on the outdoor track during the 2009-10 season led to her being recognized with USTFCCCA All-America accolades in the outdoor 400m.
Beyond championships and honors, Hale etched her name into the record books of Columbia’s track and field program. To this day, she holds several indoor records, including the 200m dash with a blistering time of 23.68 seconds, the 400m dash in an astonishing 52.98 seconds, the 500m dash with a time of 1:11.24, and the 4x400m relay with an impressive mark of 3:37.60.
