JOURNAL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Highland's Rebecca Neal does it all 鈥� and keeps doing it better every year
A four-sport athlete, she earns Female Metro Athlete of the Year honor for the second consecutive year
Published
Lonnie Neal reckons his daughter was 9 years old at the time.
They were playing a game of HORSE, and Lonnie, by his own admission a competitive guy, even against his own child, wasn鈥檛 keen on losing.
He lost.
What happened next still rents space in his head.
鈥淪he took a victory lap,鈥� he said with a laugh. 鈥淎 victory lap!鈥�
It was unlike his daughter, Rebecca, to do such a thing, he said. And it would certainly be unlike her to do something like that today.
But today, she doesn鈥檛 have to take a lap. The testimonials from those who know her are taking care of that for her.
Neal, a four-sport Highland High School senior, is for the second straight year the Journal鈥檚 Metro Female Athlete of the Year.
Add up the pieces of Neal鈥檚 2025-26 school year and it鈥檚 not hard to see why she is repeating in this space.
Neal was an all-district soccer player. She was the District 5-4A basketball player of the year, and could play all five positions. She won a state powerlifting title, the third year in a row she鈥檚 done that. And there was arguably no girls track and field athlete in the state as versatile as she was.
鈥淣ame another athlete in general that could run, throw and jump, in any classification,鈥� said Phillip Lovato, Neal鈥檚 powerlifting coach and her throwing coach for field events. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a phenomenal athlete. It鈥檚 unfortunate she hasn鈥檛 gotten the recognition that she really should get.鈥�
Neal, 18, qualified for state in eight events for Highland, and this is largely the reason she committed to Delaware State鈥檚 Hornets, to compete in the heptathlon. (Neal competed in the heptathlon at this weekend鈥檚 Great Southwest Classic at UNM.)
Maybe with Neal, it would be better to get a handle on what she CAN鈥橳 do. Everything she did at Highland, she excelled at.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 insane,鈥� Highland Athletic Director John Barnhill said of Neal鈥檚 ability to juggle so many sports while maintaining a high level of performance. 鈥淪he is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime type of kid.鈥�
Neal鈥檚 excellent school year was an improvement over her junior year, and she was tremendous a year ago, too. This year, she scored a dozen more goals on the pitch, improved her basketball stats and lifted over 100 pounds more at state than the previous season.
At state powerlifting, she won her division (165 pounds) by over 100 pounds. She averaged a double-double for Highland鈥檚 basketball team, coached by her father.
Her mother, Ann Paulls-Neal, coaches Rebecca in some of the track and field events.
She qualified for state in eight events but by rule could only compete in five.
鈥淲e had to figure out what she could do,鈥� Lovato said.
There isn鈥檛 much she can鈥檛 do. She used to play volleyball. She could wrestle, Lovato said assuredly. She can play tennis and has held a golf club before. She鈥檚 competed on a swimming team.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing she couldn鈥檛 have done,鈥� Lonnie Neal said. His daughter even swayed him into powerlifting, a sport Lonnie said he told Rebecca she was perhaps too small to succeed in.
鈥淪he proved me wrong on that one,鈥� he said.
Oh, and Neal is also a black belt in karate.
鈥淪he鈥檚 the litmus test,鈥� Barnhill said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 the measure. (And) she鈥檚 had a tremendous load to carry.鈥�
Her athletic exploits stand in almost complete contrast to her quiet, borderline-shy 鈥� but extremely determined 鈥� personality.
This will have to serve her well when she begins college on the East Coast.
鈥淵our job is to stay, not just to get there,鈥� Lonnie Neal said he told his daughter.
In many ways, college will be a new look for Neal, like becoming a one-sport athlete 鈥� something she never wanted to do at Highland.
She probably couldn鈥檛 have done just a single sport as a prep athlete.
鈥淓xactly,鈥� her father said. 鈥淲e asked her that.鈥�
She is under the Journal spotlight specifically because she expanded her horizons.
鈥淚 think I got better in each thing I did,鈥� said the soft-spoken Neal, and this is about as animated as she鈥檒l get speaking about herself.
It is here that Neal detaches from most of her peers. So many of them have narrowed their focus to a single sport, but Neal seems almost preternaturally inclined to stay busy. The more sports, the better.
鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult,鈥� she said, when asked where she finds time to just be a teenager. 鈥淏ut I take a nap and I鈥檓 re-energized.鈥�
While she is a multiple state champion at lifting weights, it is the track (and field) where Neal probably found her best niche.
She leaves Highland as one of the school鈥檚 most accomplished and diverse athletes. She will arrive in Dover, Delaware, as an unknown freshman looking to prove herself.
鈥淚t鈥檚 bittersweet right now, because I鈥檒l leave my parents as coaches,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 also very excited to get new friends and new coaches and keep getting better.鈥�
Neal finished second in the heptathlon in the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic on Friday, scoring 4,423 points. At the 4A state meet last month, her best finishes were second-place showings in the 100 hurdles and the long jump.
鈥淚t was very fast,鈥� she said of her prep career. 鈥淚 can remember the first day, because we (as freshmen) go to a tour on the first day and all the upperclassmen were standing around watching us. It was very weird.鈥�
Now she is getting ready to start over 2,000 miles from home.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to the challenge,鈥� she said, smiling. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to NOT know so many people, in a way. I visited Delaware State, nobody knew where I was from, nobody knew me at all 鈥� I think it will be cool to be an outsider.鈥�
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .
