Sophie Daigle's smile began to widen as she reached out to embrace Louisiana distance coach Rocky Cappello.
"I can't believe I did it!" Daigle exclaimed to Cappello as they stood inside the Birmingham CrossPlex in February.
The senior had just captured the 5k title at the Sun Belt Indoor Championships with a time of 16:52.88.
The embrace marked a new peak in the pairs' relationship that dates back more than –- years.
"Sophie joined my AAU track team in third grade and that's the first time I coached her.," Capello said.
As the young athlete began to grow older, the duo's paths continued to align with Cappello serving as Daigle's middle school coach and then transitioning onto the staff at Ascension Catholic, the school that the current Ragin' Cajun would call home for her prep career.