October 2, 2007
Falcons announce recruiting class
NDC expands roster for Men's and Women's Track and Field
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio –The Notre Dame Men’s and Women’s Track and Field program announced its 2007-08 recruiting class today. This is Head Coach Joe Magill's second recruiting class, and it is the largest in the history of the program, as the women’s team more than doubles in size from last year. In the fall of 2006, 18 Track and Field recruits donned spikes for NDC, 12 men and six women. This year the number jumps to 35, with the men’s program pulling in 18 recruits and the women’s team adding 17.
Magill, in his third season at NDC, is a realist when it comes to his role. “There’s a fair amount of teaching that occurs on the collegiate level,” Magill said, “but the bottom line is if you don’t bring in the talent, it doesn’t matter how much teaching takes place.”
From State to South Euclid
Perhaps the best illustration of that, according to Magill, is in reference to Ohio’s State Track and Field Championships. This year the number of incoming students who competed at the 2007 Ohio High School Championships has doubled from last year with eight signees, and five who placed as some of the top in the state. In addition, one transfer placed in the 2004 state meet.
“Ohio puts on one of the best state meets in the nation,” Magill said. “The fact that we have been able to attract so many athletes who have competed and placed in our state meet is a clear indication of the direction in which the program is headed.”
Forest City signings
The Falcons signed athletes from many of the top programs in the Cleveland area, including the Cleveland Heights boys’ and the Collinwood girls’. Jairred Aloway comes from Cleveland Heights, which finished second in this past year’s state meet and has won multiple state team titles. Aloway was a member of the Tigers’ state runner-up 4x800 relay in 2006 and also is a hurdler.
Also joining the Falcons will be Tanesha West, a hurdler/long sprinter from Collinwood High School, which won six consecutive Division I state team titles between 2001 and 2006 and eight overall.
Thrower Tim Robinson, a Division II state qualifier in the discus this past spring, is a graduate of Buchtel, whose boys won the team state title in 2006. Canton GlenOak long sprinter Jasmyn Hawkins ran on the third-place 4x400 relay in Division I this past spring, another in a long line of high finishes for the GlenOak program.
Long distance program
Notre Dame also succeeded in attracting athletes from programs that are a little further away. Brandon Brodwolf comes to Notre Dame from West Salem Northwest High School. Brodwolf placed second in the Division II state meet in the high jump and is also a fine hurdler. Thrower Tom Boals comes from Beloit West Branch High School, near Youngstown. Boals joins his older brother, Jim, who as a freshman placed eighth in the nation this past year in the discus throw. In addition, Jason George comes from Galloway Westland in the Columbus area to add depth to the sprint corps.
For the women, thrower Samantha Murphy attended Columbus Eastmoor Academy, which won Division II state team titles in 2004 and 2005. Murphy was a state qualifier in the shot put in 2006. Standout thrower Jacque Evans comes to NDC from Carrollton. Sprinter/jumper Lauren Hollis is a graduate of Mount Vernon High School, and long sprinter Holli Robinson attended Youngstown Boardman High School.
Back closer to home, NDC signed pole-vaulter Ryan Clark of West Geauga High School. Clark placed seventh in the Division I State Meet with a height of 14 feet, 8 inches.
“We’re very excited to land someone the caliber of Ryan,” Magill said. “He’s the first individual in the history of our program to have placed in an individual event in the Division I State Meet.”
Other state meet veterans include sprinter/high jumper Tiffany Patrick of Collins Western Reserve High School and Lake Catholic High School graduate Tom McKrill. Patrick was a member of the Division III state championship 4x400 relay in 2006, and she qualified for the 2007 state meet in four events, the 400 dash, 4x100 and 4x400 relays and the high jump. She finished second in the state in the 400 and the 4x400 relay was fifth. McKrill was a multiple-event qualifier in the Division II meet, earning spots in the 100 and 400 dashes.
The remainder of the class provides talent and depth in a variety of areas. For the men, intermediate hurdler Greg Koenig comes from Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School, while teammates Andre Robinson and Brandon Tolliver come from Cleveland Martin Luther King High School. Both are sprinters, with Robinson focusing mostly on the 400 and Tolliver competing in the 100, 200 and 400. In addition, Russell Blubaugh comes from Cleveland John Marshall to add depth in the throws.
For the women, Ariel Baker comes from Maple Heights High School. Baker has experience in both hurdles, the pole vault, long jump, high jump and relays. Caitlin Schudel, a graduate of Eastlake North High School and a transfer from Baldwin-Wallace College, excels in the pole vault as well as the high hurdles. There is also sprinter Denita Redd of Cleveland Martin Luther King and thrower Francesca Lunardi, a 2006 graduate of Mentor High School.
The distance events also boast some top recruits, as well. For the men, Luke McCluggage, a transfer from Youngstown State, who placed fourth in the 1600 in the Division III 2004 state meet, and Kyle Crismon, who placed seventh in the Division III 1600 this past spring representing David Anderson High School. Andrew Phillips of Green High School, which qualified to the state cross country meet last fall, Ross Lenehan of Autintown Fitch High School, and Darveen Seide of Lake Howell High School in Casselberry, Fla., join the Blue & Gold this year.
On the women’s side, Adrienne Couasnon of Canal Winchester High School, Kathy Higgins of Centerburg High School, Michelle Manzeo from Trinity High School, Fran Melzer of Chanel High School, and Annette Torres of Cleveland Rhodes High School will be looked to for depth in the distance runs.
Finally, the Falcons will be helped by four two-sport athletes, two each for the men and the women. In addition to Hawkins, the women’s team will be strengthened by the talents of jumper Khadiya DeSilva, a graduate of East Cleveland Shaw High School.
For the men, Dylan Campbell, a graduate of Delaware Hayes High School, will be a pole vaulter as well as a wrestler, and Toledo Christian High School graduate Tyler Boris will compete for NDC Track and Field and Basketball. Boris participated in the 4x800 relay in the 2006 and 2007 state (Ohio) meets.
2008 will be the sixth season for NDC Track and Field. The Falcons' men's and women's teams compete in both Indoor (Jan.-Mar.) and Outdoor (Mar.-May) competitions.
Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Athletics Department sponsors the Falcons' participation in 17 men's and women's sports. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC), which is the largest NAIA conference in the country.
------------------------------------falcons----------------------------------
|
