SUU TRACK AND CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM ANNOUNCES 2006 RECRUITING CLASS

07/07/06
CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Southern Utah head cross country and track and field coach Eric Houle announced his 2006 recruiting class, which includes eight Utah high school state champions and one junior college conference champion along with numerous all-state honorees. In all, SUU will bring in 41 athletes who will compete for the Thunderbirds this upcoming season.

The Thunderbird men, who won their third-straight Mid-Continent Conference outdoor track title this past season, welcome in 26 athletes, including five Utah high school state champions, highlighted by Adam McDonald from Orem’s Mountain View High School, who won the 5A state titles in the 800-meters, mile and 3,200-m last season. SUU also inked Springville HS product Rex Shields, who claimed 4A crowns in the mile and 3,200-m, along with state 5A pole vault champion Clay Ostberg from Kearns HS, Tim Dalene from Manti HS, who won 2A state titles in the 110 and 300-m hurdles, and Kyle Bateman from Panguitch HS, who swept both 1A hurdles state races. In addition, the T-Birds have signed distance specialist Mark Currell from Spokane (WA) CC, who claimed conference gold in the 10,000-m last season.

SUU also added Utah all-state performers in Chris Bringhurst and Steve Hart from Orem’s Timpanogos HS, along with Derek Zabriskie from MVHS and Dallen Proctor from Nephi’s Juab HS. Bringhurst finished second in 5A in the 400-m, while Hart placed third in the 400 and fourth in the 200-m. Meanwhile Zabriskie is coming off a third-place state finish in the 3,200-m and Proctor was the 2A runner-up in the javelin. The Thunderbirds also landed three talented out-of-state prep products in Arizona all-state selection Donovan Tsinnijinnie and Nevada’s Shadontae Florial and Austin Hill. Tsinnijinnie, from Page HS, finished third in the state cross country championships, while Florial (Las Vegas HS) placed earned all-state recognition with a second-place state finish in the 110-m hurdles and a third-place showing in the 300-m hurdles, and Hill (Bonanza HS) was the state runner-up in the 400-m.

The SUU women inked 15 athletes, three of whom won Utah prep state titles last season, including 5A javelin champion Leslee Hyer from Kaysville’s Davis HS, 5A shot put winner Shanna Neilson form Riverton HS, and 4A high jump champion Jacki Stoddard from Murray HS.

In addition, Southern Utah signed three more Utah all-state honorees in Chelsey Allen from Clearfield HS, Shaquel Benson from Parowan HS, and Alayna Ferrin from Davis HS. Allen was the state 5A runner-up in the 200-m and placed third overall in the 400-m, while Benson finished second in both the 2A hurdle races, and Ferrin wound up second in 5A in the shot put and third in the discus.

The Thunderbirds also landed Idaho all-state distance specialist Kate Eborn, the younger sister of SUU freshman men’s distance standout Dallas Eborn, from Bear River HS, along with Kylie Dudley from Temecula (CA) HS. Eborn was the state cross country runner-up and was a second-place finisher in the state 1,600 and 3,200-m races. Meanwhile Dudley closed out her prep career ranked 23rd in the state in the 300-m hurdles.

“We feel really good about the class we have coming in,” Coach Houle said. “This class has the potential of keeping us really strong over the next few years. I feel that there could be many conference individual champions in this group and I think this class could also keep up in the hunt for team conference titles as well.”