SFA Track & Field Adds 19 Athletes to Roster
6/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
June 8, 2004
NACOGDOCHES - The Stephen F. Austin men and women's track and field team signed 19 athletes to National Letters of Intent announced SFA head coach Phil Olson Tuesday afternoon. Nine state champions highlight the 2004 SFA signing class.
"The great thing about this signing class is that we have brought in a lot of talent, but also some depth in some event areas we haven't seen before." said SFA head coach Phil Olson. "Once again this is a very deep class with a good combination of talent that has had success at the state level as well as athletes we believe will develop tremendously over the next four years. I take my hat off to our assistant coaches they worked hard establishing relationships with these athletes, promoting our university and the philosophy of our program."
Drew Rentfro (Dumas, Texas) Laura Mikeska (Frisco, Texas) and Ray Shadowens (Arp, Texas) all project to compete in the multi-event areas for SFA. Rentfro is a three-time 4A regional qualifier, as well as a state qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles in 2003. She has recorded a personal best of 14.53 in the 100-meter hurdles and 45.13 in the 300 hurdles. Rentfro is a multi-sport athlete that competed for the Team USA Gymnastics squad in the World Championships this past year. Shadowens was third at the 2A state meet in the 110-meter hurdles. He recently finished third in the Texas Greatest Athlete Decathlon Challenge in Dallas. Mikeska is a two-time regional qualifier in the pole vault, who finished third at the 4A state meet this season. She has a personal best mark of 12-0 in the event. Mikeska was also a regional qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles.
The three sprinters are Ashley Mangum (Houston, Texas), Jeremy Richard (Timpson, Texas) and Katrina Roundtree (Houston, Texas). Richard is a two-time 2A state champion in the 400 meters for Timpson High School. During his sophomore year, he finished second at state in the event. Roundtree comes to SFA after a highly-touted prep career at Alief Hastings High School. She recorded a personal best of 56.17 in the 400-meter hurdles. She also runs in the relays and the 200-meter dash. Mangum competed in the 400-meter dash and the relays at Alief Elsik High School.
The five high jumpers are Audrey Azu (Irving, Texas), Meghan Denman (Dayton, Texas), Carlious Owens (Oakwood, Texas), Justin Reyes (Richland Springs, Texas) and Cale Trail (Callisburg, Texas). Azu is a two-time 5A regional qualifier in the high jump with a personal best of 5-6. Denman is a 5-6 high jumper that was the 4A state runner-up this past season. The 2004 season marked the third time that Denman qualified for the state meet. Trail is a three-time 2A state champion in the high jump. He has cleared a personal best height of 6-10. Owens is the 1A state champ in the high jump who recorded a state runner-up finish in 2003. He has also cleared a height of 6-10. Reyes finished third in the high jump at the Texas Class 1A State Championships. He is a two-time state qualifier that has recorded a personal best mark of 6-8.
Cole Hollingsworth (Burleson, Texas), Matt Hernandez (San Antonio, Texas), Gerardo Moreno (Cameron, Texas) and Conor Gillen (Fort Worth, Texas) are the distance runners in the class of 2004. Hollingsworth finished second in his region at the 5A level in cross country. Hernandez was the 5A TAPPS state champion in cross country and the two-mile run. Moreno had a very successful prep career at Cameron Yo High School. Gillen was the 5A TAPPS state runner-up in cross country and the two-mile run finishing right behind Hollingsworth.
Geoffrey Carey (Hawkins, Texas), and Kristina Windham (Port Lavaca, Texas) are the two pole vaulters. Carey finished second in the pole vault at the Texas Class 2A State Championships. He has cleared a personal best mark of 15-3 in the event. Windham was the 2002 state champion in the pole vault and has cleared a personal-best height of 11-6. She is a three-time regional and two-time state qualifier in the event.
The horizontal jumpers are Danny Hildreth (Houston, Texas) and Cassandra Thompson (Mart, Texas). Hildreth won the district triple jump title and finished second at the regional meet with a mark of 47-10.75. Thompson was the district and regional champion in the triple jump recording a mark of 40-11. She was also the state runner-up in the event. The Ladyjack coaching staff expects Thompson to compete in the long jump and to run relays as well.
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