Cross Country, Track and Field Announce Class of 2011
August 29, 2007 | Men's Track & Field
Aug. 29, 2007
BOSTON - The Boston University track & field and cross country teams and director Robyne Johnson are excited to announce that 13 student-athletes will join the Terriers this fall for the 2007-08 season. A class of eight athletes will join the women's squad, which just completed a stellar 2006-07 campaign after winning the America East Women's Cross Country Championship and Indoor Track & Field Championship. The men's team welcomes five recruits to the 2007-08 roster.
"My staff and I are very excited about the incoming class, as we have worked very hard recruiting this group that will enhance our already strong women's team and help our improving men's squad," said Johnson. "This crop of athletes will make an immediate impact in our scoring and we are ecstatic that they will be joining us this fall."
Several runners will join the women's distance group. Emma Reed (Clevedon, England) is ranked in the top 20 for all British athletes under 20 years old in three events - the 800 meter run, the 1500 and the 3000. Her top time in the 800 is 2 minutes, 12.2 seconds, while she has run a 4:29 in the 1500 and a 9:51 in the 3000.
Kathleen Davies (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) will provide an immediate impact to the middle distance group. Davies, the 2006 Pennsylvania state runner-up in the 3200, boasts a personal best of 2:15.70 in the 800, a 5:01 in the 1600 and a 10:13.85 in the 3000 from the prestigious Penn Relays, the foremost distance event in the country.
Katherine Warden (Columbia, S.C.) joins the Terriers after a successful career at Gardner Webb University in North Carolina. Warden, the first recipient of the Atlantic Sun Conference post-graduate scholarship, comes to Boston with one more season of eligibility remaining. She was a four-time All-Conference selection - three times in track and field and once in cross country. Warden, the Atlantic Sun Female Athlete of the Year, was the 2007 indoor conference champion in the 800 and owns a personal best time of 2:14.37. She will be beginning her Doctoral studies in Divinity in the fall.
Adding to the depth in the middle distances will be Courtney Gardner. The Crescent Valley (Ore.) high school product won the 2006 state championship in the 800 with a time of 2:16.89.
Edwina Clark (Sydney, Australia) will join the jumps crew that swept the indoor conference long jump. The University of Connecticut transfer jumped a personal best when she leapt 6.04 meters (19-9 3/4). Clark will also add valuable depth to BU's 4x100 and 4x400 relay pools. Clark has been ranked in her home country, and looks to add to BU's strength in the jumping events.
Karly Neveu, hailing from Surrey, B.C., will also boost the Terriers' jumps and multi-events group. Neveu has been a consistent high jumper over the past two years with a personal best of 1.72M (5-8). Neveu won the high school division of the high jump at the esteemed Mt. Sac Relays. She was ranked 19th in Canada in 2006 and was sixth among youth jumpers in the country. A provincial champion, Neveu will also look to provide depth in the pentathlon and heptathlon.
Providing immediate impacts to the sprints crew will be Laura Martin (Tacoma, Wash.), and Amanda Howard (San Antonio, Texas). Martin, a Charles Wright Academy product, will provide an extra spark to the 200-400 sprint groups. The 2007 Washington state 400M champion, Martin displayed a proficiency in all three sprints, placing in the top four in Washington state in the 100, 200 and 400. Martin will help the Terriers in both relays events as well.
The final piece to the Terrier puzzle is Amanda Howard. A native of Texas, Howard will aid the short sprinters. Boasting a personal best of 25.18 in the 200, Howard will join Martin in the 4x100 and 4x400 relay groups.
The men's team will also be aided by a group of talented incoming athletes. Ken Haltom, Memphis University School (Tenn.), looks to make an immediate impact with the distance group. Haltom won the 2006 Tennessee state championship in the 3200, and placed in the top eight at the state meet in nine events over a three-year span. Haltom comes to Boston with a 3200 personal best of 9:36.58 and a 4:19.68 in the 1600.
Joel Senick joins the Terriers from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with a prolific record. Looking to fill the shoes of Matt Howard, the 2007 America East indoor conference 400M champion, Senick comes with a 400 personal best of 48.30. A Holy Cross High School alum, Senick will also provide a much needed boost to the Terriers' short sprints, after running 10.87 in the 100. A provincial champion and record holder, Senick finished the 2006 season ranked the 10th fastest Canadian junior under 19.
Two throwers join the fold as Jan Bicanic (Zagreb, Croatia), and Dan Withrow (Dedham, Mass.) will make their debut in the scarlet and white. Bicanic will be transferring to BU from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La. He qualified for the regional championships in the shot put this past season with a personal best toss of 16.92M (55-6 1/4). Bicanic is also successful in the discus, tossing 50.70M (166-4), and was the Croatian Junior National Champion in the event.
Withrow, a local product out of Dedham, will join Bicanic in the throws, specializing in the shot put and discus. He was a 2005 Bay State League All Star and is currently ranked fourth in the state in the discus (158-10) and fifth in the shot put (54- 6).
The last addition to the men's team is Rich Haigh. A recent graduate of Amity (Conn.) High School, Haigh will provide depth in numerous events such as the sprints and jumps. Rich, the newly crowned Connecticut High School State Decathlon Champion, will provide a much needed boost to the Terriers' high jumpers and owns a personal record of 6-3 1/2.
