University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Track & Field Wrapping Up Elite Signing Class
March 19, 2010 | Track & Field
ATHENS, Ga. --- With each National Letter of Intent received, Georgia track and field continues to build one of the nation's more impressive signing classes.
The Bulldog 2010 signing class ranges from having one of the country's elite high school throwers, to one of the nation's top pole vaulters for the men's team, which has eight signees.
A 2009 NJCAA national champion and a world-class middle-distance runner highlight the women's class, which includes seven signees.
"In the past, I have spoken of a process that we go through in trying to build our teams up to be at a fairly high level of performance," said head coach Wayne Norton. "And that process usually takes about three years to recruit the right athletes and allow the younger athletes to mature enough to be effective in the (Southeastern Conference) and beyond. The people that we have signed this winter are very important parts of that process. They will help us to be better in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track."
Justin Welch (Pemberville, Ohio - Eastwood HS) was named a 2009 Track & Field News All-American in the hammer and is considered one of the top throwing recruits in the nation. Welch recently finished second in the weight throw at the 2010 National Scholastic Indoor Championships with a personal-best mark of 83 feet, 7 ½ inches, which is the fourth-best high school mark in the history of the event. He also won a Bronze medal in the hammer at the Pan-Am Junior Championships in Trinidad with a longest effort of 223-10. The two-time 2009 state champion was second in the hammer at the 2009 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., and captured a USATF Junior Olympic title with a top effort of 194-11 in the hammer. Welch has personal-best marks of 232-6 in the hammer, 198-6 in the discus, 76-6 in the weight, 62-8 in the indoor shot put and 61-1.75 in the outdoor shot put.
One the most talented prep pole vaulters comes to the Bulldogs from Gainesville, Ga. Paul Malquist (Gainesville HS) cleared a season-best height of 16-6 to tie for the national indoor lead and finish second at the 2010 Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev. He had a personal-best mark of 16-6.75 to win the 2009 Southeast Regional Pole Vault Challenge and was the 2009 GHSA AAA state champion for the Red Elephants. Malquist also won the 2009 SMART Pre-National Invitational and took first at the 2009 USATF Region III Championships.
Junior Colleen Felix (St. Andrews, Grenada - South Plains Community College) is expected to make an immediate impact for the Lady Bulldogs in a variety of events. Felix won an individual 2009 NJCAA outdoor championship in the javelin and was runner-up in both the heptathlon and the triple jump. She helped lead South Plains to the NJCAAA team title and was also the runner-up in the triple jump (40-7.50) at the 2009 NJCAA Indoor Championships. Felix has personal-bests of 5,170 points (heptathlon), 42-4 (triple jump), 14.05 (100-meter hurdles) and 154-2 (javelin). In high School, she won Bronze medals in the pentathlon and the javelin at the 2008 Carifta Games.
Stella Christoforou (Limassol, Cyprus-Greece - Pascal English School) will also be immediately called on to compete for points at both the SEC and NCAA levels. Christoforou took seventh in the 800 at the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships and was sixth at the 2007 IAAF World Youth Championships in the 800 (2:11.53). She has personal-best times of 2:07.84 in the 800 and 4:27.82 in the 1500.
Georgia also added 11 more talented signees to their squads. Here is a breakdown of those new Bulldogs:
Waymon Storey (Morrow, Ga. - Morrow HS) will attempt to complement 2010 NCAA indoor 400 champion Torrin Lawrence in the Bulldogs' sprinters corps. He was the 2009 GHSA Region 4-AAAAA champion in both the 100 (11.11) and 200 (21.68) before becoming the GHSA state runner-up in the 200 (21.33) and taking third in the 100 (10.81). Storey also finished third in the 100 at the Georgia Olympics with a personal-best time of 10.77 and took second in the 200 with a career-best finish of 21.33.
Brandon Lord (Chattanooga, Tenn. - The Baylor School) finished 14th on the 5000-meter course at the prestigious Footlocker Cross Country National Championships in San Diego. A high school teammate of current Bulldog Bill Matthews, Lord locked a career-best time of 14:51.00 in the 5000 to take fifth at the Foot Locker South Regional and won the 5000 (15:53.43) at the TSSAA state cross country meet. He locked a pair of personal-best times - 8:50.90 in the 3000 and 9:25.50 in the two-mile - to win both events at the Nike Outdoor Nationals and took second in the 1600 with a personal-best time of 4:17.61 at the TSSAA state track meet. Lord had a career-best finish of 4:18.03 in the mile to take third at the Music City Distance Carnival and has a personal-best time of 9:15.14 in the 3200 and 2:01.03 in the 800.
Caleb Whitener (Dallas, Ga. - East Paulding HS) is expected to pair with Welch to become a powerful throwing duo for the Bulldogs in the future. He reached a personal-best distance of 73-8.75 to take fourth in the weight at the 2010 National Scholastic Indoor Championships. Whitener finished second in both the shot put and discus (153-6) at the 2009 GHSA Region 5-AAAAA Championships and has personal-best marks of 60-11.25 in the shot, 155-9 in the discus, 172-9 in the hammer and 68-5.25 in the 26-lb. weight throw.
Burke McCarty (Atlanta, Ga. - Marist HS) finished second in the discus (154 feet) at the 2009 GHSA AAAA state meet and won a 2009 Region 6-AAAA title in the event. He has personal-best marks of 164-6 in the discus, 50-2.75 in the shot put and 63-3.50 in the weight.
Kiara McCue-Woods (Flowery Branch, Ga. - Flowery Branch HS) opened her 2010 season by registering an 11:17 in the 3200, potentially giving Georgia distance coach Jeff Pigg another weapon in the coming seasons. She battled for a second-place finish at the 2008 and 2009 GHSA AAA state cross country meets and had a personal-best time of 18:15 in the 5000 to take 36th at the 2009 Foot Locker South Regional. McCue-Woods took second at the 2009 GHSA state track meet in the 3200 after registering a time of 11:24.82 and was the runner-up at the USATF Georgia Association Cross Country State Championship.
Emily Brewer (Lawrenceville, Ga. - Brookwood HS) won the 2009 GHSA 5A state title in the discus with a personal-best mark of 130-7. She finished first in the shot put at the 2009 Disney Showcase and then took second in the discus at the 2010 meet. Brewer also won the discus at the 2009 Region 8-AAAAA meet and has Georgia throws coach Don Babbitt excited about having her on campus.
Sydney Marshall (Johns Creek, Ga. - Chattahoochee HS), another distance signee, clocked a season-best time of 18:01 in the 5000 to take 24th at the 2009 Foot Locker South Regional. She took second in the 5000 at the GHSA AAAAA state cross country meet and was also the runner-up at the Region 7-AAAAA meet. Marshall also registered a second-place finish in the 3200 at the GHSA state meet. She had a personal-best two-mile time of 11:02.79 at the Mobile Challenge of Champions (Invitational Division) and has personal-best times of 17:39.30 in the 5000 and 10:55 in the 3200.
Ann Centner (Watkinsville, Ga. - Oconee HS) finished 29th at the 2009 Foot Locker South Regional with a personal-best 5000 time of 18:07.00 and won the USATF Georgia Association Cross Country State Championship with time of 18:34.69. Centner, who finished fourth at the GHSA state cross country meet, placed first at the Region 8-AAA meet and seventh in the high school field at the UGA Cross Country Invitational. She had season-best times of 5:08.03 in the 1600 to take third and 2:19.48 to finish fourth at the GHSA state track meet.
Charlie Sparks (Columbus, Ga. - Columbus HS) finished 21st at the 2009 Foot Locker South Regional with a 5000 time of 15:12.00 while also taking third in the 5000 at the 2009 GHSA AAA state cross country meet. On top of winning the 2009 Region 2-AAA cross country title, Sparks grabbed a third-place finish at the 2009 Southeast Cross Country Showdown with a time of 15:52.12. He won the Region 2-AAAA track meet in the 3200 (9:55.28) and the 1600 (4:34.43) and has personal-best marks of 4:25.49 (1600), 15:08.52 (5000), 2:02.91 (800) and 4:23.26 (mile).
Luke Baker (McDonough, Ga. - Eagle's Landing Christian HS) highlighted his career by taking 36th in the 5000 (15:24) at the 2009 Foot Locker Cross Country South Regional Championships. He won the 3000 and finished third in the 1500 at the 2009 Georgia Games and has personal-best times of 4:26.50 in the 1600, 15:12 in the 5000 and 9:32 in the two-mile.
Megan Malasarte (Fayetteville, Ga. - Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School) will be called on to run the 400 and 800 for the Lady Bulldogs. She won the 2009 GHSA A state meet with a personal-best time of 55.76 in the 400 while also finishing third in the 5000. Malasarte also captured the 2008 GHSA state title in the 400 with a time of 57.37. She has a personal-best time of 2:18 in the 800.
Georgia opens its 2010 outdoor season with a dual meet at Georgia Tech on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20. Live results and a recap of the action will be available at georgiadogs.com.
The Bulldog 2010 signing class ranges from having one of the country's elite high school throwers, to one of the nation's top pole vaulters for the men's team, which has eight signees.
A 2009 NJCAA national champion and a world-class middle-distance runner highlight the women's class, which includes seven signees.
"In the past, I have spoken of a process that we go through in trying to build our teams up to be at a fairly high level of performance," said head coach Wayne Norton. "And that process usually takes about three years to recruit the right athletes and allow the younger athletes to mature enough to be effective in the (Southeastern Conference) and beyond. The people that we have signed this winter are very important parts of that process. They will help us to be better in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track."
Justin Welch (Pemberville, Ohio - Eastwood HS) was named a 2009 Track & Field News All-American in the hammer and is considered one of the top throwing recruits in the nation. Welch recently finished second in the weight throw at the 2010 National Scholastic Indoor Championships with a personal-best mark of 83 feet, 7 ½ inches, which is the fourth-best high school mark in the history of the event. He also won a Bronze medal in the hammer at the Pan-Am Junior Championships in Trinidad with a longest effort of 223-10. The two-time 2009 state champion was second in the hammer at the 2009 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., and captured a USATF Junior Olympic title with a top effort of 194-11 in the hammer. Welch has personal-best marks of 232-6 in the hammer, 198-6 in the discus, 76-6 in the weight, 62-8 in the indoor shot put and 61-1.75 in the outdoor shot put.
One the most talented prep pole vaulters comes to the Bulldogs from Gainesville, Ga. Paul Malquist (Gainesville HS) cleared a season-best height of 16-6 to tie for the national indoor lead and finish second at the 2010 Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev. He had a personal-best mark of 16-6.75 to win the 2009 Southeast Regional Pole Vault Challenge and was the 2009 GHSA AAA state champion for the Red Elephants. Malquist also won the 2009 SMART Pre-National Invitational and took first at the 2009 USATF Region III Championships.
Junior Colleen Felix (St. Andrews, Grenada - South Plains Community College) is expected to make an immediate impact for the Lady Bulldogs in a variety of events. Felix won an individual 2009 NJCAA outdoor championship in the javelin and was runner-up in both the heptathlon and the triple jump. She helped lead South Plains to the NJCAAA team title and was also the runner-up in the triple jump (40-7.50) at the 2009 NJCAA Indoor Championships. Felix has personal-bests of 5,170 points (heptathlon), 42-4 (triple jump), 14.05 (100-meter hurdles) and 154-2 (javelin). In high School, she won Bronze medals in the pentathlon and the javelin at the 2008 Carifta Games.
Stella Christoforou (Limassol, Cyprus-Greece - Pascal English School) will also be immediately called on to compete for points at both the SEC and NCAA levels. Christoforou took seventh in the 800 at the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships and was sixth at the 2007 IAAF World Youth Championships in the 800 (2:11.53). She has personal-best times of 2:07.84 in the 800 and 4:27.82 in the 1500.
Georgia also added 11 more talented signees to their squads. Here is a breakdown of those new Bulldogs:
Waymon Storey (Morrow, Ga. - Morrow HS) will attempt to complement 2010 NCAA indoor 400 champion Torrin Lawrence in the Bulldogs' sprinters corps. He was the 2009 GHSA Region 4-AAAAA champion in both the 100 (11.11) and 200 (21.68) before becoming the GHSA state runner-up in the 200 (21.33) and taking third in the 100 (10.81). Storey also finished third in the 100 at the Georgia Olympics with a personal-best time of 10.77 and took second in the 200 with a career-best finish of 21.33.
Brandon Lord (Chattanooga, Tenn. - The Baylor School) finished 14th on the 5000-meter course at the prestigious Footlocker Cross Country National Championships in San Diego. A high school teammate of current Bulldog Bill Matthews, Lord locked a career-best time of 14:51.00 in the 5000 to take fifth at the Foot Locker South Regional and won the 5000 (15:53.43) at the TSSAA state cross country meet. He locked a pair of personal-best times - 8:50.90 in the 3000 and 9:25.50 in the two-mile - to win both events at the Nike Outdoor Nationals and took second in the 1600 with a personal-best time of 4:17.61 at the TSSAA state track meet. Lord had a career-best finish of 4:18.03 in the mile to take third at the Music City Distance Carnival and has a personal-best time of 9:15.14 in the 3200 and 2:01.03 in the 800.
Caleb Whitener (Dallas, Ga. - East Paulding HS) is expected to pair with Welch to become a powerful throwing duo for the Bulldogs in the future. He reached a personal-best distance of 73-8.75 to take fourth in the weight at the 2010 National Scholastic Indoor Championships. Whitener finished second in both the shot put and discus (153-6) at the 2009 GHSA Region 5-AAAAA Championships and has personal-best marks of 60-11.25 in the shot, 155-9 in the discus, 172-9 in the hammer and 68-5.25 in the 26-lb. weight throw.
Burke McCarty (Atlanta, Ga. - Marist HS) finished second in the discus (154 feet) at the 2009 GHSA AAAA state meet and won a 2009 Region 6-AAAA title in the event. He has personal-best marks of 164-6 in the discus, 50-2.75 in the shot put and 63-3.50 in the weight.
Kiara McCue-Woods (Flowery Branch, Ga. - Flowery Branch HS) opened her 2010 season by registering an 11:17 in the 3200, potentially giving Georgia distance coach Jeff Pigg another weapon in the coming seasons. She battled for a second-place finish at the 2008 and 2009 GHSA AAA state cross country meets and had a personal-best time of 18:15 in the 5000 to take 36th at the 2009 Foot Locker South Regional. McCue-Woods took second at the 2009 GHSA state track meet in the 3200 after registering a time of 11:24.82 and was the runner-up at the USATF Georgia Association Cross Country State Championship.
Emily Brewer (Lawrenceville, Ga. - Brookwood HS) won the 2009 GHSA 5A state title in the discus with a personal-best mark of 130-7. She finished first in the shot put at the 2009 Disney Showcase and then took second in the discus at the 2010 meet. Brewer also won the discus at the 2009 Region 8-AAAAA meet and has Georgia throws coach Don Babbitt excited about having her on campus.
Sydney Marshall (Johns Creek, Ga. - Chattahoochee HS), another distance signee, clocked a season-best time of 18:01 in the 5000 to take 24th at the 2009 Foot Locker South Regional. She took second in the 5000 at the GHSA AAAAA state cross country meet and was also the runner-up at the Region 7-AAAAA meet. Marshall also registered a second-place finish in the 3200 at the GHSA state meet. She had a personal-best two-mile time of 11:02.79 at the Mobile Challenge of Champions (Invitational Division) and has personal-best times of 17:39.30 in the 5000 and 10:55 in the 3200.
Ann Centner (Watkinsville, Ga. - Oconee HS) finished 29th at the 2009 Foot Locker South Regional with a personal-best 5000 time of 18:07.00 and won the USATF Georgia Association Cross Country State Championship with time of 18:34.69. Centner, who finished fourth at the GHSA state cross country meet, placed first at the Region 8-AAA meet and seventh in the high school field at the UGA Cross Country Invitational. She had season-best times of 5:08.03 in the 1600 to take third and 2:19.48 to finish fourth at the GHSA state track meet.
Charlie Sparks (Columbus, Ga. - Columbus HS) finished 21st at the 2009 Foot Locker South Regional with a 5000 time of 15:12.00 while also taking third in the 5000 at the 2009 GHSA AAA state cross country meet. On top of winning the 2009 Region 2-AAA cross country title, Sparks grabbed a third-place finish at the 2009 Southeast Cross Country Showdown with a time of 15:52.12. He won the Region 2-AAAA track meet in the 3200 (9:55.28) and the 1600 (4:34.43) and has personal-best marks of 4:25.49 (1600), 15:08.52 (5000), 2:02.91 (800) and 4:23.26 (mile).
Luke Baker (McDonough, Ga. - Eagle's Landing Christian HS) highlighted his career by taking 36th in the 5000 (15:24) at the 2009 Foot Locker Cross Country South Regional Championships. He won the 3000 and finished third in the 1500 at the 2009 Georgia Games and has personal-best times of 4:26.50 in the 1600, 15:12 in the 5000 and 9:32 in the two-mile.
Megan Malasarte (Fayetteville, Ga. - Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School) will be called on to run the 400 and 800 for the Lady Bulldogs. She won the 2009 GHSA A state meet with a personal-best time of 55.76 in the 400 while also finishing third in the 5000. Malasarte also captured the 2008 GHSA state title in the 400 with a time of 57.37. She has a personal-best time of 2:18 in the 800.
Georgia opens its 2010 outdoor season with a dual meet at Georgia Tech on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20. Live results and a recap of the action will be available at georgiadogs.com.
Saturday, June 13
Saturday, June 13
Saturday, June 13
Saturday, June 13