Cal Men's Recruiting Class Ranked No. 4 in the Country

Cal Men's Recruiting Class Ranked No. 4 in the Country
Track & Field News Recognizes Incoming Group of Golden Bears



Incoming disntance runner Collin Jarvis was a consistent member of Cal's top five in cross country during the fall.



Nov. 30, 2009


BERKELEY - California's men's track & field recruiting class for the upcoming 2010 season has been ranked as the fourth best in the country by Track & Field News, the magazine announced in its January issue.

The group of Golden Bear incoming athletes signed by head coach Tondy Sandoval and his staff includes a pair of California state high school champions, a sub-four-minute miler and a multi-event All-American.

Track & Field News tabbed Hammed Suleman, out of Deer Valley High School in Antioch, "the top prep catch." The 2009 California state champion in the triple jump with a winning leap of 49-7.50, he owns a best of 51-2 in the event, which earned him the No. 2 spot in the magazine's prep rankings. Suleman also has a best of 24-1 in the long jump, which was just two inches shy of the top high school mark in the country last year.

Chase Wheeler will add to Cal's jumps depth after claiming the state championship in the long jump. Wheeler, who attended De La Salle HS in nearby Concord, went a distance of 25-2.25. He also owns bests of 10.70 in the 100 meters and 21.68 in the 200.

James Brewer, a transfer from the University of Bath in England, joins the Bears after running a 3:54.80 mile at the Aviva London Grand Prix on July 25. The runner-up at the European Under-23 Championships in the 1500 meters this past summer, he owns a best of 1:47.92 in the 800m and 3:39.01 in the 1500m. Brewer was the European Junior runner-up in the 800 in 2007. Brewer was named to the UK's National team and will be in Berlin for the 2009 World Championships.

Adding to Cal's distance corps is Collin Jarvis out of Rancho Buena Vista HS, who was the state runner-up in the 3200m with a time of 8:53.78. He also posted a time of 4:12.02 in the mile, which was the fourth-fastest mark among California high school runners in 2009. This past fall, Jarvis was a consistent member of the Bears' top five in cross country.

Michael Morrison, who has transferred from the University of Florida, earned All-American honors at the 2008 NCAA indoor championships in the heptathlon and was the 2007 SEC Indoor and Outdoor Freshman Athlete of the Year. He captured the 2008 Mt. SAC Relays title in the decathlon (career-best 7,803) and has also cleared 16-10.75 outdoors in the pole vault. Morrison has a HS best of 17-6.25 in the pole vault.





The Bears have brought in several others who were state finalists, including Thomas Blocker (400m), who has a best of 47.69 at the distance, and Charles Saseun (runner-up in 100m as a junior), who has run 10.52 in the 100 (wind-aided 10.47) and 21.68 in the 200. Sprinter Dash Oliver brings 10.63 speed in the 100, as well.

The rest of the class includes Maurice Valentine Jr. (high jump, 100mHH), Chad Jones (triple jump, high jump, 110mHH), Matt Petersen (distance), brothers Cody and Simon Schmidt (distance), Iona transfer Chris Vizcaino (distance), Mike Tracy (high jump), Jeff Butler (throws), Andres Diaz (distance), Renaud Poizat (distance), J.P. Slater (distance), Cal Poly transfer Connor Landry (pole vault) and Ethan Mark (middle distance).

Courtesy Cal