Kenturcky Women's Track and Field Signing Class Ranked Fifth in NCAA

Women's Track and Field Signing Class Ranked Fifth in NCAA
Floréal's First Full Recruiting Class Earns Recognition from Track and Field News



Edrick Floréal

Dec. 3, 2013

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Kentucky women's track and field team's 2013 signing class has been ranked as the nation's fifth best in the January issue of "Track and Field News." The No. 5 ranking is the highest in school history.

"This is a very small step for our program," UK track and field and cross country head coach Edrick Floréal said. "But we need to keep perspective. Honors like this don't mean much unless we prepare our young people for what's ahead."

2013 was head coach Floréal's first full recruiting class at UK as he took over the program late in the summer of 2012. Notably, in four of Floréal's six years as head coach at his previous stop, Stanford, his women's recruiting classes ranked in the Track and Field News top-5, including having the No. 1 class in 2011.

Headlining the 2013 UK recruiting class, transfers Dezerea Bryant, Kendra Harrison, Leah Nugent and Kenyattia Hackworth have earned a combined 17 USTFCCCA All-America honors between them in addition to 16 individual college conference titles and a junior college national championship (Hackworth: long jump) prior to joining UK.




UK's women's incoming class is made up of 17 women. The entire class is made up of 50 (33 men and 17 women) newcomers who hail from 17 states.

The entire class of newcomers fetures 22 high-school state champions with more than 55 state titles between them.

Below is an exerpt from the January 2014 edition of "Track and Field News" ...


"5. Kentucky

Edrick Floréal brings the Wildcats into the mix for the first time based on a strong set of transfers, including four former All-Americas.

Topping the list is former ACC champ and NCAA scorer Dezerea Bryant (7.19,11. 20, 22.87), plus hurdlers Leah Nugent(13. 64, 57.72), Daje Pugh (13.69, 40.57) and Keni Harrison (13.79, 58.03). Frosh Johna' Whitaker has run 13.70/13.62w Kenyattia Hackworth brings in 20-8½ credentials from the JC ranks."

Courtesy Kentucky