Track and Field Welcomes 14 to 2016 Class
Men’s Cross Country & Track
STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State track and field and cross country teams signed 13 high school seniors and one Division II transfer to their incoming class of 2016, including two international runners and six state champions, the program announced Monday.
The most decorated athletes of the Cowboy signing class are both international students. Elliot Bowker of the United Kingdom and Heinrich van Niekerk from South Africa, bring two national titles and IAAF competition experience to Stillwater. Both Bowker and van Niekerk are joining the Cowboys this January as early enrollees.
Bowker, of Cheshire, England, is a two-time national runner-up in the 3,000-meter run, having finished second in the competition in each of the past two years. In 2015, Bowker represented Great Britain as a member of the Junior team at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships where he finished 72nd and was the third highest finishing member of the British team.
Hailing from south of the Equator, van Niekerk is a two-time South African 800-meter champion. A native of Pretoria, van Niekerk qualified for the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships with a personal best 1:50.33 in the 800, but did not run.
Dustan Davidson and Alec Haines made the early commitment to OSU from the state of Missouri. Davidson, from St. Louis, was the 2015 runner-up in the 5A 800-meter run and took fourth place in the 1500-meter run in the same season. Haines took the 5A 1500-meter title in 2015 and finished fifth at the state cross country meet for Lafayette high school.
The state of Colorado has been good to OSU over the years, producing three All-Americans in Kaela Edwards, Jennifer Celis and Brandon Singleton on the 2015 roster. Ben Butler from Highlands Ranch looks to keep that trend going as he joins the Cowboys this fall. Butler won back-to-back cross country state titles in class 3A, and also broke the Colorado state meet record en route to claiming his second cross country title. His talent did not go unnoticed by the USATF and Butler was selected to compete in the World Junior Mountain Running Championships, where Team USA finished second, and he took ninth overall.
The Cowboys also signed the 2015 class 5A cross country champion from the state of Oklahoma in Eugene Grayson of Glenpool. Grayson finished third during his junior season in the 800-meter run and was runner-up in the 1600, helping Glenpool high school take third place at the state meet. He also won the 1500-meter title at the 2015 USATF Junior Olympics.
On the women's side, the Cowgirls middle-distance runners have added two state champions in Sinclaire Johnson and Haley Geissler, and a two-time competitor in the U.S. Junior Championships in Michelle Magnani.
Johnson is a four-time state champion from Orlando, Florida. She has won back-to-back 800-and 1600-meter titles, and she holds a Florida state meet record in the 800, with a personal best 2:08.71 from her junior season. She is now ranked as the top female 800-meter runner in the state going into her senior season. Besides being an accomplished middle-distance runner, Johnson has made a name for herself on the cross country course, too, following a runner-up finish at the state meet in 2014.
Owasso high school senior Geissler is an all-around competitor as well. Outside of winning the 800-meter run at the 2015 state meet, she ran with the cross country team and helped them to a third place finish last fall. Although she hasn't won the 1600-meter title, finishing fourth and sixth at the past two 6A championship races, Geissler has the Owasso high school record in the event.
Magnani competed at the 2015 U.S. Junior National Championships in two events as a rising senior from Moorpark, California. She finished 10th in the 800-meter run and eighth in the 1,500-meter run. Magnani was named as the Ventura County Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association's Runner of the Year in the cross country season for her stellar season that produced the No. 6 three-mile time in the state.
The promising Cowgirl sprinters also got stronger with two highly-touted additions.
Andi Kuehnlein has less than two years of experience on the track but has already put up one of the top times in the nation in the hurdles. She finished as the runner-up at the 2015 Class 5 Championships in the 300-meter hurdles, won the 4X200-meter relay and finished second 4X400-meter relay final. Kuehnlein's 400-meter hurdles time of 59.50 is the No. 5 time in the nation among high school females. An accomplished high jumper as well, Kuehnlein finished seventh at the state championships after winning the district crown.
DeSoto high school's Kira White is one of the country's top young sprinters. She finished second at the Texas 6A state meet in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.48 last year as a junior. Before the state championships, White won the 6A regional and finished no lower than fifth at each competition during the school year. On the national level, White took ninth at the USATF Junior Olympics this summer with an 11.75 in the 100. On the indoor track, White's time of 7.59 in the 60-meter dash is currently one of the top times in the nation.
First year throws coach Lucais Mackay has added to his arsenal of talent with three new signings. Jocelen Ruth and Zach Andrew both come to OSU from high schools, while Megan Honas will transfer into the program from Ft. Hays State.
Ruth is ranked statewide and nationally in five events, including the javelin and shot put where she owns top-20 positions. She finished second in the Pennsylvania class 3A state meet in both the shot put and discus, and finished fourth in the javelin all in 2015. On the national level, Ruth finished 15th in the shot put, 12th in the discus, 28th in the hammer throw and eighth in the javelin all at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
For the Cowboys, Andrew comes to OSU having become one of the country's top throwing prospects in a little less than a year. After finishing his sophomore campaign with 18th-place and 13th-place finishes in the shot put and discus throw, respectively, Andrew had a colossal junior season that ended with him finishing second in the discus and fourth in the shot put at the Idaho 4A Championships. He surpassed his sophomore best by more than 20 feet in the discus and broke his shot put record by 10 feet in his junior year.
Honas, a Division II transfer, already has an All-America honor under her belt after finishing ninth at the NCAA DII Championships last spring. With her addition, she joins OSU record-holder Chase Ealey as the only other All-American in the current Cowgirl throws program.
With these 14 student athletes already committed, and two joining the team this semester, the 2016 OSU track and field and cross country class is shaping up to be one of the strongest and most well-rounded yet. To keep up with with the new Cowboys and Cowgirls as well as the rest of the team during the 2015-16 season, follow @run4okstate on Twitter and Instagram.
The most decorated athletes of the Cowboy signing class are both international students. Elliot Bowker of the United Kingdom and Heinrich van Niekerk from South Africa, bring two national titles and IAAF competition experience to Stillwater. Both Bowker and van Niekerk are joining the Cowboys this January as early enrollees.
Bowker, of Cheshire, England, is a two-time national runner-up in the 3,000-meter run, having finished second in the competition in each of the past two years. In 2015, Bowker represented Great Britain as a member of the Junior team at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships where he finished 72nd and was the third highest finishing member of the British team.
Hailing from south of the Equator, van Niekerk is a two-time South African 800-meter champion. A native of Pretoria, van Niekerk qualified for the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships with a personal best 1:50.33 in the 800, but did not run.
Dustan Davidson and Alec Haines made the early commitment to OSU from the state of Missouri. Davidson, from St. Louis, was the 2015 runner-up in the 5A 800-meter run and took fourth place in the 1500-meter run in the same season. Haines took the 5A 1500-meter title in 2015 and finished fifth at the state cross country meet for Lafayette high school.
The state of Colorado has been good to OSU over the years, producing three All-Americans in Kaela Edwards, Jennifer Celis and Brandon Singleton on the 2015 roster. Ben Butler from Highlands Ranch looks to keep that trend going as he joins the Cowboys this fall. Butler won back-to-back cross country state titles in class 3A, and also broke the Colorado state meet record en route to claiming his second cross country title. His talent did not go unnoticed by the USATF and Butler was selected to compete in the World Junior Mountain Running Championships, where Team USA finished second, and he took ninth overall.
The Cowboys also signed the 2015 class 5A cross country champion from the state of Oklahoma in Eugene Grayson of Glenpool. Grayson finished third during his junior season in the 800-meter run and was runner-up in the 1600, helping Glenpool high school take third place at the state meet. He also won the 1500-meter title at the 2015 USATF Junior Olympics.
On the women's side, the Cowgirls middle-distance runners have added two state champions in Sinclaire Johnson and Haley Geissler, and a two-time competitor in the U.S. Junior Championships in Michelle Magnani.
Johnson is a four-time state champion from Orlando, Florida. She has won back-to-back 800-and 1600-meter titles, and she holds a Florida state meet record in the 800, with a personal best 2:08.71 from her junior season. She is now ranked as the top female 800-meter runner in the state going into her senior season. Besides being an accomplished middle-distance runner, Johnson has made a name for herself on the cross country course, too, following a runner-up finish at the state meet in 2014.
Owasso high school senior Geissler is an all-around competitor as well. Outside of winning the 800-meter run at the 2015 state meet, she ran with the cross country team and helped them to a third place finish last fall. Although she hasn't won the 1600-meter title, finishing fourth and sixth at the past two 6A championship races, Geissler has the Owasso high school record in the event.
Magnani competed at the 2015 U.S. Junior National Championships in two events as a rising senior from Moorpark, California. She finished 10th in the 800-meter run and eighth in the 1,500-meter run. Magnani was named as the Ventura County Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association's Runner of the Year in the cross country season for her stellar season that produced the No. 6 three-mile time in the state.
The promising Cowgirl sprinters also got stronger with two highly-touted additions.
Andi Kuehnlein has less than two years of experience on the track but has already put up one of the top times in the nation in the hurdles. She finished as the runner-up at the 2015 Class 5 Championships in the 300-meter hurdles, won the 4X200-meter relay and finished second 4X400-meter relay final. Kuehnlein's 400-meter hurdles time of 59.50 is the No. 5 time in the nation among high school females. An accomplished high jumper as well, Kuehnlein finished seventh at the state championships after winning the district crown.
DeSoto high school's Kira White is one of the country's top young sprinters. She finished second at the Texas 6A state meet in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.48 last year as a junior. Before the state championships, White won the 6A regional and finished no lower than fifth at each competition during the school year. On the national level, White took ninth at the USATF Junior Olympics this summer with an 11.75 in the 100. On the indoor track, White's time of 7.59 in the 60-meter dash is currently one of the top times in the nation.
First year throws coach Lucais Mackay has added to his arsenal of talent with three new signings. Jocelen Ruth and Zach Andrew both come to OSU from high schools, while Megan Honas will transfer into the program from Ft. Hays State.
Ruth is ranked statewide and nationally in five events, including the javelin and shot put where she owns top-20 positions. She finished second in the Pennsylvania class 3A state meet in both the shot put and discus, and finished fourth in the javelin all in 2015. On the national level, Ruth finished 15th in the shot put, 12th in the discus, 28th in the hammer throw and eighth in the javelin all at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
For the Cowboys, Andrew comes to OSU having become one of the country's top throwing prospects in a little less than a year. After finishing his sophomore campaign with 18th-place and 13th-place finishes in the shot put and discus throw, respectively, Andrew had a colossal junior season that ended with him finishing second in the discus and fourth in the shot put at the Idaho 4A Championships. He surpassed his sophomore best by more than 20 feet in the discus and broke his shot put record by 10 feet in his junior year.
Honas, a Division II transfer, already has an All-America honor under her belt after finishing ninth at the NCAA DII Championships last spring. With her addition, she joins OSU record-holder Chase Ealey as the only other All-American in the current Cowgirl throws program.
With these 14 student athletes already committed, and two joining the team this semester, the 2016 OSU track and field and cross country class is shaping up to be one of the strongest and most well-rounded yet. To keep up with with the new Cowboys and Cowgirls as well as the rest of the team during the 2015-16 season, follow @run4okstate on Twitter and Instagram.
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