Friday, July 16, 2010

News Article Highlights HLG Pole Vault Camp

Recently, several news outlets have covered our recent pole vault camp, which was a huge success.

You can read one of the articles HERE.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

HLG XC/Track & Field Announces 2010 Recruiting Class

The Hannibal-LaGrange College cross country and track & field programs have announced the signings of 20 incoming student-athletes that will be joining the team for the coming year. Below is a list of the new Trojans, as well as a comment from head coach Jason Lewkowicz.

WOMEN
Kayle Anders (Bluffs, IL)
Kayle will be running cross country and distance events for us. She is a young runner who is excited to get here and cash in on her potential. I look forward to helping her develop and reach her goals as a runner and think she will help solidify our women's distance group.
Kelsey Gerveler (Lewiston, MO)
I am excited to see how Kelsey develops in our program. She has not competed in a few years but has a great desire to pick up where she left off. Kelsey will have a chance to add some depth to our women's sprint group this year.
Chelsea Holmstrom (Maryland Heights, MO)
Chelsea will be running both XC and track for us and she is another runner who I expect to really make strong strides in our program. She comes from a strong high school team and has a great attitude and outlook.
Heather Hopkins (Mountain View, MO)
Heather will be competing primarily as a hurdler for us next year. She has a fun personality and also a drive to compete. I look forward to seeing how she grows her freshman year under Coach Scott's guidance.
Breanna Newton (Rochelle, IL)
We are thrilled to add Breanna to our team and she will be an instant impact performer for us in XC and middle distance events. She has shown great perseverance coming back from some injuries and helped lead her school's 4x800m relay team to a 3rd place finish at the Illinois State meet this year.
Bryanna Reynolds (Hermitage, MO)
Bryanna is another young distance runner that I expect to develop quite well in our program. She was a multi-sport athlete in high school and this will be her first experience running track. It will be fun helping her find her niche on the team this year.
Mandi Riddle (Mountain View, MO)
Mandi is a great pick-up for our program as she is a great young lady with tremendous versatility as a track athlete. She will be running XC for us and focusing on the 400, 800, and relays in track. She has great upside to an already strong resume.
Lisbeth Wilder (Waukee, IA)
Liz is a transfer from Ellsworth CC in Iowa where she played volleyball. However, she has had some success as a road runner and will be making the transition to being a full-time distance runner this year. She is going to be a great role-model for the younger runners and has a desire to be great. I think she will surprise folks and be a leader for our women's distance progam.
Sarah Wilson (Okinawa, Japan)
What a thrill it is to add someone of Sarah's talent and character to our team. She comes from a tremendous family and, having spent most of her life in Japan, will be making the transition to full-time life in the States. She is a very gifted sprinter who will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact in our conference.
Cailey Wilkinson (Jefferson City, MO)
Cailey is another fantastic addition to our team. She has had success as both a pole vaulter and hurdler and will compete in both areas for us. Cailey is a fierce competitor who will motivate teammates and she also has a strong and genuine faith that will enable her to be a spiritual leader for our team.

MEN
Alex Earls
(Russellville, MO)
We were hoping to add some throwers to our track program and we are excited to add Alex to the mix. He comes from a great family with HLG ties and we believe that he is going to develop into an impact thrower for us.
Tyler Malone (Morrison, MO)
Tyler is a tremendous young man who had an amazing high school career that included leading his team to a team state track title in 2009. Tyler will be competing in both XC and track and we will look to develop him in the longer track events. He is a hard worker with great leadership potential and I believe he will make a strong impact for us this year.
Stephen McTeer (Louisburg, KS)
Stephen is coming to HLG as a two-sport athlete (soccer and track) and will focus on the middle distance events for us once the soccer season is over. Stephen was a key member of his high school's All-State 4x800m relay team and will look to make a similar impact for us as well.
Easton Padden (Missoula, MT)
We are expecting Easton to come in and be a top-level pole vaulter for us next year. He came to our first pole vault camp and developed a strong bond with Coach Scott, who thinks Easton has tremendous potential. He brings a fun personality to our teAm and hunger to go out and compete.
Cole Peck (Lawson, MO)
I am really pleased to have Cole joining our team. He was one of our first commitments and we will be transitioning him from a sprinter to the middle distance events and XC. Cole is a tremendous guy who brings great maturity and passion to our team. He will undoubtedly be a spiritual leader on our team and I think he has good potential to develop as a runner as well.
Deon Russell (Festus, MO)
Deon is one of the guys I am most excited about coming in because of his enthusiasm and desire to be great. He spent the past two years at Butler CC and had some success there as a distance runner. I expect Deon to come in and be an immediate contributor to our XC and track teams and look forward to seeing him continue to develop.
Andrew Sarratt (Oak Grove, MO)
Andrew will be competing in the sprint events for us and joins us with a strong desire to come in and help improve our men's sprint group. He will have the opportunity to grow under Coach Scott's tutelage and I look forward to charting his progress.
Greg Stahlman (Quincy, IL)
Greg will be coming in looking to add some depth to our men's distance program. He will be competing in XC and we will look to develop him into run the longer track events. He brings a lot of enthusiasm and comes from a great family with strong ties to HLG.
Andre Townsend (Hazel Crest, IL)
We are looking forward to having Andre be a part of our team this year. He is a tremendous hurdler who will have the opportunity to make an impact on the national level in both hurdle events. He most recently competed for JUCO powerhouse Rend Lake College and sits #4 on their all-time performance list in both the 110m and 400m hurdle events.
Nathan Uding (Hillsboro, MO)
Nathan is a distance runner who will be competing in XC and the middle distance events in track. He is a hard worker who will have the opportunity to really help improve our team this year.

Coach Comments: Overall, I am really pleased with the group that we have coming in this year. It is the largest recruiting class in the short history of the Hannibal-LaGrange Cross Country and Track & Field program and what I am most excited about is the level of character and commitment that we have found in these young people.

The talent level scans across the board but the common thread is that they are excited to be coming to HLG and want to help take our team to the next level. With the strong group of returners we have coming back, I believe that we will continue on our path of success. Most importantly, I think we have brought together a group of student-athletes that are committed to our primary goal of honoring Christ through our team and as individuals.

We expect to add a handful of additional recruits before the semester begins so stay tuned for that. We are less than a month away from the start of the 2010 cross country season, which kicks off with a week-long training camp in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.