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CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah University cross country head coach Eric Houle is pleased to announce the addition of 10 student-athletes to the Thunderbird cross country program. The list includes four women and six men with the group set to join the team this coming August.
The women are made up of Rachel Stone (Pine View HS), Sierra Malm (Salem Hills HS), Elizabeth Cardiff (Kingman, Ariz./Kingman HS) and Chelsea Johnson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Orange Coast College). Both Stone and Malm recorded top-15 finishes at the Utah state high school cross country championships last season, with Stone finishing 10th in 3A and Malm running to a 14th-place finish in 4A. Stone will enter with personal bests of 5:13 in the 1,600-meters and 11:07 in the 3,200-meters. Malm has recorded personal bests of 2:16 in the 800-meters and 5:01 in the 1,600-meters.
Cardiff also recorded a solid top-15 finish in the distances, finishing 14th in the girls 1,600-meter Arizona state championships in Division 1. She will enter with personal-best times of 2:19 in the 800-meters and 5:08 in the 1,600-meters.
Johnson rounds out the women signings and will bring personal-best times of 4:48 in the 1,500-meters and 18:18 in the 5,000-meters after having competed at Orange Coast College the past two seasons.
"We'll be in a rebuilding phase next year with the women," Houle said. "We lost four of the best athletes we have ever had on the women's side this past season, but these recruits will really help us build for the future." The men are made up of a pair of athletes from both Utah and California, one from Washington and one from Canada. Mike Tate (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) ran to an impressive third-place finish at the U20 cross country championships, giving him a spot on Canada's roster for the World Junior Championships. Tate has ran personal-best times of 3:50 in the 1,500-meters and 8:23 in the 3,000-meters, making both faster than another notable Canadian, Cam Levins, coming in as a freshman.
Jason Quinn (Dixie HS) and Michael Finch (Pine View HS) make up the Utah contingency with both bringing similar personal-best times of 4:12 and 4:18 in the 1,600-meters and 9:21 and 9:17 in the 3,200-meters, respectively. Quinn ran to a fourth-place finish in the Utah 3A 1,600-meter finals last season and Finch narrowly missed a spot at nationals by one place after finishing 10th at the NXN Southwest Regionals.
Dylan Marx (Natioinal City, Calif.) and Arturo Canela (El Centro, Calif.) both ran at San Diego Mesa College last season and were ranked among the best of junior college graduates. Marx finished the season ranked second in the steeplechase and third in the 5,000-meters with Canela ranked fifth in the 10,000-meters.
Sean Newcomb (Walla Walla, Wash./Walla Walla HS) wraps up the men's signings and brings personal-best times of 4:22 in the 1,600-meteres and 9:15 in the 3,200-meters. Newcomb recorded a first-place finish in the Friday Night Sections at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational.
"Our men should be stronger this year with these additions," Houle said. "Each one of them compete at a high level and will really serve us well as we move into our second season in the Big Sky."
SUU cross country will open its 2013 season at Idaho State on August 30.
