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Six Sign with Oregon Track and Field - goducks.comPublished by
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February 3, 2012
Six Sign with Oregon Track and Field
Ducks address specific areas of need.
EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon added talent and depth in the throws and on the track with the signing of six high schoolers to National Letters of Intent, Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna announced Friday.
“After signing the No. 1 and No. 2 classes nationally for both the men and the women the last two years, we had specific areas of need in our recruiting for this year,” said Lananna. “Our coaching staff did an outstanding job of identifying those student-athletes who will help us in those areas and augment our already talented team.”
Among the six are throwers Ryan Hunter-Simms from Highland, Calif., and Brittany Mann from Beverly Hills, Mich.
Mann ranked seventh nationally in the discus with a best effort of 163-7 in 2011. She claimed the Michigan state Division 2 title in both the shot put and discus as a junior and has won 18 gold medals in junior competition.
Simms ranked third in the discus for the state of California and 19th nationally among high school boys with a mark of 192-5 as a junior in 2011.
On the track, the Ducks signed Jasmine Todd of Chandler, Ariz., to bolster the sprints and jumps and distance specialist Abbey Leonardi of Kennebunkport, Maine. Todd is a seven-time Arizona state champion for Chandler High School, who has won three straight titles in the triple jump and two consecutive in the long jump. As a junior, Todd set the Arizona state record in the triple jump, 41-5, a mark which ranked fifth nationally. She was also 10th nationally in the long jump (18-10.75). This season, Todd ranks third nationally indoors in the 60 meters (7.53).
Leonardi is a four-time girls Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year for Maine who won four consecutive state A cross country titles. She went on to finish fourth at the Foot Locker nationals in San Diego in 17:35.3. On the track, Leonardi is a six-time state champion who also won the New England Championships 3,200 meter title.
Oregon also signed a pair of state champions from Bend’s Summit High School in Megan Fristoe and Ashley Maton. The two have combined to help Summit win four consecutive Oregon state 5A cross country titles and three straight track and field crowns heading into this spring. Fristoe is a three-time state cross country champion and a two-time state 3,000 meter winner. Maton was the state 1,500 meter champ last spring and runner-up at 800 meters. Both runners qualified for the 2011 U.S. Junior Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in June, as well as the 2011 NXN Nationals in the fall.
The men have also added three transfers to the team in All-American distance runner Trevor Dunbar from the University of Portland, and junior college sprinters Korey Brown (Pasadena City College) and Jordan Latt (Lane CC). The women have added thrower Jillian Weir, who is the daughter of assistant coach Robert Weir, from Long Beach State. Dunbar is a redshirt-sophomore in track, while Brown is a junior and Latt and Weir are both sophomores. All four are eligible to compete for Oregon this year.
“We are very excited to welcome these outstanding student-athletes to TrackTown USA,” said Lananna.
The signees will be joining Oregon teams in 2013 that will feature Track & Field News’ top-ranked men’s and women’s classes from 2010 and the No. 2 classes from 2011.
MEGAN FRISTOE, BEND, ORE./SUMMIT HS
Prep Bests: 1,500 Meters - 4:36.46; 3,000 Meters - 10:06.08.
Fristoe is a three-time Oregon state 5A cross country champion and has won back-to-back state 5A titles at 3,000 meters for Summit High School.
Summit won the state cross country title all four years that she competed. Fristoe placed fourth as a freshman before winning the race her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. She also qualified for the NXN Nationals as a senior.
As a junior in 2011, Fristoe helped Summit win the state track championship with her victory in the 3,000, coupled with her runner-up finish at 1,500 meters. She ran a personal-best 10:06.08 to claim the 3,000 as a junior in 2011 and qualified for the U.S. Junior Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field.
She won her first 3,000 meter state title as a sophomore in 2010 and aided Summit to state team titles in 2009 and 2010.
RYAN HUNTER-SIMMS, HIGHLAND, CALIF./SAN GORGONIO HIGH SCHOOL
Prep Bests: Shot Put - 57-6; Discus - 192-5.
Hunter-Simms ranked third in the state of California in the discus in 2011 with a best toss of 192-5. That throw, which came at the CIF-SS Masters Meet, ranked 19th nationally among high school boys a season ago. He also placed third in the discus at the California state meet in 2011, and in the process became the first San Gorgonio High School competitor to qualify for the California championships in the discus.
Additionally, Hunter-Simms was a state qualifier in the shot put with a best throw of 57-6 and captured both the shot and discus titles during the Mt. SAC Relays Distance Carnival.
ABBEY LEONARDI, KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE/KENNEBUNK HIGH SCHOOL
Prep Bests: 1,500 Meters - 4:36.71; 3,000 Meters - 9:47.64 Two-miles - 10:26.59.
In the fall, Leonardi captured her fourth consecutive Maine state A cross country title to earn her fourth straight girls Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year honors for Maine. She is the first female runner ever to win four straight cross country titles in Maine.
Following the prep season, she finished second for the third year in a row at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional and went on to take fourth at the Foot Locker nationals in San Diego in 17:35.3.
On the track, Leonardi is undefeated at the state meet with six individual titles. She has captured three consecutive 1,600 meter titles, including a personal-best 4:51.57 as a sophomore in 2010. She has also won the last two 3,200 meter titles and claimed the 800 meter crown as a freshman in 2009.
After winning the 1,600 and 3,200 state titles as a junior in 2011, Leonardi went on to win the 3,200 at the New England Championships in a personal-best 10:19.09.
She timed her PRs in both the two miles (10:26.59) and 1,500 meters (4:36.71) at the 2010 New Balance Nationals.
BRITTANY MANN, BEVERLY HILLS, MICH./DETROIT COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
Prep Bests: Shot Put - 42-6; Discus - 163-7.
Mann ranked seventh nationally in the discus in 2011 with a best throw of 163-7. She won the Michigan state Division 2 title in both the shot put and the discus as a junior in 2011 for Detroit Country Day School. Her 20 points helped Detroit Country claim the team title.
She won every high school discus competition she entered in 2011 and all but one meet in the shot put.
Mann was the state runner-up in both events as a sophomore in 2010.
In junior competitions, she has claimed 18 national gold medals in the throws dating back to third grade.
ASHLEY MATON, BEND, ORE./SUMMIT HS
Prep Bests: 1,500 Meters - 4:34.80.
Maton was the 1,500 meter Oregon state 5A champion and 800 meter runner-up to help Summit High School win the state title as a junior in 2011. She ran a top 1,500 meter time of 4:34.80 at the Jesuit Twilight Invitational earlier in the season. After the prep season, she qualified for the 2011 U.S. Junior Track and Field Championships in the 1,500.
In cross country, Maton has a pair of top-10 finishes that helped Summit claim back-to-back state titles. She was the 5A runner-up to teammate Megan Fristoe as a senior last fall, and was 10th as a junior the year before.
She was also a NXN Nationals qualifier in the fall of 2011.
JASMINE, TODD, CHANDLER, ARIZ./CHANDLER HS
Prep Bests: 60 Meters - 7.53; 100 Meters - 11.64w; 200 Meters - 24.84; Long Jump - 19-11; Triple Jump - 41-5.
Todd is a seven-time state champion for Chandler High School. She has won three straight triple jump titles (2009, 2010, 2011) and two straight long jump crowns (2010, 2011). She also claimed 100 meter titles as a freshman in 2009 and a sophomore in 2010.
Early in the 2012 indoor season, Todd ranks third nationally in the 60 meters with a time of 7.53 seconds. Last year as a junior, Todd set the Arizona state record in the triple jump, going 41-5 at the Chandler Rotary Track and Field Invitational in March. That was the No. 5 prep triple jump in 2011. She also ranked 10th nationally in the long jump with a leap of 18-10.75.
A sophomore, she won the Arizona state long jump title with a personal best leap of 19-11. That was the eighth-best mark nationally among high schoolers in 2010.
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Greg Walker
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University of Oregon
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