Track and Field Signs Historic Recruiting Class for 2013-14
/ February 06, 2013
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The storied Northern Arizona University track and field program is adding some of the best recruits in its history with its 2013-14 signing class, Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins and his staff announced Wednesday.
The National Signing Day class for Lumberjack track and field and cross country includes six girls and one boy, hailing from five states and Canada, and should enter the NAU in the fall ready to contribute.
The team will add four female distance athletes in Carolyn Bethel of Roanoke, Va., Paige Gilchrist of Missoula, Mont., Vanessa Estrada of Hollister, Calif., and Kylie Goo of Daly City, Calif., along with 400-meter hurdler Ashley Taylor of Burlington, Ontario, Canada and male middle-distance runner Andy Trouard of Tucson, Ariz. Rachel Pott of Ft. Collins, Colo. will help improve a solid women's throws squad as well.
"We signed an incredible class of young ladies to our distance/cross country program," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "A lot of the credit goes to Coach Leah Rosenfeld for her tireless efforts setting up official visits and showing our recruits what an amazing team and atmosphere that we have here at Northern Arizona University. We wanted to bring in some young ladies that can make an immediate impact on our cross country team and middle distance events on the track, and these signees will do just that."
Although the four female distance athletes will make up the backbone of their event group, the additions of Taylor, Trouard, and Pott will complement groups that are already very tough in the Big Sky Conference, and will definitely be a welcome addition come the 2013-14 academic year.
"Coach Kenny McDaniel wasted no time bolstering an already strong sprint squad with the signing of Ashley Taylor," said Heins. "She fills a hole that we haven't had for a few years as a 400-meter hurdler, and will also strengthen our 4x400-meter relay team. And with the signing of Andy Trouard, we got a young man with a world of potential.
"Andy has not been running track and cross country very long, as he spent most of his high school career as a swimmer, so with our current group of runners he will be able to train with and look up to at NAU, I feel confident he will play a major factor the years to come."
Associate Head Coach Oscar Duncan, the Lumberjack throws coach, worked hard in signing Pott, a perennial Top-10 finished at the Colorado State 5A Championships since entering high school in 2009.
"Rachel is a muscular, athletic, and fit young lady who also has experience in the weight throw and hammer throw," said Duncan. "There has always been a great tradition of really strong weight and hammer throwers at NAU, and I think Rachel has the talent, the athletic ability, and the desire to continue that tradition."
Six of the seven athletes have the ability to make an impact on the national scene during their first season as collegiates. Goo's career-best 800-meter run time of 2:10 is already just two seconds off the NAU indoor school record set seven years ago by former national champion Johanna Nilsson. The same goes for Bethel's best time in the 1,600 meters of 4:50, which when converted to a 4:51.68 mile time becomes a very respectable collegiate mark.
Estrada and Gilchrist are both less than a second away from sub-five minute mile times, while Taylor is just above the one minute mark in the 400-meter hurdles, and Trouard is sitting on a solid career-best in the 800 meters of 1:54.54.
"The times these athletes have run as just juniors in high school is very impressive, and they also bring an intensity and a drive that I think will raise the level of the other athletes around them," said Heins.
Five of the seven athletes have won individual state (or provincial) championships in at least one event, and to put their times in perspective, Goo and Bethel would have held top-five times in the Big Sky Conference in 2012 with their respective career bests, while the other four all had potential to rank in the Top 10 in their events.
For a full list of accolades and other information on each signee, as well as a quote from the coaches about each student-athlete, see the list below:
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Carolyn Bethel, Distance, Roanoke, Va. (Hidden Valley)
Best Times: 2:47.70 (1,000m), 4:50 (1,600m), 17:35 (5,000m)
Track & Field/Cross Country Accomplishments and Awards: Indoor 1,600-meter state champion … Two-time cross country individual state champion … 3x Nike Cross Nationals qualifier … 26th place at Nike Cross Nationals in 2012
Academic Honors: Valedictorian, member of National English Honor Society
Watch Video of Carolyn Bethel (#2)
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"Carolyn is a fierce competitor. If you watch some of her races from high school, never count her out, because she will fight to the bitter end. That is something, I think, the women on this team will really get motivated by. How hard she runs at the end of the race will get everyone excited."
-Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins
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Vanessa Estrada, Distance, Hollister, Calif. (San Benito) -
Best Times: 17:38 (Cross Country 5K), 2:16 (800m), 4:59 (1,600m), 9:53 (3,000m)
Track & Field/Cross Country Accomplishments and Awards: Three-time league cross country champion … 2011 & 2012 league champion in 800 and 1,600-meter runs … Earned all-league honors five times between cross country and track & field … Selected team MVP three times … Helped her team to three league cross country titles and one league track and field title … Holds four school records (800m, 1600m, 3000m, 3200m) … Finished eighth overall at the 2012 CIF Cross Country State Championships.
Academic Honors: Scholar athlete all four years.
Watch Video of Vanessa Estrada
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"Vanessa is very motivated to be the best that she can be and push others around her, and I think the thing that she'll bring to the team is a really high competitiveness that will push her teammates and make them better."
-Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins
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Paige Gilchrist, Distance, Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate)
Best Times: 2:16 (800m), 5:00 (1,600m), 10:44 (3,200m), 17:04 (3-Mile), 17:52 (5K)
Track & Field/Cross Country Accomplishments and Awards: Came 29th overall at Foot Locker National Championships in 2012 … Finished fourth at both the 2012 Nike Cross Northwestern Regional and at the 2012 Foot Locker West Regional … Four-time Missoula City Champion … Was Montana State Cross Country Champion in 2012 … Took second in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs at the Montana State AA Track & Field Championships in 2012.
Academic Honors: Academic Letter award, Academic Honor Roll, 3.76 GPA
Watch Video of Paige Gilchrist
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"With Paige, you look at her marks from her freshman year to her senior year, and you see that one of her biggest assets is the fact that she worked so hard to get herself from where she was then to where she is now as a senior. To finish her high school cross country season as a Foot Locker Nationals qualifier, finishing in the Top 30 there, then qualifying for Nike Cross Nationals as well, is very impressive. She'll continue to get better, she has a great attitude, and will fit right in."
-Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins
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Kylie Goo, Distance, Daly City, Calif. (Westmoor)
Best Times: 59.97 (400m), 2:10 (800m), 5:06 (1,600m), 5:08 (Mile), 11:18 (3,200m), 18:10 (5K)
Track & Field/Cross Country Accomplishments and Awards: Four-time team cross country MVP … Three-time team track and field MVP … San Mateo Journal 2012 Track Athlete of the Year … San Mateo County Times 2012 Cross Country Runner of the Year, and three-time Athlete of the Week … All-League honoree in 2011 and 2012 … Won first-team honors for the Central Coast Section of the CIF in 2012 … Second-team all-state honoree in 2012 … Holds the school record in the 800 meters, and has her school's cross country course record as well.
Academic Honors: Honor Roll.
Watch Video of Kylie Goo (Lane 3)
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"Kylie Goo will strengthen our middle distance events immediately. Having run 2:10 in the 800 meters as a junior, she's someone who can come in and be scoring at the conference level and thinking of getting to the NCAA West Preliminary Round right away."
-Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins
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Rachel Pott, Throws, Ft. Collins, Colo. (Poudre)
Best Marks: 41-9.25 (Shot Put), 119-8 (Discus)
Track & Field/Cross Country Accomplishments and Awards: Placed fourth in shot put at 2012 Colorado State 5A Championships, eighth in discus … As a sophomore, placed 10th in the shot put and 15th in the discus at the 2011 Colorado State 5A Championships … Finished 14th in the shot put and 10th in the discus at the 2010 Colorado State 5A Championships as a freshman … Was the runner-up in the shot put at the USATF Colorado State Indoor Championships in 2012 with a mark of 35-11.5.
Academic Honors: 3.787 GPA … Contemplating a major in engineering or athletic training and rehabilitation
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"Rachel is a muscular, athletic, and fit young lady who also has experience in the weight throw and hammer throw. There has always been a great tradition of really strong weight and hammer throwers at NAU, and I think Rachel has the talent, the athletic ability, and the desire to continue that tradition."
-Associate Head Coach and NAU Throws Coach Oscar Duncan
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Ashley Taylor, Hurdles, Burlington, Ontario, Canada (Nelson)
Best Times: 14.79 (100mH), 25.45 (200m), 56.01 (400m), 60.38 (400mH)
Track & Field/Cross Country Accomplishments and Awards: (HIGH SCHOOL) Ontario Federation of Scholastic Athletic Association gold medalist in the 80-meter hurdles once and 300-meter hurdles twice … Also notched a fourth place in the 400-meters and a bronze in the 400-meter hurdles at the OFSAA Championships … Named Nelson High School Female Track MVP in 2010, 2011, & 2012 … (CLUB) Competed for Team Ontario indoors in 2012 and outdoors in 2011 & 2012 … Competed for Team Canada in 400-meter hurdles at the 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France, where she finished 12th in the world in a time of 60.38 … Participated and earned a bronze medal as part of the Sprint Medley Relay … Current record holder in the Ontario 400-meter hurdles in the U17 division … Trained in the Canadian Olympic Development Program in Phoenix in April 2012
Academic Honors: Ontario Scholar Honor Roll all four years.
Watch Video of Ashley Taylor (:57)
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"Coach Kenny McDaniel wasted no time bolstering an already strong sprint squad with the signing of Ashley Taylor. She fills a hole that we haven't had for a few years as a 400-meter hurdler, and she will also strengthen our 4x400-meter relay team."
-Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins
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Andy Trouard, Distance, Tucson, Ariz. (Salpointe Catholic)
Best Times: 1:54.54 (800m), 4:13.12 (1,600m), 9:23.22 (3,200m), 14:59 (5K)
Track & Field/Cross Country Accomplishments and Awards: Was 2012 Arizona D-II State Champion in the 800, 1600, and 3200-meter runs … Won the 2012 AZ D-II Cross Country State Championship … Winner of the 2012 Doug Conley Invitational and the 2012 Four Corners Invitational … Took 29th at Nike Cross Nationals
Other Notable Sports Awards: Helped Salpointe teams win the 2012 Arizona D-II Soccer State Championship and the 2012 Arizona D-II Swimming State Championship … Also was a part of the state champion 4x50-meter Relay and Swimming Medley Relay at the 2012 Arizona D-II Swimming State Championships
Academic Honors: 2010-12 member of the Honor Roll.
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"We got a young man with a world of potential in Andy Trouard. He hasn't been running track and cross country very long, as he spent most of his high school career as a swimmer, so with our current group of runners he will be able to train with and look up to at NAU, I feel confident he will play a major factor the years to come."
-Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins
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