BATON ROUGE — After inking nine elite athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period in February, the LSU track and field program has added nine more standouts to the Class of 2009 as head coach Dennis Shaver announced their signing on Wednesday.
The Tigers have added five high school athletes who will be eligible to compete during the 2010 season, while the Lady Tigers have added four standouts of their own heading into the fall.
In all, the Tigers have signed seven high school standouts and the Lady Tigers have signed 11 athletes of their own for a combined recruiting class of 18 for the Class of 2009.
In-state sprinters Ben Guarisco of Baton Rouge, Johnathan Johnson of Port Allen and Caleb Williams of Gray, La., join middle distance runner Sadiki White of Millstone Township, N.J., and pole vaulter Joseph Caraway of Lacassine, La., as the latest recruits to sign with the Tigers. They will look to make an impact while competing as freshmen during the 2010 season.
The Tigers also inked two of the nation’s top performers in their respective events in February in signing jumper Damar Forbes of Decatur, Ga., and sprinter Rynell Parson of San Antonio, Texas.
Junior College transfer thrower Samia Stokes of Tempe, Ariz., joins incoming freshman sprinters Siedda Herbert of Port Allen, La., Gabrielle Jackson of Midwest City, Okla., and Latoya McDermott of Kingston, Jamaica, as the latest crop of Lady Tigers to join the LSU program for 2010.
Their signing follows that of sprinters Naffene Briscoe of St. Catherine, Jamaica, Nyosha Bryant of Charlotte, N.C., Kimberlyn Duncan of Katy, Texas, and Takeia Pinckney of Atlanta, Ga.; middle distance runner Charlene Lipsey of Hempstead, N.Y.; thrower Abbey Karin of Byfield, Mass. and jumper Whitney Johnson of Houston, Texas, back in February (Read More).
“We feel very confident that this year’s crop of signees will not only give us much needed depth for 2010, but it will allow us to remain competitive on a national level over the next four years,” Shaver said. “The nine athletes we have signed since February will be a great addition to our program heading into the fall. I am confident that each of them will play a major role on our team next season.
“And it will come across all event areas. Our latest group of signees features some high-quality athletes in the sprints, middle distances, jumps and throws. That is the kind of depth we want here at LSU.”
The Tigers have added the top three sprinters in the state of Louisiana for the Class of 2009 as Guarisco, Johnson and Williams each captured individual state championships in their respective events this season.
Guarisco wrapped up his senior season at Catholic High School by being named the Most Outstanding Performer for Class 5A at the 2009 Louisiana High School Athletics Association Outdoor State Track and Field Championships at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium on LSU’s campus.
Guarisco led his team to the Class 5A state championship by sweeping state crowns in the 100 meters and 200 meters, while also running a leg on Catholic High’s state champion 4×100-meter relay team. He set personal bests with times of 10.60 seconds in the 100 and 21.36 in the 200 at the state meet. He was also a state runner-up in the 55 meters indoors to help Catholic High School defend its indoor state crown.
While Guarisco dominated the sprints in Class 5A, Johnson proved to be the most dominant sprinter in Class 3A this season while being crowned state champion in the 100-meter dash with a wind-aided time of 10.44 in the state final. He also set a personal best of 21.65 to finish as the Class 3A state-runner up in the 200 meters while running for Port Allen High School.
Johnson set his wind-legal personal best time of 10.53 to win the 100-meter title at the Mobile Challenge of Champions in Mobile, Ala., on April 4 of this year.
Williams signs with the Tigers following an outstanding career at H.L. Bourgeois High School, where he established himself as the top 400-meter recruit in the state while capturing back-to-back Class 4A state titles in the event in 2008 and 2009. He holds personal bests of 21.32 in the 200 and 47.20 in the 400.
Not only have the Tigers added quality and depth to the sprints, but they have also bolstered their middle distance squad by signing White to a National Letter of Intent.
White, who did not run track at Allentown High School, is one of the nation’s top 800-meter recruits for the Class of 2009 as he comes to LSU with an overall personal best of 1 minute, 52.40 seconds in the event. He set his overall personal best in winning a bronze medal at the 2009 National Scholastic Indoor Championships at The Armory Track and Field Center in New York.
White has enjoyed tremendous success in championship meets as he won gold medals in the young men’s division of the 800 meters and 1,500 meters at the 2009 USA Youth Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also won gold in his age group of the 1,500 meters at the 2008 USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Championships while setting a personal best of 3:57.56.
Caraway will join the Tigers in the fall following an outstanding career at Lacassine High School, where he established himself as the top pole vaulter in the state. He wrapped up his senior season by winning indoor and outdoor state titles while setting a new overall personal best mark of 16 feet, 2 inches.
His personal best clearance of 16-2 was a LHSAA Division II Indoor State Championships meet record and ranked No. 5 nationally among high school boys during the 2009 indoor season.
“We’re very excited about the quality depth that we’ve added to the men’s team with the signing of these seven athletes for the 2009 recruiting year,” Shaver said. “Each of these young men have the opportunity to come in and make an impact right away as we look to compete for championships again next spring. It is always an exciting time for our program when we bring in a freshman class of this caliber.”
Stokes headlines the latest crop of talent to join the Lady Tigers as she signs with LSU following a career at Mesa Community College where she established herself among the elite throwers in the JUCO ranks.
Stokes was a two-time National Junior College Athletics Association All-American in 2009 as she earned national runner-up honors in the discus throw at the 2009 NJCAA Outdoor Championships after finishing third in the weight throw at the 2009 NJCAA Indoor Championships this past season.
She set her personal best in the discus this year at the Mesa Classic where she unleashed a throw of 163-10 to finish second in the invitational event. Her personal-best mark of 163-10 would have earned her an All-America honor with a seventh-place finish in the event at the 2009 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Stokes will also throw the hammer at LSU.
By signing McDermott, the Lady Tigers have also added one of the top 400-meter prospects in the world for the Class of 2009 as the product of St. Andrew High School boasts a personal best of 53.48. She joins the Lady Tigers with tremendous credentials and an extensive international pedigree.
McDermott represented Jamaica in the 400 meters and 4×400-meter relay at the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships in which she was a semifinalist in the one-lap race after winning a pair of silver medals in both events at the 2007 IAAF World Youth Championships. In addition, McDermott won a bronze medal as a member of Jamaica’s 4×400 relay at the IAAF World Junior Championships in 2006.
She set her personal best time of 53.48 in the 400 meters with a runner-up finish at the Jamaican Boys and Girls Championships during the 2007 season.
Jackson will also provide immediate depth in the 400 meters after wrapping up her career at Midwest City High School as a two-time Oklahoma Class 6A state champion in 2008 and 2009. She also proved to be a standout hurdler while capturing the Class 6A state title in the 100-meter hurdles during her senior season while she was also a member of four state champion relay teams during her two-year career at MCHS.
In fact, Jackson’s personal-best 400-meter time of 54.10 was set as a sophomore in 2007 when she won a Class 4A state championship in the state of Texas while running for Mineral Wells High School.
Herbert also joins the Lady Tigers following an outstanding career at Port Allen High School where she is one of the top sprinters and jumpers in the state of Louisiana for the Class of 2009.
Herbert wrapped up her senior season in 2009 by winning state titles in the long jump and triple jump and earning state runner-up honors in the 100 meters and 200 meters at the LHSAA Class 3A Outdoor State Championships at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium. She will join LSU in the fall with PRs of 11.78 in the 100 meters, 24.62 in the 200 meters, 19-5 ? in the long jump and 37-9 ? in the triple jump.
“We’re also very pleased with the athletes that will be joining our women’s team in the fall,” Shaver said. “We have addressed some very specific needs with this recruiting class, and we are confident that each of these young women will help us be in the mix to compete for another national championship next spring.”