BATON ROUGE — LSU head track and field coach Dennis Shaver has signed another 15 student-athletes to national letters of intent, bringing his list of signees for the 2005-06 season to 18, he announced on Tuesday.
In addition to Juanita Broaddus, Carliesa Meakes and Tiaerra McLaurin, who Shaver signed for the Lady Tiger squad in November, LSU will bring in an additional 10 Tigers and five Lady Tigers this fall.
Highlighting the men’s list of signees are 400-meter hurdler and middle distance runner Isa Phillips as well as dual-sports athletes Trindon Holliday and Ricky Francois.
Phillips, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, comes to LSU from South Plains Junior College where he was the NJCAA national champion in the 400-meter hurdles (50.51).
Holliday and Francois, who have each signed football scholarships with the Tigers, should be big assets on the track and in the field, respectively.
A prep at Northeast High in Zachary, Holliday is the top-ranked prep in the nation in the indoor 60 meters. He also won both the 100 and 200 meter titles at the Class 2A state championships in May.
Francois comes from Miami Carol City High School in Miami, Fla. The country’s third-ranked prep athlete in the shot put, he won both the Florida 4A shot put and discus state titles this season
Also helping out in the field should be Jeremy Hicks of Elsik High School in Houston, Texas. Hicks is ranked third in the nation in the long jump after winning both the 2005 Texas state and Golden West titles.
Three other state champions will join the Tiger squad in Casey Herndon of Franklin County High School in Watkinsville, Ga., Trevis Nelson of St. James High and Chad Radgowski of South Park, Pa.
Herndon, a Nike All-American in the pole vault, was the 2004 Georgia state champion in 2004 and the state runner-up in 2005.
Nelson has won the Louisiana 3A state title in the high jump each of the last two years and comes to LSU with a personal best clearance of 6-11.
Radgowski is ranked eighth in the nation in the javelin and won the Pennsylvania state titles in the event in both 2004 and 2005.
Other signees for the Tigers include junior college transfers Melville Rogers and Amel Alexander of Central Arizona and prep athlete Derrick Taylor of Tomball, Texas.
Rogers is a NJCAA All-American in the 400 meters from St. Kitts, while Alexander is a short sprinter from Grenada and Taylor participates in the pole vault.
For the Lady Tigers, junior college transfers Sherry Fletcher and Shaunette Davidson should make an immediate impact.
Fletcher, who also comes from Central Arizona JC, finished third in the 100 and fourth in the 200 at the 2005 NJCAA Championships. In addition, the Grenada native finished second to current Lady Tiger Kelly Baptiste in the 100 meters at this year’s Carifta Games.
Davidson, a native of Jamaica, comes to LSU from Barton County Community College where she won the 2004 junior college national title in the high jump as well as the indoor pentathlon crown in 2005.
The Lady Tigers also pick up two transfers in Kathryn Colman from Southeast Missouri State and Cynethia Rooks of Michigan State.
Coleman was named the Freshman of the Year for the Ohio Valley Conference after claiming the 2005 60 meter and long jump league titles.
Rooks is a 200 and 400 meter sprinter from Graysburg, N.C. where she won 100, 200 and 400 meter sprint titles as a prep.
In addition, the Lady Tigers will be joined by in-state product Anna Lyons of Ruston High School. Lyons, the 2005 Louisiana 5A state champion in the javelin, is ranked among the top 10 preps in the nation in the event.