Spider XC/Track & Field Welcomes Incoming Class

08/17/2011 | Cross Country, Women's Track & Field

By: Richmond Athletics

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - The University of Richmond cross country and track & field teams welcome a talented class of 20 incoming student-athletes to campus for the 2011-12 academic year. The strong crop of new Spiders will help the programs continue to excel at both the conference and national levels.

"We are excited about the new year and the new student-athletes joining our program," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lori Taylor. "Our staff worked throughout the year to bring a strong group of men and women to our university. After graduating five All-Americans this past year, it will be important for our freshmen to come in and commit to what it takes to achieve success at the Division I level. We are thrilled about the high level of recruits we have been able to bring in and expect many of the incoming freshmen to make an immediate impact for our team. Every year we seek leaders, and this group has the kind of potential our program expects in order to help our program achieve our goals."  

"As a staff we are happy with the 20 student-athletes that will join us this fall," added head men's coach Steve Taylor. "As our student-athletes continue to achieve at the highest level in NCAA Athletics, we notice more of the nation's top student-athletes taking a closer look at what we have to offer as a program and a university. There is no question that our one-year-old Robins Stadium expansion at the Fred Hardy Track shows recruits how committed we are to becoming the best. We've never met a recruit who has visited our campus and not fallen in love with it. Our track & field facility puts an exclamation point on the direction we are headed with our outstanding new incoming class."

The Spider cross country and track & field programs are coming off a banner year in which 10 student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships, with four earning All-America honors. The men's and women's cross country teams both won Atlantic 10 titles last year, with the men taking 24th at the NCAA Championships, and each looks poised to repeat after being selected second in the conference heading into the 2011 season. The women's track & field team finished third at the A-10 Outdoor Championships in May, while the men's team earned the highest cumulative team GPA in the nation this past year.

SPIDERS WELCOME INCOMING WOMEN

Emily Beckley - Walton, Ind. (Lewis Cass)
Beckley is a high jump specialist who qualified for the Indiana State Championships three consecutive years (2009-11), jumping 5'5" to take 10th at the Indiana State Championships as a senior. She placed sixth in the 2011 Bremen Regional Championships with a leap of 5'04.25" and recorded a jump of 5'04" to win her IHSAA Sectional Championships last year.

Taylor Clevinger - Mechanicsville, Va. (St. Catherine's School)
A standout middle distance runner for St. Catherine's School in Richmond, Clevinger won six individual state titles during her prep career. She placed second in the 800 meters at the 2011 New Balance Outdoor Nationals Emerging Elite with a time 2:12.13 and finished 15th at the event in the 800 meters. Clevinger captured titles in the 800 meters, 1600 meters and 4x400 meter relay at the VISAA Outdoor State Championships as a senior and was the LIS Outdoor Track & Field champion in the 800 meters and 1600 meters in 2011. She also excelled in the indoor season as a senior, earning titles in the 1000 meters, 1600 meters and 4x400 meter relay at last year's VISAA Indoor State Championship and in the 500 meters and 4x400 relay at the LIS Indoor Championships. Clevinger earned All-State honors at both the 2009 and 2011 VISAA State Cross Country Championships.

Deborah Fajuyigbe - Bowie, Md. (Bowie)
While at Bowie, Fajuyigbe clocked a 41.56 in the 300 meters, 57.29 in the 400 meters and 1:17.61 in the 500 meters. She was the Maryland 4A Region champion in the 500 meters and runner-up in the 300 meters (41.57) as a senior after securing a second-place showing at the 2011 Prince George's Country Indoor Championships in the 300 meters (42.66). Fajuyigbe finished sixth in the 400 meters at the 2010 Maryland State Championships with a time of 57.29 and clocked a 1:17.61 in the 500 meters at the 2009 Virginia Tech Indoor Meet, which ranked the 28th-best high school time in the nation that season.

Karissa Jenkins - Staunton, Va. (Robert E. Lee)
A three-year Virginia AA champion in the triple jump, Jenkins won her third consecutive state title in the event with a jump of 38'0.5". She also captured Region III crowns in the long jump, triple jump and 100 hurdles as a senior after sweeping all three events and winning the long jump and triple jump at regionals her sophomore and junior seasons, respectively.

Clare Moretz - Madison, Va. (Madison)
Moretz was most recently selected to the 2011 USA Junior Mountain Running Team that is set to compete in the IAAF World Mountain Running Championships in Tirana, Albania, in September. She comes to Richmond as four-time state track champion, earning titles in the 800 meters (2010), 1600 meters (2009 and 2010) and 3200M (2011). Moretz garnered All-State honors multiple times and recorded personal bests of 5:07.71 in the 1600 meters and 11:16.18 in the 3200 meters her senior year. After going undefeated for the first half of the 2010 cross country season, she suffered a stress fracture that left her unable to compete for the rest of the season. Returning with a vengeance in the spring, Moretz qualified for four events at the 2011 VHSL Group A State Championships, where she took first in the 3200 meters and set a new school record with her second-place finish in the 1600 meters.

Melanie Overall - Lake Oswego, Ore. (Lake Oswego)
A 2010 graduate of Lake Oswego High School, Overall is a Javelin specialist who holds a personal best of 134'2" in the event set. She also threw over 130' (131'4") against Milwaukie, winning the event at seven of the 11 meets she competed in during senior year.

Taylor Parson - Millersville, Md. (Old Mill)

A strong addition to the Spider sprinting corps, Parson placed fourth in the 100 meters, third in the 200 meters and 10th in the 400 meters at the Maryland State 4A Outdoor Championships as a senior. She secured a second-place finish in the 55 meters with a personal-best time of 7.20 at last year's Maryland State 4A Indoor Championships. Parson completed her prep career with personal bests of 7.20 in the 55 meters, 12.08 in the 100 meters, 25.36 in the 200 meters, 41.36 in the 300 meters and 57.33 in the 400 meters.

Jasmine Smalls - Sandy Spring, Md. (Sherwood)
Smalls comes to the Spiders after a stellar high school career in which she placed sixth in the 100 meters and ninth in the 200 meters at the Maryland State 4A Outdoor Championships her senior season. She took second in the 100 meters and third in the 200 meters the 2011 West Regional Outdoor Championships after finishing second in the 55 meters in a time of 7.20 at the Maryland State 4A Indoor Championships last year. Smalls holds personal best of 7.20 in the 55 meters, 12.30 in the 100 meters and 25.88 in the 200 meters.

Alli Stapleton - Commack, N.Y. (Commack)
An accomplished prep standout, Stapleton was named a NYSPHSAA Scholar Athlete all four years at Commack. While she was injured during the outdoor season as a senior, she was honored as the Suffolk County League 2 Distance Runner of the Year in 2009 and 2010. Stapleton placed second in the 2000 meter steeplechase at both the 2010 state championships and at the Federation Championships, also clocking the second-best the 2010 U.S. time in the race (6:54.43) that year. She earned National Scholastic All-American, All-State and All-Federation honors as a result of her success in the steeple in 2009 in addition to garnering All-County accolades in the steeple as a sophomore and junior. A 2010 New York All-Federation honoree, Stapleton also excelled in cross country at Commack as she was selected All-State and All-Long Island in 2009 and 2010 and All-County her first three seasons. She holds personal bests of 18:19.30 in 5K cross country, 3:00.06 in the 1000 meters, 10:18.66 in the 3000 meters and 6:54.43 in the 2000 meter steeplechase.

Alexis Williams - Virginia Beach, Va. (Green Run)
Williams joins the Spiders after a successful career at Green Run High School. She clocked a 2:23.88 for a ninth-place finish in the 800 meters at the VHSL Eastern Regional Championships and ran under 1:22.0 in the 500 meters four times with a best of 1:18.94.

Amber Young - Pepper Pike, Ohio (Orange)
A talented hurdler from outside of Cleveland, Young took sixth in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 44.75 at the OHSAA State Championship as a senior after clocking a 44.23 in her semifinal heat. She posted a personal-best time of 43.89 to capture third in the 300 meter hurdles at the OHSAA Region 5 Championships last spring after being crowned the Northeast District champion in the event.

SPIDERS WELCOME INCOMING MEN

Tim Becker - Wilton, Conn. (Wilton)
A multiple-race record holder at Wilton High School, Becker set school records his senior year in the 3,200 meters (Indoor - 9:38.93), 3,200 meters (Outdoor - 9:37.03), 2-mile (Outdoor - 9:34.31) and the 3000 meter steeplechase (10:00.06). He set personal bests of 4:22.76 in the 1600 meters at the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference meet (FCIAC) and 1:59.96 in the 800 meters and 16:02 in the 5K (cross country) at the Todd's Point Invitational. Becker received Indoor Track & Field All-State honors as a senior in addition to earning FCIAC Indoor and Outdoor All-Conference accolades in 2011. He also captained the Wilton cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field teams his senior year.

Billy Fayette - Clarendon Hills, Ill. (Hinsdale)
Fayette was most recently selected to the 2011 USA Junior Mountain Running Team scheduled to compete in the IAAF World Mountain Running Championships in Tirana, Albania, in September. During his standout high school career, Fayette set numerous school records and was the 2011 recipient of the prestigious Jim Carmignani award honoring the school's best all-around male athlete and leader. The 2011 team captain ran a 14:39 (3-mile) at the Illinois State Cross Country Championships and has recorded personal-best times of 9:09.96 in the 3,200 meters and 4:10.33 in the 1600 meters (4:12.06 for the full-mile distance). Fayette set Indoor school records in the 1600 meters (4:16) and 3200 meters (9:16) and was a three-time all-conference and two-time all-sectional honoree. He was the sectional champion in the 3200 meters and runner-up in the1600 meters as a senior and qualified for the state meet in both events his final year, earning All-State accolades in the 3200 during the outdoor season. Fayette set Outdoor school records in the 1600 meters (4:10.33 - converted) and distance medley relay (10:18) and was chosen team MVP in 2011. He was also heavily involved in other activities while at Hinsdale, where he was a member of the J. Kyle Braid Leadership organization, National Honor Society and president of Athletes Committed to Excellence. Fayette was on the Dean's List each semester in high school and was tabbed an Illinois Scholar Athlete for his academic success.

Matthew Groff - Landisville, Pa. (Hempfield)
A decorated runner out of Hempfield High School, Groff won the Lebanon-Lancaster League 3200 meters three consecutive years, setting a personal-best time of 9:25.30 as a senior. He added 1600 meter titles to his league resume in 2010 and 2011. Groff placed second in the 1600 and 3200 at the 2011 Pennsylvania 3A District 3 Championships with marks of 4:16.77 and 9:29.36, respectively, and took seventh in the 1600 at the 2011 PIAA State Championship. He clocked an 8:59.77 in the 3000 meters to win the 2011 Susquehanna University Indoor Invitational and competed in the 2011 New Balance Indoor Nationals Emerging Elite 2-mile as well. Groff trekked the hills of the 2010 Pennsylvania District AAA Cross Country Championships and turned in a second-place finish with a time of 16:22.0 at the event. He led his squad to the 2010 PA District 3 Championship team title, which marked its first team title since 1990. He qualified for the Pennsylvania State Cross Country Championships all four years, while also earning All-League honors and varsity letters in each of his four seasons at Hempfield.

Clark Hillenbrand - New Albany, Ohio (New Albany)
Hillenbrand comes to Richmond after reaching personal bests of 160'04" in the discus and 46'03.5" in the shot put his senior year at New Albany High School. He finished fifth in the discus and seventh in the shot put at the OHSAA Regional Track and Field Championships as a senior. Hillenbrand was crowned the Ohio Capital Conference champion in the discus while also finishing fifth in the shot in 2011. As a junior, he placed second at both conference and district to earn OHSAA All-Conference and All-District honors. Hillenbrand was an OHSSA Regional finalist after finishing eighth in the discus and took eighth in the shot at the Ohio Capital Conference meet.

Matthew Jessup - Westwood, Mass. (Westwood)
Jessup joins the Spiders after completing his prep career at Westwood High School outside of Boston. As a senior, he was crowned Tri-Valley League champion in the 400 meters during the Outdoor season and in the 300 meters and 600 meters Indoors. Jessup ran a 1:22.82 in the 600 meters to finish second in the Massachusetts Division 3 State Indoor Championships and a 37.04 in the 300 meters at the Tri-Valley League Championship his senior season. He was also a member of the 2011 MIAA All State Champion and record-setting 4x800M relay squad.

Austin Locke - Brentwood, Tenn. (Montgomery Bell Academy)
Locke opens his collegiate career following a year spent studying in China. While at Montgomery Bell Academy, he earned four varsity letters in track & field and ice hockey in addition to another three in football. Locke turned in a personal-best toss of 45' in the shot put and 135' in the discus as a senior. He served as a captain of the ice hockey and football teams his senior year.

Micah Morton - Lebanon, N.H. (Lebanon)
A sprinter and long jump specialist, Morton finished 10th in the 100 meters at the 2011 New Hampshire Outdoor Meet Of Champions. During his senior season, he took third in the 55 meters, fifth in the long jump and sixth in the high jump at the NHIAA DII Indoor Championships. Morton recorded a personal-best time of 37.94 in the 300 meters at the Norwich Meet in 2011.

Paul Myer - Boyce, Va. (Clarke County)
A strong cross country runner, Myer earned VHSL Class A All-State honors his final three seasons and VHSL All-Region and All-District honors all four years at Clarke County. During the outdoor season, 1600M he earned VHSL All-State honors in the 1600 meters as a junior and senior in addition to all-region and all-district accolades in three times. Myer was also named VHSL All-State in the 3200 meters as a junior while also picking up all-region and all-district accolades in 2010 and 2011.

Andrew Valenski - Massapequa, N.Y. (Massapequa)
A standout distance runner at Massapequa High School, Valenski earned All-America honors in the 2-mile after winning the event with a time of 9:15.94 at the Emerging Elite race at the New Balance Indoor National Championships. His finish represented the sixth-fastest time of the day. Valenski was a four-time NYSSWA All-State team selection as a senior (1600, 3200, 2-mile and DMR). A two-time County champion and nine-time All-Country honoree, he clocked a personal-best time of 4:18.8 in the 1600 meters at the 2011 Icahn Stadium Invitational and set school record in nine events over the course of his prep career. Also a decorated cross country athlete, he earned NYSSWA All-Federation honors in 2010 and All-State accolades as a freshman and junior.