June 3, 2008
LAS VEGAS - UNLV track and field head coach Yvonne Scott-Williams announced her first recruiting class on Tuesday, and it is a mixture of high school athletes and transfers who will enroll in the fall.
A total of 10 student-athletes signed national letters of intent, including five from the high school ranks, four junior college transfers and one four-year transfer. Breaking down the class, it includes four sprinters, three hurdlers, a high jumper, a long jumper and a thrower. Six of the recruits are from California, while one each are from Colorado, Nevada and Texas, while there is an international addition from Bermuda.
"We are so excited to have such a stellar group of student-athletes joining us in the fall," Scott-Williams said. "These individuals help bring depth and talent that will have an immediate impact on our conference standings next season. Many of these athletes have already performed at the level needed to advance to the NCAA West Regional Championships and could possibly represent UNLV at the national level. From top to bottom, we were able to sign student-athletes in every event area, making it a very well balanced group."
The high school group includes Amanda Bingson, Zadia Bryant, Deja Edwards, Lindsay Roach and Stephanie Schafer.
Bingson is a local product from Silverado High School and she has won the last two Nevada state championships in the discus. She has a personal-best throw of 133-6.00 in the event, as well as a distance of 40-0.00 in the shot put. Bryant is a sprinter from Overland High School in Aurora, Colo., and she placed fifth in the 200 meters at the 2007 state championships. She has run a time of 25.06 in the 200, while also turning in a time of 7.70 in the 60 meters. Bryant will also compete in the triple jump for the Rebels.
The remaining three prep signees - Edwards, Roach and Schafer - all hail from California.
Edwards is a native of Rocklin, Calif., and is a senior at Whitney High School where she is a long jumper. She finished seventh at the 2007 state championships and has a personal-best distance of 19-2.50 in the long jump. Roach is a sprinter from Hercules High School in Hercules, Calif., who will compete in the 100, 200 and 400 meters while also running the 400-meter hurdles at UNLV. Schafer is a native of Alamo, Calif., and participates in the high jump at Monte Vista High School, where she is the three-time East Bay Athletic League champion and school record holder with a height of 5-6.00.
"As our first recruiting class, they make up a very special group," Scott-Williams said. "We are very excited to have put together such a talented group of athletes. They are coming to us with so much talent and potential to get even better over the next four years. They are virtually the foundation to the start of something big with our program."
UNLV's five transfer recruits include junior college student-athletes Chauncey David-Jacobs, Candise Maxwell, Shahnel Woodley and Allyson Stone, and Rachel Long, who competed the past three seasons for Baylor.
David-Jacobs is transferring from the City College of San Francisco, where she competes in the sprints and has ran a personal-best time of 23.89 in the 200 meters. She prepped at Burton High School in San Francisco, spent a year at Sacramento State and then enrolled at the City College of San Francisco. During her high school career David-Jacobs was a San Francisco All-City Champion four consecutive years and is the San Francisco region record holder in the 400 meters with a time of 55.63. Maxwell is currently enrolled at Laney College in Oakland, where she competes in the 100 and 200 meters, as well as the 100-meter hurdles. She is the current California Junior College champion in the 100-meter hurdles, and she prepped at Staggs High School in Stockton, Calif. Her personal-best times include 13.46 in the 100-meter hurdles, 11.66 in the 100 meters and 24.49 in the 200 meters.
Woodley is a teammate of Maxwell's at Laney College, and Woodley, who Woodley is a sprinter who is originally from Devonshire, Bermuda. She has run a personal-best time of 11.53 in the 100 meters. Stone is currently enrolled at Mt. Sac Community College and is a native of Ontario, Calif., and she attended Rancho Cucamonga High School. Long, who is originally from Houston, Texas, and prepped at Lamar High School, redshirted this past year at Baylor and will have two years of eligibility for the Rebels. Her primary events at UNLV will be the short hurdles, and she has run personal-best times of 14.27 in the 100-meter hurdles and 8.74 in the 60-meter hurdles.
"We have a great group of transfers that are coming in ready to make a statement," Scott-Williams said. "The fact that they are coming in with a competitive drive and maturity will definitely help us turn the program around"
