November 23, 2006 TRACK AND FIELD THANKFUL FOR EIGHT SIGNEES ON TURKEY DAY TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State women’s track and field Head Coach John Gartland announced the additions of eight student-athletes to the ranks of the team. Each has signed National Letters of Intent and will join the Sycamores for the 2007-08 season. The list includes Indiana products: Allison Malone
(Rensselaer, Ind./Renssalaer Central HS), Alicia
Fritschi (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge HS), Ashley
Davis (Brazil, Ind./Northview HS), Ariel
Hall (Terre Haute, Ind./South), Bethany
Scruton (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North HS) and
Emalie Alvey (Newburgh, Ind./Castle HS).
Alicia Lipska (Dodgeville, Wis./Dodgeville
HS) and Amanda Barlage (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles
HS) complete the list. 2007-08 List of Track and Field Signees
Player profiles: Emalie Alvey: Alvey had one of the best senior seasons of anyone in the state of Indiana this past fall, winning several meets early in the season including the Evansville City Invitational (15:31.34) and the SIAC Conference Meet (15:46). She won her sectional in a time of 15:37.34 and was a runner-up in the regional at 15:34.0. Her best race of the season happened at the Bloomington Semi-State, where she finished a strong fifth in a very tough field in 15:47.0. Her season unfortunately ended after the semi-state. Because of a knee injury, she was not able to compete at the state meet. Personal Bests: 5:23.0 (1600), 11:40.0 (3200), 14:50 (4k XC) Coach John Gartland’s Comments: "Emalie will contend for one of the top positions on our cross country team next year. She is an aggressive and determined competitor. Had she been able to compete in the state meet, she would have been one of the top finishers." Bethany Scruton: Scruton has had an outstanding high school career as a distance runner at Columbus North, one of the best programs in the state. In her sophomore year, she raced to a 15th place in the state cross country meet, finishing within a second of future Sycamore teammate Kayla Alexander in 15:12.8 for the 4,000-meter distance. In 2005, Bethany again qualified for the state meet and finished 34th overall with a time of 14:50.6. In the spring of 2006, Bethany qualified for the state track meet by running 11:25.19 in the regional meet. She finished 21st at the state meet in the 3200. She has been outstanding again this past fall where she was the conference runner-up in 15:30. In the sectional and regional, Bethany finished 4th and 3rd, respectively. She competed hard to run 15:21.25 at the semi-state, just missing another trip to the state meet. Personal Bests: 5:28.0 (1600), 11:25.0 (3200), 14:46 (4k XC) Coach John Gartland’s Comments: "Bethany helps fill a void we will have in cross country and in the distances next year. Because of her competitiveness, I look forward to coaching her next year. She will help us right away." Ariel Hall: Hall has been one of the top local runners for the past two years. In 2005, Hall helped lead South to a berth in the state cross country meet. As a junior, Ariel finished 123rd in the state meet in 16:03.1. Despite illness and a few other setbacks, she remained competitive in her senior year. She finished 9th in the sectional meet in 16:37.28. She placed 34th at the regional meet in 17:03.24. Her fall season came to an end after the semi-state competition, where she was 107th in 18:03. Personal Bests: 5:30.0 (1600), 11:49.0 (3200), 15:27 (4k XC) Coach John Gartland’s Comments: "Ariel has tremendous potential for this level. She has a perfect running form and should be able to improve a lot when she trains with our runners at this level." Ashley Davis: Davis has been one of the best local throwers over the past few years. She claims bests of 39 feet 3 inches in the shot and 113 feet 9 inches in the discus. In 2005, she qualified for the state meet in the discus by throwing 112 feet10 inches in the regional meet. At that state meet, she finished 22nd at 113 feet 2 inches. Personal Bests: 39-3 (Shot Put), 113-9 (Discus Throw) Coach John Gartland’s Comments: "Ashley has the potential to be very good at this level. We are delighted that she is coming. Although our tradition in the throws is strong, we are down a few numbers right now. Ashley will help that situation." Alicia Fritschi: Fritschi made great progress from her sophomore to junior years, improving in the vault from 10 feet 6 inches to 12 feet. She jumped 11 feet 6 inches in last spring’s regional meet to make it to the state meet. In the state meet, she finished 4th at 12 feet, finishing just ahead of future ISU teammate Kylie Hutson. She is the third highest returning vaulter this year in Indiana. Personal Bests: 12-0 (Pole Vault) Coach John Gartland’s Comments: "Alicia is a great pole vaulter, who will add to our deep group of vaulters. She will contend for an all MVC spot right away." Amanda Barlage: Barlage is one of the top pole vaulters in the state of Ohio. She has made steady progress as a vaulter throughout her high school years. In 2006, Barlage finished in second place at the Ohio Division III State Meet, jumping a personal best of 11 feet 9 inches. Personal Bests: 11-9 (Pole Vault) Coach John Gartland’s Comments: "The pole vault has traditionally been one of our strongest women’s events. Amanda will add strength and depth to an event we are already strong in." Allison Malone: Malone is one of the top distance/middle distance runners in the state of Indiana. She culminated a great junior year in track by finishing third in the state meet in the 800 in 2:14.57 this past spring. As a ninth grader she finished 13th in the state cross country meet in 14:43.1, one place ahead of future Sycamore teammate Heather Stembridge. During this past fall, she just missed making the state meet by finishing 18th in the semi-state. Personal Bests: 56.9 (400 split), 2:14.57 (800), 5:03.67 (1600), 14:43.1 (4k XC) Coach John Gartland’s Comments: "Allison is one of the most versatile runners we have ever had at ISU. She has great range and has reached top competitive levels in a number of events." Alicia Lipska: Lipska has been one of the leaders of her high school team’s two straight cross country state championships in Wisconsin. This past fall, she finished 10th in the Division 2 State Championship race in 15:32 over the 4,000-meter course. In her junior year, Lipska finished seventh in the 1,600-meter race at the state meet in 5:14.82. She also ran a key leg in her team’s 4 x 800 state championship team. Personal Bests: 5:14.82 (1600), 15:19 (4k XC) Coach John Gartland’s Comments: "Alicia
completes a great recruiting year for us in the distances. We have
now revamped our entire distance program – a necessary change
since we lost four of our top eight runners from this year. Alicia
will provide great depth and competitiveness to our new team." |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||