Head coach Jeff Pigg and Illinois State track and field has signed 10 new recruits and added one college transfer to help add depth to a program that claimed a NCAA Champion and sent three athletes to the NCAA Championships during the 2002 season.
Starting with the middle distance runners, Dan Tripp from Belleville, Ontario, was the runner-up in the Ontario High School Championships in the 800-meter and 1500-meter runs. He will run events between the 800-meter and 10,000-meter runs in both track and cross country. Also, Kevin Mayfield from Skokie, Ill., will run middle distance events for the Redbirds next season. He participated in the mile at the state finals as a senior at Niles North H.S., the same school as Robert Breit who ran at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2001.
Dan is one of those guys that is a great person and a tremendous athlete, said Pigg. He is a strong student that should be able to make an immediate impact. Kevin is a strong athlete in events from the mile through cross country. He will be a big addition to our middle distance group.
Michael Estlund of St. Charles, Mo., and Jeremy Doherty of Ferguson, Mo., are two middle distance runners from Piggs home state. Doherty finished third in the mile at the Missouri Class 4A Championships. Both athletes are considered to be among the best middle distance recruits in Missouri.
Michael is more of a two-mile, cross country runner, while Jeremy has a wide range of potential in a number of middle-distance events, said Pigg. Both these guys have a great work ethic and will have great futures. I am very excited about getting two quality athletes from Missouri.
Pigg will also add some depth in the mens 800 meter run with the addition of Bronco Meeks from Batavia, Ill.
Bronco is a good, strong 800 (meter) runner, said Pigg. He has good speed and strength and will work hard to see just how good he can be.
On the womens side in the middle distance events, Pigg will add Betsy McDonald from Neenah, Wis. McDonald finished fourth in the mile (5:08.52) and runner-up in the two-mile run (11:09.27) at the Wisconsin State Championships.
When we met Betsy for the first time, we really liked her a lot, said Pigg. We thought it was a great fit from the beginning and over time she decided to pass on some really good offers and come to ISU.
Andrea Mosher, a hurdler from Ann Arbor, Mich., who broke the state record in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 43.18, will fill an area on the team left open by the graduation of Keri Davis. She also was the runner-up in the 100-meter hurdles and the anchor for the 4x400 meter relay team that broke the Michigan state record.
Andrea comes into a spot where we were looking to add someone, said Pigg. Not only is she a very good hurdler, but she is a tremendous young lady.
In the womens high jump, the Birds will gain some local talent in Danielle Miller of Benson, Ill., from Renoke-Benson H.S.
Danielle is very athletic and has tremendous potential, said Pigg. Throughout the recruiting process, it was fun to see her realize that the best place for her to continue her athletic career was in her backyard.
Rhett Hillard, a transfer from Quincy University, will help the mens throw group fill the hole left by the graduation of Alfie Gordillo. Hillard, who graduated from LeRoy H.S., threw both shot put and discus at Quincy in addition to playing football.
He had a good year last season and the more our coaching staff got to know him the more we liked him, said Pigg. He will be a good, all-around, collegiate thrower and a good shot putter. It is nice to have athletes from the area as part of our program.
In the womens throws, Illinois State adds Ashley Minner of Jacksonville, Ill., and Taylor Carbaugh from Sterling, Ill. Minner was the state shot put champion as a senior for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2002 and graduated from the same high school (Jacksonville H.S.) as current Redbird thrower Latisha Johnson. Minner is considered one of Illinois top prep recruits in the shot put. Carbaugh was a state qualifier in the discus this year and a two-time state qualifier in the shot put. She is a former high school teammate of current Redbird track and field athlete Tori Gaumer.
Taylor is a good, solid athlete that has a lot of potential to develop as a collegiate thrower, said Pigg. She is a versatile athlete that could move to the javelin and hammer. Ashley had a tremendous senior year and should make an immediate impact on our team. When (assistant) coach (Mary) Wallace and I went to visit her and her family, we both left really excited and hoping that she would choose Illinois State.
These 11 recruits join womens middle distance runners Louise Moerch and Kelli Schulte, who signed with Illinois State earlier this year.
