April 30, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State track and field team landed two more new recruits and a transfer for 2007, as Sonja Zoric (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Ryan Asta (Barrington, Ill.) signed National Letters of Intent and Kami Klopfenstein (Leo, Ind.) will continue her education by transferring to Illinois State.
Assistant coach (throws) Jeff Chakouian is excited about the trio joining the Redbird track and field program, believing that they will all be able to have an immediate impact on the program's success.
"With the signing of these recruits, we will have a real solid foundation for the next couple years," said Chakouian. "All three have the capability to step right in and contribute to the team, as Sonja, Ryan and Kami are all very talented. They are all the type of kids you want to have in your program, because they are willing to work hard and sacrifice in order to improve."
Zoric was the runner up in the shot put at last year's Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 1 State Championship. Zoric threw a distance of 43-03.50 feet at the meet, establishing her personal-best, while short of the title by only four and a half inches. The Milwaukee, Wis., native also finished in third place in the discus throw at the 2006 WIAA state meet, launching a distance of 128-06 feet. This season, Zoric has already eclipsed that mark, establishing a new personal-best discus throw of 131-00 ft. A product of Pius XI High School (Milwaukee), Zoric was the MVP of her track and field team last season, as well as a first team all-conference selection for her play as a member of the volleyball team.
Zoric also holds the school records in the shot put as well the discus throw.
"Sonja has a lot of big meet experience," said Chakouian. "She went and placed seventh at state in the discus throw as a freshman, and has continued to place high at the state meets since. It shows that she will be able to step in next year and do some great things. She is a school record holder as well as the MVP of her team. It says about her ability, and I think she will be a key part of our team in the next years."
Asta has also had success at the state level, finishing in sixth place in the discus at the 2006 Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championship. Asta threw a distance of 167-10 feet, but has surpassed that mark by throwing a distance of 184-11 feet, which is currently the best throw in the state this season. Asta also owns the fourth best shot put distance this year, with a mark of 56-10.00 ft. A product of Barrington High School, Asta is known for his strength, bench pressing over 400 pounds. Asta will be a viable thrower for the Redbirds, competing in the shot put, discus and weight throws.
"While Ryan is able to bench over 400 pounds, he is still a very athletic kid," said Chakouian. "There are not too many big, strong and athletic kids out there, so we are fortunate to have him joining our program. He is definitely one of the best prospects in the state. He will also make an immediate impact, especially in our group of throwers. We will impact our team at the conference level and will be a key point scorer for us."
A transfer from Long Beach State, Klopfenstein will enroll and be eligible to compete for ISU next season. As a freshman for the 49ers, Klopfenstein hit personal-best marks of 150-1 ft in the discus throw and 43-00.00 ft in the shot put, as well as competing in the hammer throw. Klopfenstein is a product of Leo (Ind.) High School.
"Kami is also very athletic, as she can really move on her feet," said Chakouian. "The only thing that I could consider a weakness about her is that she is needs to work on her strength. However, she is beginning to throw using the correct techniques and once she gets here, we will continue to work with her. She really wants to succeed and get better, which is a dream as a coach. That type of attitude will rub off on everyone and push the others to work just as hard as she does. She is willing to make the sacrifices to get better, and along with Sonja and Samantha Springer, they are three girls that every coach wants to work with."
Zoric, Asta and Klopfenstein join Matt Mroczynski (Mer-chinski) of Pulaski, Wis., in the Redbirds' recruiting class of 2007-08.
