TicketsCINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati track and field team has inked a 13-member signing class, who have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Bearcats starting next fall, Susan Seaton, Director of Track & Field/Cross Country announced.
MEET THE CLASS
The signing class is comprised of 13 individuals, including nine women and four men, hailing from five states and one foreign country. Eight hail from the state of Ohio, including Jen Cooper (Maineville/Kings), Katie Engle (Chagrin Falls/Gilmour Academy), Carmela Henning (Medina, Ohio/Medina HS), Alex Hunter (Bedford/Bedford), Leah King (Perry/Perry), Calista Mann (Grove City/Grove City Christian) and Maddie Walker (Batavia/West Clermont) for the women and LaCarr Trent (Gahanna/Gahanna Lincoln) for the men. The five student-athletes from outside of the state of Ohio include Taylor Beard (Winchester, Va./John Handley) and Jazmine Scott (San Diego/Gompers Preparatory) for the women along with Julius Hild (Frankfurt, Germany/Goethe University), Tyler Wirth (Hawley, Pa./Wallenpaupack) and Lawrence Mitchell (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) for the men.
In total, the 11 individuals have combined to capture nine state titles with Beard leading the way with five of those crowns as she won the high jump state tiles indoors three times and outdoor twice. Joining her on that list are a trio of champions from the state of Ohio, including King, a two-time 100m hurdles champion, Engle, the 1,600m indoor champion, and Walker, the 1,600m outdoor champion. All told, all 10 Americans on in the signing class have scored podium finishes (Top 8) at their respective state competitions 48 times after qualifying to state competitions in 77 events so far.
QUOTING COACH SEATON
"I am very excited about our 2019 signing class. We not only signed athletes with impressive track and field marks, but we signed great people with tremendous athletic talent. This can be seen in all of the new personal records and accomplishments achieved by our signing class since inking with the Bearcats. We signed a large number of athletes that will provide team strength and depth at the conference level and several of these athletes are national standouts that will be an immediate threat at the NCAA championship level. I am very proud of this signing class as it currently stands and we have a few secret weapons we are still working on that we can hopefully announce soon. The future looks very bright for the Bearcats!"
UP NEXT
The postseason begins on Friday, May 10, 2019 at the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
2018-19 National Letters of Intent Signees - UC Track & Field/Cross Country
November 2018 Signing Class
Women (9)
Taylor Beard • Winchester, Va. • John Handley HS • High Jump/Multi-Events
Jen Cooper • Maineville, Ohio • Kings HS • Distance & Cross Country
Katie Engle • Chagrin Falls, Ohio • Gilmour Academy • Distance & Cross Country
Carmela Henning • Medina, Ohio • Medina HS • Distance & Cross Country
Alexandria Hunter • Bedford, Ohio • Bedford HS • Throws
Leah King • Perry, Ohio • Perry HS • Hurdles
Calista Manns • Grove City, Ohio • Grove City Christian HS • Hurdles
Jazmine Scott • San Diego, Calif. • Gompers Preparatory • Jumps
Maddie Walker • Batavia, Ohio • West Clermont HS • Distance & Cross Country
Men (4)
Julius Hild • Frankfurt, Germany • Goethe University • Distance & Cross Country
Lawrence Mitchell • Indianapolis, Ind. • Pike HS • High Jump
LaCarr Trent • Gahanna, Ohio • Gahanna Lincoln HS • Sprints
Tyler Wirth • Hawley, Pa. • Wallenpaupack HS • Distance & Cross Country
2018-19 Signee Biographies
TAYLOR BEARD
High Jump/Multi-Events • Winchester, Va. • John Handley HS
Five-time Virginia state champion in the high jump with titles won both indoors (2016, 2017 & 2018) and out (2017 & 2018)... tied for the fourth-highest mark in the nation among the Class of 2019 with a clearance of 5-10.00 during the 2018 outdoor season... added Top 5 showings at the 2018 state meet in the triple jump (third) and 300m hurdles (fifth) as well... four-time competitor at the New Balance National meets, including winning the 2017 indoor crown in the high jump ... won the 2019 Virginia State Indoor Championship in the high jump and triple jump ... became the first woman in the state to clear 6 feet in the high jump in 43 years.
PRs • High Jump: 6-00.00 (indoor & outdoor)
UC Coach: Chris Wineberg
JEN COOPER
Distance & Cross Country • Maineville, Ohio • Kings HS
Raced for a strong Kings team, competing in the state cross country meet as a senior and placing 152nd overall... raced in the regional competition three times, placing a best of 60th in her senior season... placed 10th in the 2018 Ohio state outdoor championships in the 1,600m run with a personal-best time of 5:00.13... earlier in the year, raced in the 800m run at the state indoor championships and placed seventh overall... her podium finish came on a personal-best time of 2:16.29... as a junior, just missed the state meet in the outdoor 800m, finishing fifth in her region... qualified to the regional meet by running an outdoor PR of 2:16.62 in the district competition ... had a Top-10 finish in the 800m at the Ohio indoor state meet, placing eighth.
PRs • 1600m: 5:00.13
UC Coach: Lara Crofford
KATIE ENGLE
Distance & Cross Country • Chagrin Falls, Ohio • Gilmour Academy
One of the top distance runners in the smaller divisions in Ohio, Engle is a 12-time state qualifier for Gilmour Academy, including all four years in cross country where she posted a trio of Top 7 state finishes... has qualified for the Ohio state indoor and outdoor championships four times each while scoing adding five more Top 8 finishes to her total... captured the 1,600m state crown at the 2018 indoor meet... will be the third distance runner from GA in recent years following Alexis Anton (graduated in 2018) and current team member Hannah Markel.
PRs • 1600m: 5:04.79 • XC: 18:30.0
UC Coach: Lara Crofford
CARMELA HENNING
Distance & Cross Country • Medina, Ohio • Medina HS
One of the top 1,600m runners in Ohio, ranking No. 8 indoors and No. 46 nationally ... outdoors she ranked in the Top-12 in the state in 800m and Top-25 in the 1,600m with PRs of 2:17.57 and 5:10.29, respectively ... raced in the Ohio State cross country meet in 2015, 2016 and 2018, placing 60th, 125th and 75th, respectively raced twice in the Nike Cross Nationals Midwest Region ... placed in the Top-25 in all three conferences races she entered during the cross country season ... placed seventh in the 2019 Ohio indoor state meet in the 1,600m.
PRs • 800m: 2:17.57 • 1600m: 5:01.00 (i) • 3200m: 11:16.40
UC Coach: Lara Crofford
JULIUS HILD
Distance & Cross Country • Frankfurt, Germany • Goethe University
Was a two-time national runner-up in the German U20 Championships, taking second in the 2,000m steeplechase and the 6.4km cross country championships, both in 2018... ranks eighth in the U20 world rankings in the 2,000m steeplechase and 27th overall in the world in 2018... competed in the 2017 European Mountain Running Championships, placing 19th overall... runs for the same club (SSC Hanau-Rodenbach) as current Bearcats distance standout Aaron Bienenfeld.
PRs • 2000mSC: 5:48.75
UC Coach: Sam Burroughs
ALEX HUNTER
Throws • Bedford, Ohio • Bedford HS
Scored twice in the 2018 Ohio state outdoor championships, placing fifth in the shot put and sixth in the discus... qualified in both events in 2017 after reaching the state meet in the discus as a freshman... placed fourth in the shot put at the 2018 Ohio indoor state meet, her first season competing indoors... three-time Lake Erie League shot put champion and two-time victor in the discus ... placed fifth in the shot put at the 2019 Ohio indoor state meet.
PRs • Shot Put: 41-03.50 • Discus: 139-11
UC Coach: Susan Seaton
LEAH KING
Hurdles • Perry, Ohio • Perry HS
Enters her senior season as the two-time defending Ohio Division II state 100m hurdles champion... went undefeated in seven meets (12 races) in the event in 2018... added a third-place showing at the state meet in the 300m hurdles in a PR of 42.55 after placing 10th in the state one year earleir... scored in the Top 8 in both hurdle events as a freshman... competed three times in the 60m hurdles at the Ohio indoor state meet, finishing as the runner-up in 2018 after finishes of third and sixth the prior two years ... took fourth at the 2019 Ohio State Indoor Championship in the 60m hurdles.
PRs • 100mH: 13.89 • 300mH: 42.55
UC Coach: Nadine Faustin-Parker
CALISTA MANNS
Hurdles • Grove City, Ohio • Grove City Christian HS
Twice finished as the Ohio Division III state runner-up in the 100m hurdles (2017, 2018) after placing fifth as a freshman... has competed in 12 events at the state meet, including seven outdoors and five indoors... in 2018, took fourth in the 60m hurdles while also running the 60m and taking part in the long jump... has scored in the Top 8 at state in seven events total ... won the 60m hurdles indoor state championship with a meet-record time ... also was fifth in the 60m and eighth in the 200m.
PRs • 100mH: 14.13
UC Coach: Nadine Faustin-Parker
LAWRENCE MITCHELL
High Jump • Indianapolis, Ind. • Pike HS
Cleared a 2018 season best of 6-11.75 which ranked him sixth nationally for the Class of 2019... posted an undefeated season in 2018 with the exception of one second place finish aftrer being outjumped only by the nation's top-ranked jumper ... cleared 6-10.00 in the early part of the 2019 outdoor season.
PRs • High Jump: 6-11.75
UC Coach: Chris Wineberg
JAZMINE SCOTT
Jumps • San Diego, Calif. • Gompers Preparatory
Reached the California (CIF) state meet in the triple jump twice and the long jump once, securing berths in both events in 2018... in the triple jump, placed 15th in the state in 2018 before winning the USATF National Junior Olympic title with a PR of 11.99m (39-04.00)... was 14th in the long jump at the state meet as well... two-time CIF San Diego Section champion in the triple jump... finished third in her section in the long jump in back-to-back years as well.
PRs • Long Jump: 19-01.50 • Triple Jump: 39-04.00
UC Coach: Sam Kranz
LACARR TRENT
Sprints • Gahanna, Ohio • Gahanna Lincoln HS
Twice finished as the Ohio Division I state runner-up at 100m... reached the outdoor state meet in the 200m in 2018 as well... won the Ohio Capital Conference double in 2018 as he captured titles in the 100m and 200m events... indoor, finished second in the 2018 Ohio state meet in the 60m with a PR of 6.93 while also scoring in the Top 8 in the 200m as well... finished third in the state meet in the 60m in 2017 as well before competing in the New Balance Indoor Championships for the first time in his career ... ran 6.79 in the 60m to claim the indoor state championship and was second in the 200m.
PRs • 60m: 6.93 • 100m: 10.62 • 200m: 21.40
UC Coach: Nadine Faustin-Parker
MADDIE WALKER
Distance & Cross Country • Batavia, Ohio • West Clermont HS
Captured the Ohio Division I indoor state title at 1,600m in 2018, running a PR of 5:03.28... has qualified to the state meet 11 times in her career, including all four cross country meets, four indoor events and three outdoor... has scored in the Top 8 at those state meets six times as well... Top 15 finisher in the state cross country meet three times... racing for Amelia HS in 2016 and 2017, was a dominant force in the Southern Buckeye Conference on the outdoor track as she won the league title in the 400m, 1,600m and 3,200m events in back-to-back years... placed in the Top 4 in the two longer races for WCHS in the East Cincinnati Conference in 2018... three-time conference champion in cross country before finishing second in 2018.
PRs • 1600m: 4:55• 3200m: 10:45 • XC: 17:30.0
UC Coach: Lara Crofford
TYLER WIRTH
Distance & Cross Country • Hawley, Pa. • Wallenpaupack HS
Heads into his senior season as the top ranked 1,600m runner in the state of Pennsylvania... competed in seven events at the state level in the past two seasons... in cross country, placed fifth in the state in 2017 and sixth in 2018... fourth in the mile at the state indoor meet in 2018... outdoors, qualified to the state meet in both the 800m and 1,600m events, placing third and 13th, respectively ... placed 10th at the indoor state meet in the 800m.
PRs • 1600m: 4:14.0
UC Coach: Sam Burroughs