Aggie recruiting class numbers 18 on signing day - TEXAS A&M OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Aggie recruiting class numbers 18 on signing day

A mixture of talent in various events highlighted signing day for the Texas A&M track and field program on Wednesday. Among a class of 18 athletes, which included 10 women and eight men, were a World Junior record holder in the hurdles, an Olympic semifinalist in the 400, a pair of national record holders, a state record holder in Texas, and numerous state finalists.

"We really like the quality of this recruiting class," Henry said. "It offers a nice mix of youth and experience for us. This is the best recruiting class we've had for both the men and women since we've been at Texas A&M."

The range of events the recruiting class offers covers the whole set of disciplines involved with track and field.

Among the sprinters signing with Texas A&M are Tabarie Henry (Miami, Florida), Curtis Mitchell (Port Orange, Florida) and Demetrius Pinder (Freeport, Bahamas). Hurdlers in the Aggie class include Wayne Davis II (Raleigh, NC), Donique' Flemings (Ft. Worth, Texas) and Natasha Ruddock (St. Thomas, Jamaica). Contesting throwing events for the Aggies next season will be Taylor Rosser (Converse, Texas) on the women's side along with Sam Humphreys (Laredo, Texas) and Casey Strong (Austin, Texas) for the men.

Pole vaulter Jessica Bonfield (Argyle, Texas) joins combined events specialist Bonnie Richardson (Brady, Texas) and jumper Sasha-Kay Matthias (St. Catherine, Jamaica). The distance crew signing with A&M includes Itzel Cetina (Katy, Texas), Shawn Dalglish (The Woodlands, Texas), Natosha Rogers (Littleton, Colorado), Tara Upshaw (Southlake, Texas) for the women along with C.J. Brown (Southlake, Texas) and James Welin (Katy, Texas) on the men's side.

Henry, currently at Barton County, reached the semifinals of the Olympic 400 in Beijing this past summer and set a national record of 45.19 representing the U.S. Virgin Islands. A silver medalist in the 400 at the 2008 NJCAA Championships, Henry anchored Barton to a national title in the 4 x 400 relay.

A silver medalist in the 200 at the USATF Junior Championships this past summer earned Mitchell a trip to Poland for the IAAF World Junior Championships, where he placed fourth in the final. Claimed a pair of sprint gold medals with Southwestern JC in running times of 10.23w and 20.91at the California State JC Championships.

Pinder, currently at Essex County JC, placed fourth in the 400 at the 2008 Carifta Games and earned a bronze medal while running on the under-19 Bahamas 4 x 400 relay at the Carifta Games. Pinder has set a personal best of 47.34 outdoors with a best of 47.02 indoors in the 400.

Davis II, who attends the same high school as current Aggie Gabby Mayo, established a World Junior record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 13.18 over 36-inch hurdles in winning the 2007 World Youth title in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Indoors, Davis set a high school national record of 7.06 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles as a junior in 2008.

A NJCAA champion in the 100 hurdles for Essex County JC, Ruddock also established a Jamaican national junior record in the 55-meter hurdles with a clocking of 8.13 seconds. Her best time over 100-meter hurdles is 13.28. This past summer Ruddock finished sixth in the 100 hurdles at the IAAF World Junior Championships.

Competing for Saginaw High School in Ft. Worth, Flemings posted a State and Class 4A record in the 300 hurdles while winning the State title in 2008 with a time of 40.96. She also claimed gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the State meet. Set a career best of 58.66 in 400 hurdles and won 100 hurdle title at 2008 AAU Junior Olympics.

Richardson was the lone entrant for Rochelle High School in the Texas State 1A Championships last spring. She totaled 42 points and won the team title by six points. Her tally in Austin included gold medals in the high jump and 200, silver medals in the 100 and long jump along with a bronze medal from the discus.

Humphreys, who has a sister Emalie on the Aggie women's track and field team, has claimed gold medals in the javelin at the AAU and USATF Junior Olympics. Southlake Carroll's Brown leads the distance crew with a silver medal from the 1,600 at the 2007 State 5A meet and holds personal best marks of 4:12.86 (1,600) and 9:17.98 (3,200).

Matthias, a native of Jamaica, finished third in the triple jump for Essex County at the 2008 NJCAA. Bonfield, a very talented volleyball and basketball player, earned a bronze medal in the pole vault for Argyle at the State 3A Championships last spring.

Rogers claimed a bronze medal in the 3,200 at the 2008 Colorado State meet and was a member of the State team title won by Dakota Ridge High School in cross country during the fall of 2007. Welin claimed fourth place in the State 5A cross country meet this past fall as Seven Lakes finished second in team scoring. In 2007, Welin led the team to a State 4A championship while placing sixth in the field.

Rosser finished fourth in the shot put at the 2008 State 5A meet competing for Converse Judson while Strong has placed fifth in the State 5A boy's shot put the past two years and holds the discus school record of 164-7 at Round Rock McNeil.

Upshaw, the younger sister of current Aggie Brooke Upshaw, was a member of the 2007 State 5A title won by Southlake Carroll in cross country. Last spring she placed sixth in the 1,600 and 3,200 at the State 5A meet. Dalglish placed 24th as a member of The Woodlands girls State 5A Championship team in cross country during the fall of 2008. Cetina finished 18th in the same State 5A race running for Cinco Ranch.

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