Feb. 9, 2010

WACO, Texas - Baylor track and field head coach Todd Harbour announced the signing of seven student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2010-11 academic year. The signing class includes two men and five women.

"Overall we are excited at the young men and women that are the beginning of our 2010 class," Harbour said. "We are still working on signing a few more but this is a very nice start."

The 2010 signing class includes two high school teammates from the state of Texas with The Woodlands High School products Justine Charbonnet and Taylor Torres. The rest of the class covers both coasts with California native Chad Rozean (Mission Viejo) and New York native Dennis Scruggs (Springfield Gardens), as well as the Midwest and Canada. Kansas native Tiffani McReynolds (Kansas City) and Illinois native Ericka Wilk (West Chicago) are joined by Ontario's Mariah Kelly. Both additions to the men's team enter as experienced 400-meter runners, while the women added two distance runners, two sprinters and one thrower to the mix.

Justine Charbonnet - Sprints/Jumps - The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands High School)
Placed fourth at the Texas state meet in the long jump with a leap of 19-2 for The Woodlands High School...Finished second at the UIL Region 2-5A with a personal best of 19-3 in the long jump, while placing fifth in the 100 meters...Led her 4x200-meter relay to a fourth-place finish at state as a junior...Helped break the TWHS records in the 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays...Held the eighth-best long jump in the state as a junior...Also held the sixth fastest 100-meter time in the Greater Houston area and two of the top 10 fastest times...Personal bests of 19-3 in the long jump, 7.64 in the 60 meters, 11.79 in the 100 meters and 25.04 in the 200 meters.

Harbour on Charbonnet...
"Justine Charbonnet won us over here at the Region II meet last year when we had a chance to watch her compete. She is a tremendous competitor and loves every minute of it. She will help fill some big shoes left by Deanna Carson in the long jump and 4x100-meter relay. Coach Smith and Coach Ford are excited about the talent and energy that Justine will bring with her to Baylor."

Mariah Kelly - Distance/XC - Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (St. Michael's Catholic)
Won the Southern Ontario title at 400 meters and 800 meters...Four-time Zone champion in the 800 meters and 1,500 meters...Owns the Zone record at 800 meters and 1,500 meters...Four-time Zone cross country champion from 2005-08...Won the OTFA Junior Provincial Championship at 800 meters in 2009...Named the Niagara Falls Female Athlete of the Year by both the Optimist Club and Sports Mandela...Personal bests of 58.6 at 400 meters, 2:12.1 at 800 meters and 4:54.1 at 1,500 meters...Earned the St. Michael's High School Athlete of the Year award in both 2008 and 2009...Received the Rotarian Award for Leadership...Also played basketball and soccer.

Harbour on Kelly...
"Mariah is another one that had an attraction to Baylor for some time. She was determined that Baylor was the place that she needed to be. She has an unbelievable work ethic and has developed into one of the top middle distance runners in Ontario. We are excited about the enthusiasm and talent that she will bring with her into our program."

Tiffani McReynolds - Hurdles - Kansas City, Kansas (Pembroke Hill [Mo.] High School)
Won the Missouri state title in the 100-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles in both 2008 and 2009...Won the district and sectional titles in both hurdles races as a senior...Named to the Kansas City Star's All-Metro First Team...Won the 2009 AAU title in the 100 meters, 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles...Currently ranked fourth in the United States in the 60-meter hurdles (8.66) and ninth in the 60 meters (7.60)...Personal bests of 13.75 in the 100-meter hurdles, 43.15 in the 300-meter hurdles and 59.93 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Harbour on McReynolds...
"Tiffani McReynolds is one of the top 400 and 100 hurdlers in the country and we are excited about her joining us . She is a fierce competitor as well as an outstanding young lady. Tiffani is also a quality sprinter who has the ability to help us out on our relays. ."

Chad Rozean - Sprints - Mission Viejo, Calif. (Trabuco Hills High School)
Led Trabuco Hills High School to its first-ever 4x400-meter relay state championship...Placed sixth at the CIF state championships in the open 400 meters...Named to the All-Orange County track team...Was the Orange Country runner-up in the 400 meters...Personal bests of 22.25 at 200 meters and 47.87 at 400 meters...Also lettered in football for THHS...Named to the THHS Principal's Honor Roll.

Harbour on Rozean...
"Chad is an outstanding young man who just recently won the State of California Indoor 600 yard title. He was one of the top 400 runners in California last Spring and has the potential to be one of the best in the country before the end of this year."

Dennis Scruggs - Sprints - Springfield Gardens, N.Y. (Bellport/Central Arizona)
Won the NJCAA Region I title in the 200 meters in 2009 and the 4x400-meter relay in 2008...Placed fifth individually at the NJCAA Championships in the 200 meters and 10th in the 400 meters...Became the first New York state champion ever from Bellport High School when he won the state 600-meter title...Also placed third at the state meet in the 4x400-meter relay...Owns the Suffolk County records at 400 meters and 600 meters...Was ranked second in the United States in the 400 meters and 600 meters as a senior in 2008...Led BHS to a bronze medal at the 2008 Millrose Games in the 4x400-meter relay.

Harbour on Scruggs...
"Dennis is a quality young man that has also had Baylor as one of his top choices for a long while. He has great range as he has run quality times from 200 meters to 600 meters and will do very nicely in our program."

Taylor Torres - Throws - The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands High School)
Owns the school record in the discus (129-7) at the The Woodlands High School...Placed fourth at the regional meet in the discus....Qualified for the LSU and Texas Relays, placing second at the LSU Relays as a junior...Lettered in the track and softball for TWHS...Member of the National Honor Society, as well as the Math National Honor Society at TWHS.

Harbour on Torres...
"Taylor Torres has been a vital part of a great Woodlands women's track and field program over the last several years . She will add some depth to our women's throwing program and Coach Brabham is excited about the prospect of helping her develop into an elite thrower."

Ericka Wilk - Distance/XC - West Chicago, Ill. (Wheaton Academy)
Helped Wheaton Academy to a third-place finish at regionals...Placed 55th individually at the regional meet...Earned the Illinois High School Association Scholastic Excellence Award...Also played basketball for the 28-2 regional champion at Wheaton Academy last season.

Harbour on Wilk...
"Ericka has been excited about Baylor for a long time. She comes from an area of the country that takes distance running very seriously. She will join a solid group of young ladies that return from last year's cross country team. We are excited to watch her develop as a Baylor Bear."