THIBODAUX – Looking to progress the program after turning in the most
successful season in school history, head coach Scott Williamson
announced the addition of ten new additions to the Nicholls State
University track and field and cross country teams by unveiling his
2010-11 recruiting class on Tuesday.
The latest batch of Colonel recruits includes: eight high schoolers,
one junior college transfers, one four-year transfer, two Canadians, two
Floridians, one Texan and five Louisiana natives.
“With this recruiting class, we addressed some specific needs but we
also addressed some ‘wants’ as well,” Williamson said. “A big
goal of ours is to have a really strong cross country program. We’re
bringing in three girls that will be extremely helpful there. Some of
them have the potential to come in and be some of the top distance
runners in the conference. We lost a lot of hurdlers last year, and
we’re bringing in two more who have the chance to be among the best
in the conference there. Our goal is to build a really strong sprint
relay team and some of the girls we brought in will really help us
there. With Leslie Bourgeois graduating last year, this year, we’re
also bringing in two javelin throwers who will help us continue to be
one of the best javelin programs in the conference.”
Williamson adds three new members to the distance/cross country crews
after the 2009 edition of Nicholls women’s cross country turned in one
of the most successful seasons in school history. The 2009 Colonels
turned in their best ever finish at the Southland Conference meet
(sixth), their first ever All-Southland Conference cross country honoree
(Lauren Jones), their highest ever U.S. Track and Field and Cross
Country Coaches Association South Central Region rankings (No. 11) and a
12th place finish at the 2009 South Central Regional Championship meet
(the first such meet in school history).
Distance runner Emily Charlesworth comes to Thibodaux all the way from
Quathiaski Cove, British Columbia, Canada. Charlesworth established
herself as one of the top distance runners in her province, turning in a
runner-up performance at the British Columbia Under-19 Championships
this spring.
Jaclyn White joins the Colonel distance crew after turning in a stellar
high school career at Springstead High School in Weeki Wachi, Fla.
White projects to be a cross country runner and 800 m specialist on the
track for the Colonels.
Closer to home, Baton Rouge native Sarah Pressley comes to Thibodaux
after coming on strong late in her senior year at Archbishop Runnels
High School. Pressley boasts a second place time of 11:46 in the 3200
at the state championships as a senior.
“I expect Emily can come in and be one of the top girls in the
conference,” Williamson said. “She has personal records that have
chances at winning titles in track and field, and she should be a
contender in cross country as well. The other girls, Sarah and Jackie,
come from really good high school programs. They are going to help us
out a lot. They’ll give us some extra depth that we didn’t
necessarily have in previous years.”
In the power running events, four new additions will look to help the
Colonels continue to build their sprint, hurdle and relay squads.
Jalyssa Mullins joins the Colonels from Coffeyville (Kansas) Community
College where she was coached by former Colonel track standout Lanation
McCray. Mullins, a Texas City, Texas native, turned in strong
performances in both the sprints and hurdles during her JUCO career.
Among Mullins personal bests are times of 7.72 in the indoor 60 M dash,
8.86 in the indoor 60 M hurdles and 14.43 in the outdoor 100 M hurdles;
all times that would have ranked in the top-10 in the Southland last
season.
Katrina Bettard transfers in from Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn.
Bettard will have two years of eligibility remaining after turning in
impressive freshman and sophomore seasons at the NAIA school. Bettard
and Mullins should provide immediate help to the Colonels’ sprint
teams.
From up the bayou, Barlita Dirance joins the Colonels from Assumption
High School in Napoleonville. Dirance was a state finalist in the 100,
200 and as a member of the Mustangs’ 4x100 m relay team. Dirance will
be joined by her Assumption teammate Chelsie Bergeron, whose state MVP
honors in volleyball and state qualifying performances in multiple
events make her a natural prospect for the pentathlon and heptathlon.
Meanwhile, from down the bayou, Rachel Glaxner heads to Nicholls from
South Terrebone High School. Glaxner will be one of the more promising
prospects among the Colonel hurdle crew after impressing in the 100 and
300 hurdles despite only recently beginning to compete in those events.
“Jalyssa should be one of the top hurdlers in the conference just
based on the times she posted in junior college. The potential is
definitely there for her to help us right away,” Williamson said.
“We really didn’t lose much in the sprint area from last year,
but we’ve brought in some girls who should fit in as well. Katrina
should fit in along with Jalyssa to help us create one of the best relay
teams in the conference that should compete for a conference title.
Barlita and Rachel had great high school careers, and we think that they
could really grow and develop, once they get here, into really strong
runners. Chelsie is a great all-around athlete. She does a lot of
events and does them well, so we think she be an asset to us in the
pentathlon and heptathlon.”
Meanwhile, after establishing themselves as one of the Southland
Conference’s premier javelin programs, the Colonels will look to
offset the loss of three-time conference champ, and two-time NCAA
finalist, Leslie Bourgeois by adding a pair of freshman to the ranks of
the Nicholls javelin squad.
Jaimee Springer will be the Colonels’ second Canadian recruit of the
2010-11 season. The Lloydminster, Alberta native recently finished in
fourth place at the Canadian Provincial Championships, and her personal
best mark of 139 feet ranks her as one of the top throwers north of the
border.
Meanwhile, Emily Rankin comes to Nicholls after a standout career at
Lasalle High School in Olla, La. Despite splitting time between
Lasalle’s track and softball teams during the spring, Rankin still
turned in a personal best of 117 feet despite competing in a limited
number of meets.
The duo adds to one of the deepest javelin crews in the Southland
Conference that returns 2009 All-Southland Conference honoree Danielle
Daigle, Aja Scott (who qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championship – East
Prelims as a freshman) and Anna Foulds (who finished just three feet shy
of a top ten finish at the 2010 Southland Conference Championships as a
freshman).
“Obviously, the big loss from last year’s team was Leslie,”
Williamson said. “But, I’m really excited to work with these two
new throwers. Mostly because they have so much upside. Emily was
basically a softball player who just decided to pick up the javelin and
start throwing and was pretty good at it. So, I think she has a lot of
room to develop and should definitely score for us at the conference
meet. Jaimee has been throwing really well, but she has some room to
improve as well. She showed me some videos, and we’ve identified some
areas where she can improve her technique, but at the same time, we’ve
never brought in a girl who threw 139 feet coming out of high school.
So, I’m very excited about this group.”
The latest Colonel recruiting class will report to campus in time for
the 2010-11 cross country/track and field season.