BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State men's track & field head coach
Damion McLean and head men's cross country/associate track & field head coach
Michael Curcio have announced the addition of 16 student athletes for the 2020-21 season.
Taylor Fox | Easley, S.C. | Easley
Fox competed in the pole vault at Easley High School, qualifying for the 2019 SCHSL State Championships and placing third. In 2017 and 2018, he took took part in the USATF S.C. Junior Olympics, finishing third both years in the pole vault. In 2018, he advanced to the USATF Region 4 Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, finishing second.
Outdoor: Pole Vault – 15-0.00
Josh Green | Pfafftown, N.C. | Reagan
Green qualified the NCHSAA 4A Indoor State Championships twice in the triple jump, winning the title in 2020 with a PR mark of 48-0.00. Green also finished second at the indoor state championships in 2020, covering a PR mark of 21-9.75 in the long jump. He also qualified for the state championships in the outdoor triple jump in 2019, finishing 10th.
PR's
Indoor: Long Jump – 21-9.75; Triple Jump – 48-0.00
Outdoor: Long Jump – 20-8.00; Triple Jump – 46-7.00
Nate Karl | Hammonton, N.J. | Hammonton
During the 2019 outdoor season, Karl qualified for the NJSIAA Groups 2, 3 & NPA championships, finishing third in the discus and 19th in the shot put. The 2019-20 indoor season saw him register PR's in the shot put at 56-11.00 (seventh in New Jersey) and the weight throw, covering 44-3.25 (fourth in New Jersey).
PR's
Indoor: Weight Throw – 44-3.25; Shot Put – 56-11.00
Outdoor: Shot Put – 49-2.50; Discus – 168-3
Dwayne Lillie | Asheville, N.C. | A.C. Reynolds
Lillie was a three-time NCHSAA cross country state qualifier, posting his best finish in of 27th during the 2018 season. In indoor track, he qualified for the NCHSAA State Championships twice in the 1,600-meter run, placing second this season with a time of 4:24.93. He also qualified for the NCHSAA State Championships during the 2017 outdoor season in the 800-meter run, finishing 10th.
PR's
Cross Country: 5K – 15:54.50
Indoor: 1,000m – 2:38.31; 1,600m – 4:24.42
Outdoor: 800m – 2:00.17; 1,600m – 4:25.23
Chrystian Smith | Durham, N.C. | Jordan
Smith qualified for the outdoor NCHSAA State Championships in the 2019 season in the discus, where he finished fifth, and in the shot put, where he placed eighth. He was also a two-time state qualifier in the indoor shot put, placing ninth in 2020 and 10th in 2019.
PR's
Indoor: Shot Put – 48-9.75
Outdoor: Shot Put – 49-9.00; Javelin – 126-10; Discus – 161-1
Jake Soorus | Lincolnton, N.C. | North Lincoln
Soorus won the NCHSAA state title in the outdoor discus in 2019 with a PR mark of 175-11 and the shot put with a mark of 56-6.50. He was also crowned state champion during the 2019-20 indoor season in the indoor shot put with a mark of 55-6.50. In all, Soorus is a nine-time state qualifier, also appearing in in the NCHSAA State championships in 2020 (indoor long jump), 2019 (outdoor long jump, indoor long jump, indoor shot put) and 2018 (indoor shot put, outdoor shot put)
PR's
Indoor: Long Jump – 20-3.00; Shot Put – 55-6.50
Outdoor: Long Jump – 22-3.50; Shot Put – 56-6.50; Discus - 175-11
Braden Underwood | Williamsburg, Va. | Lafayette
Underwood qualified for the outdoor VHSL State Championships in the long jump in 2019, placing eighth overall. He also qualified for the 2020 indoor state championships in the pole vault, finishing third, and the long jump, finishing fifth. He was a two-time qualifier for the VHSL Outdoor State Championships in the pole vault, finishing third in 2018 and fourth in 2019. He also qualified for the indoor state championships two other times in the pole vault, finishing third in 2019 and fourth in 2019.
PR's
Indoor: Pole Vault – 15-0.00; Long Jump – 21-9.00
Outdoor: Pole Vault – 14-3.25; Long Jump – 21-4.00
Ben Datte | Dowingtown, Pa. | Downingtown West
Datte qualified for the PIAA Cross Country State Championships three straight years, recording his best finish of 25th in 2019. He recorded a 5K PR earlier in 2019 at the PIAA District 1 Championships, crossing in 16:05.10. He posted a PR in the outdoor 1,600-meter run and 3,200-meter run in 2019 in 4:42.47 and 9:56.16, respectively.
PR's
Cross Country: 5K – 16:05.10
Outdoor: 1,600m – 4:42.47; 3,200m – 9:56.16
Jabari Dalton | Charlotte, N.C. | South Mecklenburg
Dalton qualified for the outdoor NCHSAA 4A State Championships in the 300-meter hurdles three times, winning the title in 2019 with a PR time of 37.66 seconds. Also, during the 2019 outdoor season, Dalton posted three top-six finishes at the So Meck 7 Championships, finishing second in the 300-meter hurdles (39.28), third in the 100-meter hurdles (14.68) and sixth in the 100-meter dash (11.09).
PR's
Outdoor: 100m – 11.09; 110m Hurdles – 14.68; 300m Hurdles – 37.66
Thomas Dixon Jr. | Raleigh, N.C. | Broughton
In the 2018 outdoor season, Dixon Jr. won the 400-meter dash CAP 8 conference championship in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.49 seconds. He went on to post a PR in the 400-meter dash of 49.60 seconds in the prelims of the North Carolina USATF JO Championships – Region 16 and went on to finish sixth in the finals. He qualified for the NCHSAA State Championships in the 500-meter run during the 2017-18 indoor season.
PR's
Indoor: 500m – 1:07.50
Outdoor: 200m – 24.44; 400m – 49.60
Calbert Guest | Fort Collins, Colo. | Fort Collins
Guest was a three-time qualifier for the Colorado State Cross Country Championships, recording his best finish of 33rd in 2019. During the outdoor season, he ran primarily in the 1,600-meter run, posting a PR time of 4:34.63 in 2019, and the 3,200-meter run, recording a PR mark of 9:47.05 in 2019.
PR's
Cross Country: 5K – 15:28.85
Outdoor: 1,600m – 4:34.63; 3,200m – 9:47.05
Josh Hairston | Greensboro, N.C. | Northwest Guilford
Guilford took part in the NCHSAA Outdoor 4A State Championship in the 2019 outdoor season, finishing fourth in the 800-meter run in a PR time of 1:55.50. He also was fourth in the 2019 NCHSAA Indoor 4A State Championships in the 1,000-meter run with a PR time of 2:34.28. In cross country, he posted a pair of top-20 finishes at the Metro Conference Championships, finishing third in 2018 and 16th in 2017.
PR's
Cross Country: 5K – 17:23.26
Indoor: 500m – 1:09.89; 1,000m – 2:34.28
Outdoor: 800m – 1:55.50
Yates Hall | Broadway, Va. | Broadway
Hall won the VHSL Group 3A State Indoor title in the high jump, clearing 6-4.00 during the 2019-20 indoor season. Hall also competed in the high jump in seven meets, finishing first six times. He was a two-time outdoor state qualifier in the high jump, finishing fifth in both 2018 and 2019.
PR's
Indoor: High Jump – 6-7.00
Outdoor: High Jump – 6-4.00; Triple Jump – 39-8.75
Zane Johnson | East Bend, N.C. | Forbush | Lenoir-Rhyne
Johnson joins the Mountaineers as a transfer from Lenoir-Rhyne. During the 2018-19 indoor season, he posted a pair of eighth place finishes for Lenoir-Rhyne in the shot put and weight throw at the South Atlantic Conference Championships. In the 2019 outdoor season, he placed third in the discus at the South Atlantic Conference Championships.
PR's
Indoor: Shot Put – 45-7.25; Weight Throw – 54-11.75
Outdoor: Shot Put – 25-2.25; Hammer Throw – 140-10; Discus – 142-2
Timothy Kilpatrick | Candler, N.C. | Enka
Kilpatrick took part in the 2020 NCHSAA State Indoor Championships in the shot put, finishing seventh with a PR toss of 48-6.00. During the 2019 outdoor season, he posted a pair of top-five finishes at the WMAC Conference Championships, finishing second in the shot put (40-7.00) and fourth in the discus (112-6).
PR's
Indoor: Shot Put – 48-6.00
Outdoor: Shot Put – 45-10.00; Discus – 126-11
Mitchell Norris | Asheville, N.C. | Asheville
Norris was crowned the NCHSAA state champion in the indoor 500-meter run during the 2019-20 season, crossing first in a PR time of 1:05.62. He also qualified for the state indoor meet during the 2019-20 season in the 55-meter hurdles. In the 2019 outdoor season, he won the WMAC Conference championship in the 300-meter hurdles in a PR time of 41.69 seconds and finished second in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.87 seconds.
PR's
Indoor: 55m Hurdles – 8.10; 500m – 1:05.62
Outdoor: 110m Hurdles – 15.84; 300m – 41.69
