Weber State University Athletics
Track and Field announces five new Wildcats
12/15/2015 5:50:00 PM | Women's Track & Field
OGDEN, Utah – Weber State Director of track and field Dan Walker announced the signing of 5 national letters of intent for the Wildcats 2015 recruiting class.
"We've added some really good depth into our distance events with these new athletes,” Director of Track and Field, Dan Walker, said. “We're pleased to have a strong addition to our 200 meter and 400 meter sprinting group as well.”
The Weber State women have added just one to their program with Katie Cornell a distance runner from American Fork, Utah.
The Weber State men have signed four recruits this fall, which includes Connor Arnell, a distance runner from Lehi, Utah, Dallin Leatham a distance runner from Centerville, Utah, Austin Stewart a distance runner from Shelley, Idaho and the lone sprinter of the recruiting class is Jake Ness from Salisbury, England.
Meet the Class
Women's Recruit:
Katie Cornell, Distance, American Fork, Utah (American Fork HS)
Cornell placed 13th overall in the Utah 5A State Cross Country Championships. She also has recorded a 5:10 altitude time in the 1600-meter run. Cornell has been a member of two different teams that have qualified for the Nike Cross Country High School National Championships.
“American Fork is building a good program,” distance coach Paul Pilkington said. “This is the second year we've got an athlete from there and we're tickled to have Katie come this year and contribute to our program.”
Men's Recruits:
Dallin Leatham, Distance, Centerville, Utah (Viewmont HS)
Leatham has recorded a personal best time of 1:55 time in the 800 meter run as well as a 4:17 altitude time in the 1600-meter run. He placed 7th at the NXR Southwest Meet in 2015. Throughout the course of his senior year, he broke several course records in cross country on courses that have had significant number of strong runners run on those courses through the years.
Connor Arnell, Distance, Lehi, Utah (Lehi HS)
Arnell took 3rd place in the Utah 5A State Cross Country Championships. He recorded a personal best altitude time of 4:23 in the 1600-meter run. His personal best time in the 3200-meter is 9:27. This past summer he placed 20th overall in the NXR Southwest meet. Arnell qualified for the Footlocker high school cross country championships with a 9th place finish at the Footlocker West Regionals.
Austin Stewart, Distance, Shelley, Idaho (Shelley HS)
Stewart is a three-time Idaho 3A State Champion in cross country. He is a two-time 3A state champion for the 1600 meter and 3200 meter runs. He has not lost a state championship in the 1600, 3200 and cross country since he was a freshman.
“I'm really happy with the men's group that we've recruited,” Pilkington said. “Dallin and Austin have a lot of potential and will be huge recruiters and Connor was a footlocker finalist. I'm excited to have all of them coming here.”
Jake Ness, Sprints, Salisbury, England
Ness's personal best in the 400-meter is 47.94 time. He's ranked No. 2 in the European Youth Rankings in the 400-meter. He claimed the South Of England U20 Indoor Championships in the 400-meter. He was the Senior Selection for the England for the International Indoor series. Ness will be joining the Wildcats for the indoor and outdoor season of 2016.
“We're excited to have Jake join our sprint squad,” assistant coach Tiffany Hogan said. “We know he'll make an impact. Even though he's young he brings a wealth of experience.”
Players Mentioned
