UM cross country, track and field signs five
11/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Outdoor Track, Women's Track and Field
University of Montana cross country and track and field coach Tom Raunig announced Tuesday that Bryan Somers of Three Forks, Mont., Mallory Henderson of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Erin Clark of Frenchtown, Mont., Megan Ravenscraft of Bel Air, Md., and Brian Vallie of Hardin, Mont., have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Grizzlies in 2006-07.
Somers single-handedly scored 44 points at last spring's Montana Class B state meet, helping Three Forks to a second-place team finish with 47 points, one point behind champion Missoula Loyola. Somers was first in the 100 meters (11.22), 200 meters (22.57) and long jump (20-4), second in the 300-meter hurdles (38.68) and third in the 110-meter hurdles (15.20).
His 2005 bests included 38.68 in the 300-meter hurdles, which ranked second in the state (among all classes), 15.00 in the 110-meter hurdles (third in the state), 22.24 in the 200 meters (third in the state) and 11.07 in the 100 meters (seventh in the state).
"Bryan has tremendous potential in both hurdle races as well as in the decathlon," Raunig said. "He is about six-feet-four, but he's able to run near 11 seconds for the 100 meters. That combination for a multi-event athlete is very good."
Henderson is a jumper and sprinter at Mount Pleasant High. She earned Iowa all-state honors in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and was a state champion in 2003 as a member of MPHS's 4x200 relay team and again in 2005 in the long jump.
Henderson's personal bests include 12.0h in the 100 meters, 25.4h in the 200 meters and 18-9 in the long jump. That long jump distance would have placed sixth at this year's Big Sky Conference outdoor championships.
"Mallory is one of the best high school jumpers to ever sign here," Raunig said. "Her best long jump would have scored points at this year's Big Sky meet. Iowa doesn't have the triple jump as an event so there is some potential there as well. And she should also see some time as a member of relay teams."
Clark won a 400-meter state title for Frenchtown High at the 2005 Montana Class A meet in 58:58 after placing fifth in 2004 in 1:00.13. She has personal bests of 12.63 in the 100 meters, 25.93 in the 200 meters and 58.30 in the 400 meters.
"Erin has the ability to come in and help us in the relays and 400 meters," Raunig said. "She is a very strong runner."
Ravenscraft is a distance runner at C. Milton Wright High in Bel Air. She was a member of CMWHS's Maryland state cross country championship team in 2004 and ran the fastest leg of its state-champion 4x800 relay team at the 2004 Maryland state track and field championships. She competed at the 2004 Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore., with the Harford Harriers.
She has personal bests of 2:19 in the 800 meters, 4:50 in the 1,500 meters and 19:16 in the 5,000 meters.
"Megan comes from a top-notch program in Maryland, and we feel like she'll be a great addition with her quality marks and her experience in such an excellent program," Raunig said. "She knows what it takes to be successful in cross country running."
Vallie had three top-five finishes at the 2005 Montana Class A state meet. He finished third in the 3,200 meters in 9:53.19, fourth in the 1,600 meters in 4:26.22 and fifth in the 800 meters in 1:56.82.
He has personal bests of 4:24 in the 1,600 meters and 1:56 in the 800 meters and went 15:37 in winning the three-mile Billings Invitational cross country meet this fall.
"We feel like Brian has a great deal of potential," Raunig said. "He had one of the top times in the state last year in both the 800 and 1,600 meters. Given the opportunity to train at the collegiate level, we feel like he could develop into someone who can be successful in the Big Sky Conference."
Somers single-handedly scored 44 points at last spring's Montana Class B state meet, helping Three Forks to a second-place team finish with 47 points, one point behind champion Missoula Loyola. Somers was first in the 100 meters (11.22), 200 meters (22.57) and long jump (20-4), second in the 300-meter hurdles (38.68) and third in the 110-meter hurdles (15.20).
His 2005 bests included 38.68 in the 300-meter hurdles, which ranked second in the state (among all classes), 15.00 in the 110-meter hurdles (third in the state), 22.24 in the 200 meters (third in the state) and 11.07 in the 100 meters (seventh in the state).
"Bryan has tremendous potential in both hurdle races as well as in the decathlon," Raunig said. "He is about six-feet-four, but he's able to run near 11 seconds for the 100 meters. That combination for a multi-event athlete is very good."
Henderson is a jumper and sprinter at Mount Pleasant High. She earned Iowa all-state honors in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and was a state champion in 2003 as a member of MPHS's 4x200 relay team and again in 2005 in the long jump.
Henderson's personal bests include 12.0h in the 100 meters, 25.4h in the 200 meters and 18-9 in the long jump. That long jump distance would have placed sixth at this year's Big Sky Conference outdoor championships.
"Mallory is one of the best high school jumpers to ever sign here," Raunig said. "Her best long jump would have scored points at this year's Big Sky meet. Iowa doesn't have the triple jump as an event so there is some potential there as well. And she should also see some time as a member of relay teams."
Clark won a 400-meter state title for Frenchtown High at the 2005 Montana Class A meet in 58:58 after placing fifth in 2004 in 1:00.13. She has personal bests of 12.63 in the 100 meters, 25.93 in the 200 meters and 58.30 in the 400 meters.
"Erin has the ability to come in and help us in the relays and 400 meters," Raunig said. "She is a very strong runner."
Ravenscraft is a distance runner at C. Milton Wright High in Bel Air. She was a member of CMWHS's Maryland state cross country championship team in 2004 and ran the fastest leg of its state-champion 4x800 relay team at the 2004 Maryland state track and field championships. She competed at the 2004 Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore., with the Harford Harriers.
She has personal bests of 2:19 in the 800 meters, 4:50 in the 1,500 meters and 19:16 in the 5,000 meters.
"Megan comes from a top-notch program in Maryland, and we feel like she'll be a great addition with her quality marks and her experience in such an excellent program," Raunig said. "She knows what it takes to be successful in cross country running."
Vallie had three top-five finishes at the 2005 Montana Class A state meet. He finished third in the 3,200 meters in 9:53.19, fourth in the 1,600 meters in 4:26.22 and fifth in the 800 meters in 1:56.82.
He has personal bests of 4:24 in the 1,600 meters and 1:56 in the 800 meters and went 15:37 in winning the three-mile Billings Invitational cross country meet this fall.
"We feel like Brian has a great deal of potential," Raunig said. "He had one of the top times in the state last year in both the 800 and 1,600 meters. Given the opportunity to train at the collegiate level, we feel like he could develop into someone who can be successful in the Big Sky Conference."
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