U-M Inks Nine During Early Signing Period

Dec. 1, 2016

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Head coach James Henry, associate head coach Mike McGuire and the University of Michigan women's track and field program announced the signing of nine student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the early signing period on Thursday (Dec. 1). Newly minted Wolverines Mallory Barrett, Grace Cutler, Camille Davre, Chloe Foster, Alice Hill, Emma Lane, Lauren Morgan, Jacalyn Overdier and Micaiah Thomas will compete for U-M starting in the fall of 2017 or the winter and spring of 2018.

"This is another exciting group of young ladies that we are eager to bring into the fold here at Michigan," said Henry. "Each of them comes from a good family and we know they are all intelligent, hard-working students as well as accomplished athletes. We pride ourselves on having a balanced program and we know these young women will help us continue to compete at a high level for years to come.

Coming off a Big Ten title sweep (indoor and outdoor titles won in 2016) and a conference title in the fall, the Wolverines are flying high, and the program has enjoyed a stretch of recent success that rivals any era in program history. The Maize and Blue look to continue building on what has made the program successful: a dominant middle-distance and distance program, balanced scoring up and down the lineup and competitive depth throughout each event area. The coaching staff feels this group will add to that.

Even more exciting is the program's new facility, set to open in December of 2017. The new facility will feature a banked indoor 200-meter track and a flat 300-meter warmup track indoors, as well as an outdoor 400-meter track. It will be the only facility in the nation with both indoor tracks and will feature large, open-air throwing bays on the south side of the building in addition to spacious runways for pole vaulting and jumps events.

"We pressed hard in showing our new facility to prospective recruits, and it is helping already," said Henry.

"Now that the building is on its way to being finished, it can only be helpful. We've been successful in the Big Ten and nationally, but I think the new facility will take us to the next level. I think everybody in the state of Michigan and throughout the country is excited to see the university and our athletic department supporting such a facility. It's already paid dividends in recruiting and we are excited to see our teams compete there soon."

Mallory Barrett -- Highland, Michigan -- Highland-Milford High School -- Middle-Distance

The younger sister of current Wolverine Rachel Barrett, Mallory is a multi-time all-state honoree and is a county champion in cross country. Barrett finished fourth at 800 meters last spring at the MHSAA State Championships and earned two other top-six finishes at that meet. She was part of the sixth-place 4x400-meter relay that had finished fifth the year before and was also a member of the third-place 4x800-meter relay.

Barrett has also shown her competitiveness on the national stage, where she ran the first leg of the fifth-place distance medley relay team at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. She split 3:30.6 and ran the fastest first leg in the field among some of the nation's top competitors.

On the cross country course, Barrett closed her career with a pair of top-10 finishes. She was eighth as a senior after finishing seventh in 2015, and also added an Oakland County individual championship to her trophy case this past fall.

Barrett, who is a member of the National Honor Society at Highland-Milford High School, is an exciting prospect for McGuire.

"Mallory is accomplished in the 800 all the way up through cross country," said McGuire. "She brings that Barrett toughness to the table, and she's got great range from 400 all the way to cross country. We feel that she could be a significant contributor right away in track, and I think she's going to be a decorated cross country runner over time for us as well."

High School Personal Bests
Track and Field
400 meters (outdoor) -- 58.64
800 meters (outdoor) -- 2:12.46
1,600 meters (outdoor) -- 5:02.39

High School Personal Bests
Cross Country
5,000 meters -- 17:47.3

Grace Cutler -- Royal Oak, Michigan -- Royal Oak High School -- Distance

Cutler is an in-state talent that reminds McGuire of another native Michigander currently in his lineup: freshman Madeline Trevisan.

"Grace really reminds me of Maddy Trevisan," said McGuire. "She has a similar type background, event-wise and is a great student like Maddy is. She's someone that I think will bring significant contributions to us in cross country, running anywhere from the 5K to 10K range over time (on the track)."

If that evaluation rings true, it will be good news for Cutler. Trevisan was a multi-time scorer for U-M this fall during the cross country season as a true freshman, finishing just six spots shy of All-America honors at the NCAA Championships.

Academically, the comparison holds up. Cutler has been an honor roll student all four years at Royal Oak High School, and she is a National Honor Society officer as well.

On the track and cross country course, it is also easy to see why McGuire believes Cutler will not have trouble finding success at U-M.

She was sixth in the state meet last fall for cross country after winning the regional title and finishing runner-up in the county meet, and this season she finished fourth in the regional meet.

On the track, Cutler is a state champion at 3,200 meters (indoors; 2016), improving from her 11th-place finish in the outdoor season of 2015. She also helped her 4x800-meter relay team finish third in the region that year.

High School Personal Bests
Track and Field
800 meters (outdoor) -- 2:24.0
1,600 meters (outdoor) -- 5:07.90
1 mile (outdoor) -- 5:09.92
3,200 meters (outdoor) -- 10:47.80
3,200 meters (indoor) -- 10:56.76

High School Personal Bests
Cross Country
5,000 meters -- 17:40.0

Camille Davre -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- Whitefish Bay High School -- Middle-Distance

Davre is a form fit for U-M as a Midwest native with the ability to be competitive at a number of distances. She is a five-time state champion with a once-defended pair of individual titles coming at 800 meters (2015-16) and 1,600 meters (2015-16). She has also been part of a state title-winning 4x800-meter relay team.

At the New Balance Indoor Nationals meet, Davre has become a national champion. She won the 800-meter title in 2:09.23, a personal-best time indoors, and also finished 11th in the one-mile race that same year (2016).

On the cross country course, Davre is a two-time state runner-up. She ran sub-18:30 races in both seasons, including a season-best 18:24.8 during the fall of her senior season. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native earned high praise from Coach McGuire for her impressive accomplishments thus far.

"Camille follows our great tradition of middle distance runners who are also cross country runners," said McGuire. "We see her impacting the track team immediately in the 800 and the mile. She's one of the top runners to ever to come out of the state of Wisconsin, and we're very excited to have her on board."

High School Personal Bests (TF)
400 meters (indoor) -- 58.02
800 meters (outdoor) -- 2:09.22
800 meters (indoor) -- 2:09.23
1600 meters (outdoor) -- 4:46.40
1600 meters (indoor) -- 4:53.96
1 mile (indoor) -- 4:48.54

High School Personal Bests (XC)
4,000 meters -- 14:22.4

Chloe Foster -- Ann Arbor, Michigan -- Ann Arbor Skyline High School -- Sprints

Foster is a local talent, which the Wolverines have made a habit of developing nicely, and she will bring with her a championship pedigree. She has competed at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals meet, finishing 18th in the 800-meter run and 26th in the 400-meter dash while also running on the 13th-place 4x400-meter relay team this past summer.

At the state level, Foster has a pair of top-eight finishes. She was seventh in the 100-meter dash and went on to finish runner-up in the 200-meter dash at the MITCA Division 1 State Championships in 2016.

An Academic All-State honoree, Foster is a member of the National Honor Society and sits on the leader board. She is also a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and is a member of both Skywell and Black Student Union.

Coach Henry feels that Foster's high-level experience will be a natural fit for an encouraging developmental projection.

"She's a diamond in the rough who can be a fine contributor to our program," said Henry, "and it's good to have another local kid be part of our team. She and Alice (Hill) are two kids who I think can come in and contribute and continue the tradition of locals excelling here at Michigan."

High School Personal Bests
Track and Field
100 meters (outdoor) -- 12.75
200 meters (outdoor) -- 25.74
400 meters (outdoor) -- 55.86
800 meters (outdoor) -- 2:14.53

Alice Hill -- Ann Arbor, Michigan -- Ann Arbor Pioneer High School -- Middle-Distance

Hill is an accomplished local athlete who brings a lot of potential to U-M. She had a multi-events history at nearby Pioneer High School but will specialize at middle-distance competing for the Maize and Blue.

At New Balance Nationals, she has competed as part of two relay teams and once as an individual. She was eighth at 800 meters during the indoor meet (2016), and went on to earn a runner-up finish at that distance during the outdoor championships. She also ran the anchor leg of the 4x800-meter relay team that finished in third place.

Hill is a three-time all-state finisher; once as a runner-up in the 800-meter race and once as part of the third-place finishing 4x400-meter relay team. She earned the third honor by running the anchor leg of the state champion 4x800-meter relay team last spring (2016).

A two-time individual record holder (indoor and outdoor 800 meters), Hill is also part of the record-holding 4x800-meter (indoor) and sprint medley relay teams (outdoor) at Pioneer.

"It's always a pleasure to get a local athlete, and I think she is going to be a very good athlete for us," said Henry. "The challenges in bringing in local athletes are that they already know the campus and the university because they've been here their whole lives. We think we are bringing in a few kids this year, Alice included, that will continue the trend we have had of high-level locals finding success at Michigan."

Off the track, Hill is a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist and a member of National Honors Society. She is a four-year letterwinner with the Field Hockey team at Pioneer and is a three-time state champion as a result (2014-15-16). Hill is also a member of Pioneer's Symphony Orchestra and sits on her school's Student Council.

High School Personal Bests
Track and Field
400-meter relay split (outdoor) -- 57.6
800 meters (indoor) -- 2:12.10
800 meters (outdoor) -- 2:09.09
800-meter relay split (outdoor) -- 2:09.5
60-meter hurdles (outdoor) -- 9.62
100-meter hurdles (outdoor) -- 15.15
300-meter hurdles (outdoor) -- 43.56
Long Jump (outdoor) -- 16-01.25

Emma Lane -- Mentor, Ohio -- Mentor High School -- Long Sprints

Lane is a late addition to the class, but is a noteworthy one. She is very accomplished in her home state of Ohio, with two state runner-up performances (indoor, outdoor 400 meters) coming last spring not long after she won the regional championship in the same event. Lane earned a fourth-place finish the year before as a member of the 4x400-meter relay team and followed up that performance with a seventh-place finish this past spring.

In cross country, Lane competed at NXR Midwest Regional Championships this fall after earning a pair of top-25 finishes during the regular season. She also earned a fifth-place finish at the Midwest Meet of Champions last month.

Lane holds six school records at Mentor High School, and as Henry points out, has a great deal of competitive experience running at the site of the Big Ten Indoor Championships.

"Emma has been competing in the SPIRE Facility," said Henry, "which will hopefully add some familiarity for her. She will step in right away and put us in a position to be very competitive in our 4x400-meter relay and in our other short sprint relays, so we are excited to bring her on board, and we're very glad that she chose to come to Michigan."

High School Personal Bests
Track and Field
100 meters (outdoor) - 12.73
200 meters (outdoor) - 25.05a
200 meters (indoor) - 26.24a
400 meters (outdoor) - 54.87a
400 meters (indoor) - 55.96a
800 meters (outdoor) - 2:16.24

High School Personal Bests
Cross Country
5,000 meters -- 20:37.2

Lauren Morgan -- Bladensburg, Maryland -- Elizabeth Seton High School -- Short Sprints

Morgan is another recruit from the state of Maryland, the second year in a row U-M has pulled talent from that part of the country.

She is an accomplished competitor on the national stage, with multiple appearances at the New Balance Nationals meets. This past year at New Balance Outdoors, Morgan had three top-20 finishes. As an individual, she was 19th in the 200-meter dash and also placed ninth in the Swedish Relay and seventh in the 4x100-meter relay. This three-race performance showed great growth one year after she qualified for that meet in the 4x100-meter relay.

At New Balance Indoor Nationals, Morgan has competed on seven occasions. Last year, she was part of the fifth-place 4x200-meter and 13th-place 4x400-meter relay teams and also competed as an individual with 28th-place (60-meter dash) and 20th-place (200-meter dash) finishes.

As a sophomore in 2015, Morgan finished third in the 60-meter dash and 16th in the 200, also contributing to a seventh-place 4x400-meter relay finish.

Morgan has also run at Penn Relays and won the regional title in the 100-meter dash last spring. In addition, she was runner-up in the 200-meter dash at the regional championship meet.

"I believe Lauren can help shore up our short sprint group," said Henry. "We've been lacking in that area lately and in recent seasons, and Lauren has the ability and the work ethic to step in right away and contribute for us. We are excited to see what she can do in Maize and Blue."

High School Personal Bests
Track and Field
55-meter dash (indoor) -- 7.18
60-meter dash (indoor) -- 7.69
100 meters (outdoor) -- 11.72
200 meters (indoor) -- 24.52
200 meters (outdoor) -- 24.04
300 meters (indoor) -- 39.59
400 meters (indoor) -- 58.54

Jacalyn Overdier -- Ann Arbor, Michigan -- Ann Arbor Pioneer HS -- Middle-Distance

Overdier is the third and final Ann Arbor local to be signing on for the Wolverines' recruiting class of 2017.

She has twice run at New Balance Outdoor Nationals, running as part of the 4xMile relay that finished in fifth place and the 4x800-meter relay that took third in 2016. She was part of the state championship-winning 4x800-meter relay team that her current and future teammate Alice Hill was on and also finished ninth in the 3,200-meter race last spring.

In cross country, Overdier competed at NXR Midwest Regional Championships this fall, finishing 33rd in the 5,000-meter event. She was 38th at the state meet after finishing 27th as a junior, and finished 74th in her first opportunity to compete as a sophomore. Overdier also earned top-10 regional finishes in each of her four seasons of competition.

McGuire is eager to start working with Overdier and believes she can have a significant impact on the team.

"We are really excited about bringing Jacalyn into the fold," said McGuire. "She's someone that is coming out of a very successful track and cross country program. She has good leg speed so she has range from the 800 all the way up to two miles, and she's someone that we feel can develop over time in the program."

"I like the speed aspect of her background," McGuire continued. "And we definitely view her as a miler or 3K-5K runner, so she is someone that will follow a similar path to other people we've developed in the program."

High School Personal Bests
Track and Field
800 meters (outdoor) -- 2:21.22
800 meters (indoor) -- 2:25.23
1,600 meters (outdoor) -- 5:01.90
1,600 meter (indoor) -- 5:08.36
1 mile (outdoor) -- 5:23.24
3,200 meters (outdoor) -- 10:41.40

High School Personal Bests
Cross Country
5,000 meters -- 18:16.5

Michaiah Thomas -- Beverly Hills, Michigan -- Detroit Country Day School -- Sprints/Hurdles

Thomas has piled up successful results while at Country Day. She is a 100-meter hurdles state champion (2015), and was a state runner-up last winter (2016) in the 60-meter hurdles, where she went on to place 19th at New Balance Indoor Nationals.

In addition, she won regional titles in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and also in the 200-meter dash. She was regional runner-up in the 100-meter dash.

For her club, she ran at the USATF Michigan Association Junior Olympic Championships, winning a title in the 400-meter hurdles in a PR time of 66.91 in 2016. One spring earlier, she finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles at the AAU Junior Olympic Games with a time of 14.54, then a PR.

Off the track, Thomas is an Oakland Athletics Association (OAA) Scholar Athlete. She is part of Country Day's Math Pentathlon and is a member of the Pre-Med Club as well. She is an advocate for Students Against Drunk Driving (S.A.D.D.) as well and was a member of symphony orchestra for six years.

"She is very undeveloped, but she reminds me of those Ofili kids a little bit," said Henry. "We're really happy to have her from Detroit Country Day, and I think she's someone that can put us in position to continue to have a good hurdles group moving forward."

High School Personal Bests
Track and Field
60 meter dash (indoor) -- 8.01
100 meters (indoor) -- 12.46
200 meters (outdoor) -- 25.64
60-meter hurdles (indoor) -- 8.81
100-meters hurdles (outdoor) -- 14.31
200-meter hurdles (outdoor) -- 30.44
300 meters (outdoor) -- 43.95
400-meter hurdles -- 66.91
Long Jump (outdoor) -- 16' 9.00

The Wolverines begin the 2017 season slate on the weekend of Jan. 13-14. The team will compete at the U-M Indoor Track Building for the final time in the history of the facility with the Simmons-Harvey Invitational, slated for Saturday (Jan. 14).

Communications Contact: Chad Shepard