Incoming Class Totals 18 for Men's Track and Field, Cross Country
7/5/2017 1:42:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field
NOTE: Click on recruits' names below to access their biography pages with more additional information, including personal-best performances.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Head coach Jerry Clayton and the University of Michigan men's track and field and cross country program announced on Wednesday (July 5) the full contingent of 18Â student-athletes who represent the first incoming class to compete and train in the team's brand new, world-class facility scheduled to open this winter.In addition to the three men who signed National Letters of Intent in 2016 -- Jack Aho, Jandon Briscoe and Noah Caudy -- 15Â more men have committed to joining the Wolverines starting in the 2017-18 academic year.
Clayton and the rest of the program are excited to welcome into the U-M family Daniel Butael, Ben Campagna, Noah Carlson, Josiah Carpenter, Dominic Dimambro, Vail Hartman, Jared Hill, Christian Hubaker, Jacob Keating, Sean Marshall, Tyler McCartney, Bryce Pickett, Lewis Tate, Luke Wallace, and Noah Wells.
"Overall it's a very good class, and a large class," Clayton said. "Hopefully they'll come in and be focused, and we'll see what they can do in their four to five years here at Michigan."
All told, those 18Â men combined to win 21 high school state titles in track and field and/or cross country, with many among them having competing at the prestigious New Balance National track and field meet either indoors and/or outdoors, as well as several other national-level meets.
"Coming in, there were some areas we wanted to strengthen," Clayton said. "We needed more depth in the distance runners for both track and cross country; we really wanted to bring in a good quarter-miler and a couple more strong contributors in the hurdles; and we needed to bring in a jumper. We were able to bring in two jumpers who we really think will step it up in that area."
As they endeavor to add to the long history of Michigan track and field and cross country, they will be the first class to compete and train for the full duration of their collegiate careers in the state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor facilities set to open this winter.
"When you're bringing them in in the fall for visits, they can see the construction. The renderings of the new complex are great and that helped a lot, as well, but they could physically see that something that was being done and there was an endpoint that was going to occur in their first semester here," Clayton said. "That was huge for this group, and the finished facility will be huge moving forward for both our student-athletes and future Wolverines."
They will have the advantage of utilizing the nation's only indoor facility that features both a hydraulically banked 200-meter track that features the same surface as that used for the track at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, and a 300-meter practice track running along the inner perimeter of the facility.
The building will also feature large, open-air throwing bays on the south side of the facility in addition to spacious runways for pole vaulting and jumps events.
Information on all 17Â incoming recruits can be found below. Click on their names below to access their biography pages with more additional information, including personal-best performances.
Jack Aho -- Grayslake, Ill. -- Grayslake Central High School -- Mid-Distance
Four-time state finalist at 3,200 meters, including two runner-up finishes and a third-place showing ... Two-time indoor Top Times Championship winner at 1,600 meters ... Two-time state champion in cross country and a top-20 finisher at both Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals ... Multiple-time competitor in Brooks PR Invitational and Festival of Miles.
Jandon Briscoe -- New Orleans, La. -- Jesuit High School -- Sprints
Four-time state champion at either 200 or 400 meters at either the indoor or outdoor championships ... USATF National Junior Olympic Champion at 400 meters and 10th at New Balance Indoors ... Three-time New Balance Nationals competitor.
Daniel Butael -- Israel -- Horizontal Jumps
Represened Israel in the triple jump at the 19th edition of the Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish multi-sport event held every four years in Israel ... Won the triple jump at the 2016 edition of the Israel Jump meet with a mark of 15.94m (52-3.75).
Ben Campagna -- Danville, Calif. -- San Ramon Valley High School -- Throws
Finished fourth in the 2017 California North Coast Section (NCS) Meet of Champions in the discus and the shot put ... Finished fourth at the 2017 California Winter State Championships in the shot put.
Noah Carlson -- Rushford, Minn. -- Rushford-Peterson High School -- Horizontal Jumps
Five-time state champion across three different events, twice each in the long jump and triple jump, and once in the 200 meters ... Led his team to the state title during the 2016 season ... Entered the 2017 season as the 24th-best returning triple jumper in the nation.
Josiah Carpenter -- Beaverton, Ore. -- Southridge High School -- Sprints
Scored in three events at the 2017 OSAA 6A State Championships with fourth-place finishes at both 200 and 400 meters, and a seventh-place finish at 100 meters ... Won the USATF Oregon Junior Olympic Championships at 200 meters and was runner-up at 400 meters.
Noah Caudy -- Lake Odessa, Mich. -- Lake Odessa Lakewood High School -- Sprints/Hurdles
Four-time state champion in the hurdles, with three wins in the 110-meter hurdles and one in the 300-meter race ... Ranked top-40 nationally among high school seniors in both events ... Fastest senior 300-meter hurdler in the state of Michigan and the second-fastest senior in the 100-meter hurdles ... New Balance Nationals competitor.
Dominic Dimambro -- Fenton, Mich. -- Fenton High School -- Distance
State champion at 3,200 meters for the 2017 season, running to the second-fastest time in the State of Michigan on the year ... 23rd at the 2015 state cross country championships ... New Balance Nationals competitor.
Vail Hartman -- Okemos, Mich. -- Okemos High School -- Sprints/Jumps
Runner-up over 400 meters at the 2017 state championships with the fastest time among high school seniors in the State of Michigan and the second-fastest time in the state overall ... Also ranked No. 11 in the state (No. 7 among seniors) in the long jump.
Jared Hill -- Walled Lake, Mich. -- Walled Lake Central High School -- Distance
Three-time top-15 finisher at the state championships and the seventh-fastest senior from the state of Michigan at 1,600 meters in 2017 ... Three-time MHSAA LP Division 1 State Championships qualifier and top-60 finisher.
Christian Hubaker -- Grand Ledge, Mich. -- Grand Ledge High School -- Distance
Three-time finalist at 1,600 meters at the state championships and the fourth-fastest senior from the state of Michigan at 1,600 meters in 2017 ... Three-time qualifier for the state cross country championships, finishing top-35 twice.
Jacob Keating -- Mentor, Ohio -- Lake Catholic High School -- Distance
Seven-time top-15 finisher at Ohio State Championship meets both indoor and outdoor at either 1,600 or 3,200 meters, a two-time top-20 finisher at New Balance Nationals indoors, and the 2017 Midwest Meet of Champions winner at 3,200 meters ... Two-time top-20 finisher at the state cross country championships.
Sean Marshall -- Cypress, Texas -- Houston Cypress Ranch High School -- Sprints/ Hurdles
Opened his 2017 outdoor season with a career-best 36.92 in the 300-meter hurdles that currently ranks him No. 15 among seniors in the nation ... Finished fifth in the 300-meter hurdles at the 2017 UIL 6A Region III Championships.
Tyler McCartney -- Grand Ledge, Mich. -- Grand Ledge High School -- Distance
Finished fifth at the 2016 state cross country championships meet and 14th at the MITCA Mid-East Championship ... Finished third at the Greater Lansing Honor Roll Meet of Champions over 3,200 meters.
Bryce Pickett -- Oak Park, Mich. -- Oak Park High School -- Sprints
Ran a leg of the 4x400 relay team that won the 2017 state title, and also finished 16th individually over 400 meters ... Finished fifth over 400 meters indoors at the indoor state meet and went on to finish 12th in the emerging elite section at New Balance Nationals indoors.
Lewis Tate -- Paw Paw, Mich. -- Paw Paw High School -- Distance
Two-time top-10 finisher at the state championships, taking fourth in the 2017 3,200 meter race and eighth at 1,600 meters in 2016 ... Took 11th at the 2017 state cross country championships, and finished 29th and 31st the previous two years.
Luke Wallace -- Bloomfield, Mich. -- Birmingham Seaholm High School -- Distance
Three-time top-15 finisher at the state championships, including sixth- and 14th-place finishes at 1,600 and 800 meters in 2017 ... New Balance Nationals competitor ... Two-time top-60 finisher at the state cross country championships.
Noah Wells -- The Woodlands, Texas -- The Woodlands High School -- Distance
Finished ninth at the 2017 state cross country championships before going on to finish seventh at Nike Cross South Regionals and 78th at Nike Cross Nationals ... State cross country runner-up in 2016 before taking 16th at Nike Cross South Regionals and 52nd at Nike Cross Nationals ... Top-6 regionally on the track at 1,600 and 3,200 meters in 2017.
Players Mentioned
