Track and Field Announces 2023 Signing Class

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Track and Field head coach Brett Halter announced the entirety of the Tigers’ 2023 signing class on Thursday. The class features 31 newcomers with 22 freshman and nine transfer additions.

Carolyn Ford
Hometown: Columbia, Mo
High School: Rock Bridge High School 

Prep Highlights:
Placed third at 2023 Missouri Class 5 State Track and Field Championships (800m, 1600m) … Took third at 2022 Missouri Class 5 State Cross Country Championships

Morgan Cannon
Hometown: Liberty, Mo.
High School: Liberty High School

Prep Highlights:
Two-time Missouri state javelin champion (2022, 2023) … Three-time track and field letterman … Liberty High School record holder in the javelin … Liberty High School team captain … Dual sport athlete as a two year letterman in volleyball

Anneken Viljoen
Hometown: Paarl, South Africa
High School: Bloemhof Girls’ High School
Previous School: Cal Baptist

College Highlights (CBU):
Four-time All-WAC Performer
Recorded seven Top-10 All-Time Marks in CBU History

Prep Highlights:
Member of Bloemhof’s First team for Track and Cross Country from 2018-20 … Bloemhof Track and Field team captain … Placed second in the 800m and third in the 1500m at the … South African National Championships in 2019 in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa … Placed fourth in both the 800m as well as the 1500m race at the South African National … Championships in 2018 in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa

Elissa Barnard
Hometown: Wildwood, Mo.
High School: Lafayette High School

Prep Highlights:
All-State performer in the 3200 taking fourth place … Earned All-State honors as a part of the 4x800m relay in 2023, led the team to the state title with a Class 5 state meet record … 2022-23 Lafayette High School Female Athlete of the Year … Lafayette High School Female Athlete of the Month (2023) … Guided Lafayette to a third place finish at the 2023 state meet … 2022 All-State performer in cross country earning fifth place … Member of the Lafayette’s 2022 cross country state championship team … 2022 All-Metro First Team Cross Country … 2022 All-State honoree in the 3200m taking fifth … Member of 2022 4x800m state champion relay team … 2021 All-State cross country honoree with a 22nd place finish … 2020 All-State performer in cross country, crossing the line ninth … Member of the 2020 state champion cross country team at Lafayette … 2020 Cross Country All-Metro Second Team

Charnay Davis
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
High School: Hazelwood West High School

Prep Highlights:
Earned MVP and Suburban XII (St. Louis) All-Conference honors her senior season

Marysa Flieg
Hometown: Ste. Genevieve, Mo.
High School: Ste. Genevieve High School
Previous School: Southeast Missouri State

Prep Highlights:
2022 Ohio Valley Female Freshman of the Year … Three-time Ohio Valley Female Freshman of the Week … Ste. Genevieve High School record holder (Javelin) … MSHSAA Class 3 State Champion (Javelin) … 2018 AAU National Junior Olympic Track and Field Champion

Jennifer Hinkle
Hometown: Kirksville, Mo.
High School: Knox County High School

Prep Highlights:
Knox County High School school record holder for Javelin (48.29) … Fourth all-time in Missouri for high school Javelin … MSHSAA Class 1 High School State Champion … Kansas Relays Champion … Nike Nationals Bronze Medalist

Regan Kimrey
Hometown: Pleasant Hill, Mo.
High School: Pleasant Hill High School

Prep Highlights:
Two-time MSHSAA Class 4 Shot Put & Discus State Champion (2022 & 2023) … Pleasant Hill High School Shot Put & Discus record holder … Four-time Pleasant Hill High School athletics letter winner

Sophie Kusserow
Hometown: Naperville, IL
High School: Naperville Central High School

Prep Highlights:
Two-time DuPage Valley Conference Team Champions … DuPage Valley 400m Conference Champion

Nicole Louw
Hometown: Sasolburg, South Africa
High School: Rhenish Girls’ High School
Previous School: Oregon

Prep Highlights:
Two-time NCAA Cross Country Championship Team Qualifier … 2019 South African U20 Champion … Three-time South African U18 National Champion

Delilah Pepin
Hometown: Kansas City, Mo.
High School: Lincoln College Preparatory Academy

Prep Highlights:
Four year Varsity letterman … Led Lincoln to a fifth place finish in the 2023 state meet and a fourth place result in 2022 … Dual sport athlete winning the district basketball championship in 2022-23

Ty Welty
Hometown: Columbia, Mo
High School: Rock Bridge High School 

Dallas Jenkins
Hometown: Edwardsville, Ill.
High School: Edwardsville High School

Sam Albert
Hometown: Jefferson City, Mo.
High School: Capital City High School

Prep Highlights:
Placed sixth in the shot put and earned All-American honors at the New Balance Nationals Indoor … Two-time conference champion … Three-time all-conference honoree in shot put … Three-time all-conference honoree in the discus … Three-time shot put district champion …. Placed fourth in the shot put at the AAU junior Olympic Games … Qualified for the AAU junior Olympic Games in the discus

Andrew Simard
Hometown: Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Previous School: Manhattan College

College Highlights (Manhattan College):
Six-time MAAC All-Conference Finalist … Canadian U20 Championships Semi Finalist (800m) … Gold medalist in the 4×400 at the Outdoor MAAC Championships … Finished second in the 4×400 at the 115th Milrose Games … Scored in the 4×800, DMR, and 800 at the Indoor MAAC Championships … Finished third in the 4×800 at IC4As … Athletics Manitoba 2022 U20 Male Athlete of the Year … 2022 Nominee for Athletics Manitoba ‘Outstanding Sprints’ & ‘Outstanding Distance’ honors

Prep Highlights:
Triple gold Medalist at the 2022 Manitoba High School Provincial (state) Championships
(400/800/1500) … Ran the 800 on the second place 2022 MHSAA SMR … Recipient of the Spartan Shield of Honor and 4x Athletic Honor Roll member

Clarke Bilderback
Hometown: Alpharetta, GA
High School: Blessed Trinity Catholic High School

Prep Highlights:
2022 GHSA 800m State Champion … 2022 GHSA 4x800m Relay State Champion … 2022 GHSA All-State … Blessed Trinity High School records in 800m, 4x800m Relay, 4x400m Relay

Skylar Coffey
Hometown: Spring Hill, Tenn.
High School: Brentwood High School

Prep Highlights:
2019 Tennessee outdoor state champion in the shot put … 2019 Tennessee outdoor state champion in the discus … 2019 New Balance Outdoor Nationals qualifier in the discus … High school wrestling All-American, two-time state champion … Set the all-time Tennessee high school record in the discus throw with a mark of 201-0 (61.26m) … Finished high school with a personal record of 62-7 (19.08m) in the shot put

Chase Crawford
Hometown: Centreville, IL
High School: Cahokia High School

Prep Highlights:
Two-time High School All-American … Two-time IHSA All-State … 2023 ISHA Shot Put State Champion .. Cahokia High School shot put and discus record holder

Hayden Dixon
Hometown: Coatsville, MO
High School: Schuyler County High School

Prep Highlights:
2023 MSHSAA Class 2 Shot Put & Discus State Champion … MSHSAA Class 2 Shot Put & Discus state meet record holder … 2023 High School Outdoor All-American

Jack Forer
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
High School: De La Salle College, Malvern
Previous School: University of Melbourne

Prep Highlights:
2021 Victorian State Open Champion (4x800m) … 2021 Victorian State U20 Second Place (800m) … Three-time 2021 ACC Open Champion (800m, 1500m, 4x400m) … Represented Victoria at the 2023 Australian Track & Field Championships (800m)

Tarique George
Hometown: Kingston, Jamaica
High School: Calabar High School
Previous School: Wyoming

Prep Highlights:
2023 All-Mountain West … 2022 NCAA Prelims qualifier … 2022 Mountain West Championships Third Place in Discus … 2019 U20 Jamaica National Championship Third Place in Discus

Brendan Heitzig
Hometown: Lincoln, IL
High School: Lincoln Community High School

Prep Highlights:
2023 IHSA Class 2A Runner-Up (4x800m) … 2022 IHSA Class 2A Cross Country State Championship Sixth Place … 2022 Apollo Conference Cross Country Champion … 2022 IHSA Class 2A Third Place (1600m) … 2022 IHSA Class 2A Champion (4x800m)

Clayton Kamp
Hometown: Arlington Heights, IL
High School: Prospect High School
Previous School: DePaul

College Highlights (DePaul):
2023 All-Big East … 2023 Big East Outdoor Championship Shot Put Third Place

Prep Highlights:
Letterwinner in both football and track … Earned All-Conference Academic (football and track), All-Area Honorable Mention (football), All-Conference Honorable Mention (track) and Varsity Field Team MVP … Has personal bests in shot out (16.70m) and discus (43.44m)

Rollan McDevitt
Hometown: St. Charles, MO
High School: Francis Howell Central High School

Prep Highlights:
Two-time GAC South All-Conference … Four-time Francis Howell Central High School letterwinner

Evan Rainville
Hometown: Chicago, IL
High School: Walter Payton College Prep

Prep Highlights:
2023 IHSA Class 2A State Champion (4x800m) … 2023 IHSA Class 2A Fifth Place (400m) … 2022 IHSA Class 2A State Runner-Up (4x800m) … Walter Payton College Prep 400m school record holder (49.66)

Callan Saldutto
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
High School: Notre Dame College School

College Highlights (ULM):
2023 First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field … 2021 Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field

2022-23 (Junior – ULM)
Competed in four meets, throwing only the javelin … Qualified for the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries (May 25) in the javelin, throwing 189-7 (57.78 meters) to finish in 46th … First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference after winning the javelin with a personal-best heave of 241-8 (73.67 meters) at the SBC Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 11) … Won the javelin with a throw of 210-3 (64.09 meters) at the Warhawk Classic (April 22) … Returned to action at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, finishing 13th in the javelin with a throw of 227-9 (69.41 meters).

Prep Highlights:
Had senior season in 2020 canceled due to COVID-19 … Competed in meets after high school, throwing 61.39 meters in the javelin and 49.78 meters in the discus … As a junior in 2019, he placed sixth in the shot put (15.62 meters), ninth in the discus (46.58 meters, 1.6 kilograms) and 17th in javelin (53.57 meters, 800 grams) at the OFSAA Provincial Championships … As a sophomore in 2018, he placed second in the discus (60.91 meters, 1 kilogram), third in the javelin (55.39 meters, 600 grams) and third in the shot put (16.36, 4 kilograms) at the OFSAA Provincial Championships … As a freshman in 2017, he placed first in the discus (58.48 meters, 1 kilogram), seventh in the javelin (44.54 meters, 600 grams) and 12th in the 100 meter hurdles (15.32 seconds) at the OFSAA Provincial Championships … Also played football, helping his team to a second place finish in the province and was named MVP as a sophomore … Top Scholar Award each semester of high school.

Sterling Scott
Hometown: Starkville High School
High School: Starkville, Miss.

Prep Highlights:
Three-time state champion … 2023 U20 Pan American Champion

Hudson Sommerall
Hometown: Columbia, Mo.
High School: Rock Bridge High School

Prep Highlights:
All-State Senior Year 2022 Cross Country … All-District Senior Year 2022 Cross Country … All-Conference Senior Year 2022 Cross Country … All-Sectional Senior Year 2023 3200 meter run … All-District Senior Year 3200 meter run … Three time team State Champion – Track and Field (2021, 2022, 2023) … Team State Champion – Cross Country (2020)

Grant Tode
Hometown: Chatham Ill.
High School: Glenwood High School

Prep Highlights:
2022 & 2023 IL Top Times Indoor State Top Eight … 2022 and 2023 All-Conference … 2023 Class 3A Illinois state qualifier 110M High Hurdles and 300M Hurdles … Four-time All-Conference Academic honoree

Hunter Wendal
Hometown: Jackson, Mo.
High School: Jackson High School

Prep Highlights:
Three time All-Conference in Cross Country … 2022 Conference Cross Country Champion … Four- time 5A Cross Country Conference Team Champions … Two-time All-District performer in Cross Country … 5A State Cross Country Team 4th place finish 2022 … 3200m meet record holder in Jackson Invitational and Notre Dame Invitational … 3200m Jackson High School record holder at 9:20 … 2022 and 2023 3200m Conference Champion … 2023 4×800 Conference and Sectional Champion … 3200m District Champion … 2023 3200m Sectional Champion … 3200m fourth place 5A State finish

Edward Zuercher
Hometown: Rocky River, OH
High School: Rocky River High School
Previous School: Eastern Michigan

College Highlights (Eastern Michigan):
2023 MAC Championships Bronze Medalist (3000m steeplechase) … 2023 MAC Championships Sixth Place (3000m, 5000m)

Prep Highlights:
Four-time letterwinner in track and cross country and a two-time letterwinner in hockey … Finished 13th in the 1600m at the indoor DI State Championships with a personal-record of 4:23, and acted as a member of the 4×800 relay squad that placed seventh in the state in his senior outdoor campaign … Finished 11th at the DI State Championship in the 3200m with a PR of 9:26

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