Wolverines Announce Top-Tier Recruiting Class for 2019-20
8/6/2019 11:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Head coaches Jerry Clayton and James Henry of the University of Michigan track and field and cross country program announced Tuesday (Aug. 6) the full contingent of 14 student-athletes comprising one of the nation's most competitive recruiting classes for the 2019-20 academic year.
Headlined by world-class decathlon transfer Ayden Owens (Southern California) and incoming freshman phenoms Nick Foster and Josh Zeller, the group of new Wolverines bolsters the roster significantly both on the track and in the field events.
Joining Owens, Foster and Zeller are first-year collegians Heath Baldwin, Tom Brady, John Florence, James Gedris, Keshaun Harris, Chris Hill, Benjamin Jacobs, Mason Mahacek, Thomas Shilgalis and Noah Stallworth. Transfer Eric Harris (Davenport) is also being added to the Michigan roster.
Spanning across four different states and Great Britain, the class is as accomplished as any other in school history.
"We expect there to be several members of this recruiting class that will make an immediate difference for us at the Big Ten and national levels as soon as they arrive in Ann Arbor," Clayton said, "and many more who will develop to that level during their time at Michigan. This is a well-rounded and very talented class that will help us in nearly every event across the board."
Among the 14 who competed in American high schools, they combined for 37 state titles between track and field and cross country during their prep careers.
Two among them -- Owens and Foster -- have claimed de facto national titles at their New Balance Nationals or the Brooks PR Invitational, with two more having finished top-five nationally at NBN.
With a year under his belt in the collegiate system, Owens also has a first team All-America honor to his name in the heptathlon, as well as the second-best decathlon score by a freshman in collegiate history.
The class includes both Mr. Michigan Track and Field and Mr. Michigan Cross Country for the 2018-19 academic year in Baldwin and Foster, respectively.
Foster leads all American high schoolers in the mile for the 2019 season, and the British national Zeller -- who won the 2019 European U20 Championships title in the 110-meter hurdles --Â would be the second-fastest in the nation were he an American high schooler.
Information on all 14 incoming recruits can be found below. More detailed information on each can be found by clicking through to their MGoBlue.com biography pages.
Heath Baldwin -- Multi-Events | Kalamazoo, Michigan | Kalamazoo Hackett HS
2019 Mr. Michigan Track & Field (MITCA) ... Â Five-time MHSAA Division 4 State Champion ... Nine-time MHSAA Division 4 top-five finisher ... Won 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles and high jump state titles in 2019, and finished third in the long jump ... Top-ranked high jumper in the state of Michigan; No. 8 in the 110-meter hurdles
Tom Brady -- Distance | Park Ridge, Illinois | Maine South HS
Three-time IHSA State Track and Field Championships top-five finisher ... Two-time IHSA State Cross Country Championships top-five finisher ... Ranked No. 5 in the state of Illinois at 3,200 meters
John Florence -- Distance | Ann Arbor, Michigan | Ann Arbor Pioneer HS
Two-time MHSAA Division 1 State Champion as member of relay teams ... Three-time MHSAA Division 1 State Championships top-five finisher ... Finished third over 3,200 meters at the 2019 Midwest Meet of Champions ... Ranked No. 5 in the state of Michigan at 3,200 meters for the 2019 season
Nick Foster -- Distance | Ann Arbor, Michigan | Ann Arbor Pioneer HS
2018 Mr. Michigan Cross Country (MITCA) ... 2019 Brooks PR Invitational Mile Champion ... 2018 New Balance Nationals two-mile champion ... Fastest high school miler in the nation in 2019 (4:03.11) ... Nine-time MHSAA Division 1 State Champion on the track, two-time champ in cross country ... 12-time MHSAA Division 1 State Championships top-five finisher on the track ... Swept the 1,600- and 3,200-meter titles at the 2019 MHSAA Division 1 State Championships ... 13th-place finisher at Nike Cross Country Nationals in 2018 ... Second-fastest high school miler in Michigan history; No. 4 at 3,200 meters ... Also ranked No. 11 nationally in 2019 at 3,200 meters
James Gedris -- Distance | Grosse Ile, Michigan | Grosse Ile HS
Three-time top-five finisher at MHSAA Division 2 State Championships in track ... Top-five finisher at MHSAA Division 2 State Championships in cross country ... Two-time national runner-up at 2019 New Balance Nationals in 5,000 and two-time ... Nation's sixth-fastest high schooler at 5,000 meters in 2019, and No. 14 at two miles ... Top-ranked Michigan high schooler at 5,000 meters and two miles, No. 2 at 3,200 meters in 2019 ... Second-fastest high schooler in Michigan history at 5,000 meters and No. 19 at 3,200 meters
Eric Harris -- Pole Vault | Saline, Michigan | Saline HS / Davenport
Competed one season at Davenport (NCAA Division II) ... Finished fourth in the pole vault at the 2019 GLIAC Outdoor Championships ... Two-time MHSAA Division 1 State Championships runner-up in the pole vault ... Fourth-highest pole vaulter in Michigan high school history ... Two-time top-15 finisher at New Balance Nationals
Keshaun Harris -- Sprints/Hurdles | Lansing, Michigan | Lansing Waverly HS
Four-time MHSAA Division 1 State Champion ... Eight-time MHSAA Division 1 State Championships top-five finisher ... Swept the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles at the 2019 MHSAA Division 1 State Championships -- winning back-to-back titles in the latter -- and won the MITS indoor 60-meter hurdles title ... 2019 Midwest Meet of Championships winner in the 110-meter hurdles ... Top-ranked high school 110-meter hurdler in the state of Michigan for 2019, and ranked No. 2 in the 300-meter hurdles ... Just the 13th man in Michigan high school history to run faster than 14.00 in the 110-meter hurdles (13.98)
Chris Hill -- Sprints | Rancho Cucamonga, California | Rancho Cucamonga HS
Fifth-place in the 2017 CIF State Championship Finals at 200 meters ... 10th-place in the 2019 New Balance Nationals Indoor 200 meters ... CIF-SS Division 1 finalist at both 200 meters and 400 meters in 2017
Benjamin Jacobs -- Distance | Corunna, Michigan | Corunna HS
Two-time MHSAA Division 2 State Champion ... Five-time MHSAA Division 2 State Championships top-five finisher on the track ... Two-time MHSAA Division 2 State Championships top-five finisher in cross country ... Swept the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter titles at the 2019 MHSAA Division 2 State Championships ... Ranked No. 8 among Michigan high schoolers at 1,600 meters in 2019, and No. 23 at 3,200 meters
Mason Mahacek -- Multi-Events | Grand Haven, Michigan | Grand Haven HS
Finished fourth in the pole vault at the 2019 MHSAA Division 1 State Championships and 13th in the high jump ... Finished fifth in the pole vault at the 2019 Midwest Meet of Champions ... Also was a finalist in the pole vault and high jump at the 2018 MHSAA Division 1 State Championships ... Ranked seventh among Michigan high schoolers in the pole vault in 2019
Ayden Owens -- Multi-Events | Wexford, Pennsylvania | North Allegheny HS / Southern California
Three seasons of eligibility remaining for both indoor and outdoor track and field ... No. 3 U20 decathlete in world history and the Puerto Rican national record-holder ... Posted the second-best decathlon score by an NCAA freshman in history, and finished ranked No. 2 overall in 2019 among collegians ... First team All-American in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships ... Represented Puerto Rico at the 2018 World U20 Championships ... 2018 Brooks PR Invite 110-meter hurdles champion and two-time New Balance Nationals champion (decathlon and 60-meter hurdles) ... Six-time PIAA State Champion in three different events, including three consecutive in the 300-meter hurdles ... As a high school senior in 2018, ranked top-10 nationally in seven different events
Thomas Shilgalis -- Distance | Naperville, Illinois | Naperville Central HS
Two-time IHSA 3A State Champion on the track ... Three-time IHSA 3A State Championships top-five finisher ... Swept the 800- and 1,600-meter titles at the 2019 state championships ... Top-ranked Illinois high schooler at both 800 and 1,600 meters in 2019
Noah Stallworth -- Sprints | Rockford, Michigan | Rockford HS
Four-time MHSAA Division 1 State Champion ... Nine-time MHSAA Division 1 top-five finisher ... Swept the 100-meter and 200-meter titles at the 2019 MHSAA Division 1 State Championships, and also ran anchor on the winning 4x100 relay ... Ranked No. 2 in the state of Michigan at both 100 meters and 200 meters, and ran legs of the top-ranked 4x100 relay and No. 3 4x400 relay
Josh Zeller -- Sprints/Hurdles | Workingham, Berkshire, England
Ranks No. 5 worldwide among U20 athletes in the 110-meter hurdles in 2019 ... 2019 European Athletics U20 Champion in the 110-meter hurdles ... Ranks No. 2 all-time in British history among U20 athletes in the 110-meter hurdles ... Ranked No. 8 worldwide among U20 athletes in the indoor 60-meter hurdles in 2019 ... Faster in 2019 than all American high school seniors in the 110-meter hurdles and all but two in the 60-meter hurdles ... Two-time British U20 champion in the 60-meter hurdles and 2019 110-meter hurdles champion ... Represented Great Britain at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships
Players Mentioned
