SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word track and field team has added 23 student-athletes to its 2018 signing class, announced head coach Dr. Derek Riedel.
 
"We will have nearly 30 seniors on the team this upcoming year, so it was important for us to bring a bigger class in that can help us bridge the gap with this year's large out-going class and the future of the program," said Riedel. "We lean heavily on the leadership of our junior and senior class. We want the future leaders of our program to learn from these fantastic leaders before they depart the program and keep our momentum going.
 
"Our focus this year was to bring in a class that can improve our depth in all areas and enhance some of the event groups we are already strong in, such as the women's jumps and men's distance. The staff and I are pleased with the overall quality of this group. As always, we were very deliberate to make sure that we brought in student-athletes that fit our mold -- strong students serious about their college education as well as the blue-collar work ethic that permeates through our program."
 
Andrea Abeyta -- Distance -- El Paso, Texas (Hanks H.S.)
Abeyta is a four-time Region 1-5A qualifier, a three-time 800m district champion, a two-time 1600m champion, a two-time 4x400m relay district champion, a four-time regional qualifier in all three events, a two-time UIL 5A state qualifier, and a two-time 5A cross country champion. She was the state qualifier in the 800m world youth trials. In the 3200m, Abeyta won the Spartan Aztec Invitational with a PR time of 12:03.05. In cross country, she set the school record at the state UIL meet with a time of 19:31. The daughter of Michael and Luz, Abeyta plans to study biomedicine with a minor in engineering at UIW, with dreams of being a biomedical engineer in the U.S. Army.
 
Itzel Alacantar-Herrera -- Distance -- El Paso, Texas (Burges H.S.)
Alacantar-Herrera was the District 1-5A champion and regional runner-up in both the 800m and 1600m. She ran PRs of 2:14 and 5:07.99 in the 800m and 1600m, respectively, to earn top five finishes at the UIL 5A state championships.
 
Ivette Alacantar-Herrera -- Mid-Distance -- El Paso, Texas (Burges H.S.)
Itzel's sister, Ivette was a UIL 5A-1 runner up with a fourth-place finish in the 800m with a PR time of 2:18.35.
 
Klaire Bentley -- Throws -- Allen, Texas (Allen H.S.)
Bentley was a two-sport athlete for the Eagles, competing in both track and women's basketball. She was both the district and area champion in the shot put and she is the current shot put record holder in school history. In basketball, Bentley was a first team all-district and all-tournament selection in 2017-18. She won the District 6-6A Academic Excellence Award in basketball and the Allen High School Academic Excellence Award. She is the daughter of Kenneth and Beth and plans to major in education with a minor in business at UIW. Her father played football at Southern Miss and went on to play professionally with the Washington Redskins.
 
Emily Cartwright -- Distance -- San Antonio, Texas (East Central H.S.)
Cartwright is a two-time Female Most Valuable Runner and was the first East Central High School cross country athlete to compete in the Texas State Meet. She is a four-time cross country Region 4 meet qualifier and was the 6A Texas cross country state meet qualifier in 2017. In that same year, Cartwright set the 5k school record. She then broke the 3200m school record in 2018. She was the San Antonio Express-News All-Area Cross Country Super Team recipient in 2017. As a freshman, she was the 28-6A district champion in the 1600m and was an area qualifier. She was an area qualifier in the 3200m that same year. She graduated in the top 10 percent of her class and was a four-time academic all-district selection in both cross country and track. She is the daughter of Nathan and Anne and plans to major in nursing at UIW.
 
Jake Dillow -- Multis -- The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands College Park H.S.)
Dillow was a four-year varsity letterwinner in track for the Cavaliers. He set the school record in the pole vault with a height of 16-0 and was later named Most Valuable Athlete in 2018. His PR of 14.47 in the 110m hurdles ranks in the top five in school history. He ran a PR 39.38 in the 300m hurdles at the 2017 district championships. Dillow is the son of Kevin and Christine.
 
Alia Henderson -- Distance -- Bandera, Texas (Bandera H.S.)
Henderson scored 22 out of Bandera's 32 points at the UIL 4A state track and field championships to help the Lady Bulldogs finish sixth overall. She was a member of the four-time state cross country championship team. In the 1600m, Henderson was the runner-up at the 2018 UIL 4A track and field championships with a time of 5:12. In the 800m, she was both the District 28-4A and the Area 27-28 4A champion. She won the UIL state championship in the 3200m with a time of 11:21.79.
 
Chris Hill -- Distance -- Edinburg, Texas (Vela H.S.)
Hill ran PRs of 1:59 in the 800m, 4:40 in the 1600m, and 17:15.70 in cross country.
 
Baptiste Jard -- Distance -- Savonnieres, France
Jard is a transfer from France. He set three PRs in 2018: the 1500m (3:54.26), 5000m (14:38.60), and 10km (30:48). He also set a PR in the outdoor 3000m (8:29.82), the half marathon (1:09.33), and the indoor 3000m (8:49).
 
Cash Kunkel -- Distance -- Brenham, Texas (Brenham H.S.)
Kunkel comes from a family of runners, as his great-grandfather, grandfather, and great-uncle all ran track for either Baylor or Lamar Universities. Cash was a state champion and record holder in the 3200m in 2016. He earned second place all-state in the 1600m in 2017 and was a two-time third-place all-state recipient in 2016 and 2017 in the 1600m and 800m, respectively. As a senior, he was a 5A state qualifier in both the 3200m and 1600m. In cross country, Kunkel was a four-time state qualifier and was 1A state runner-up in as a sophomore. An honors graduate, Kunkel is the son of Jeffrey and Bonnie and plans to study management information systems at UIW.
 
Kyle Lewis -- Sprints -- Schertz, Texas (Clemens H.S.)
Lewis was a two-sport athlete for the Buffaloes, competing in football and track. He helped the 4x200m relay team set the school record en route to winning the UIL 6A regional championship. He was a TAPPS 2A silver medalist in the 100m and won bronze in the 200m in 2015. He was a state competitor with the 4x100m and 4x200m relays in 2016 and was a back-to-back regional qualifier in both relays. He recorded a PR time of 11.22 in the 100m at the UIL 27-6A meet. Lewis earned academic all-state honors in both football and track and was a three-time academic all-district performer in both sports. The son of Kirk and Sonnette, Kyle plans to major in business management with a minor in communications. His cousin is Maya Moore, who played basketball at UConn, is an Olympian and plays professionally in the WNBA.
 
Madeline Marrone -- Distance -- Austin, Texas (McNeil H.S.)
Marrone was a three-year letterwinner in cross country and track and lettered once in soccer. Selected the freshman MVP for track, Marrone was a 2016 track area qualifier. She was the JV MVP in cross country as a freshman and was twice named academic all-district. During her junior year, Marrone reached the first of two-straight regional track championships, was runner-up in the area, and won the 1600m and 3200m in districts. As a senior, she was a state cross country qualifier, winning the District 13-6A championship with a PR time of 19:37. The daughter of Richard and Lisa, Marrone plans to major in biology at UIW.
 
Taylor McCormick -- Pole Vault -- Portland, Texas (Gregory-Portland H.S.)
McCormick took home second place at the 5A UIL state championships with a height of 16-0. He finished first overall in three events in the pole vault in 2018 and was a top-20 performer at the Texas Relays.
 
Tristen Myende -- Hurdles/Jumps -- Palmview, Texas (Palmview H.S.)
Myende was a two-sport athlete for the Lobos, competing in both track and football. He was named first team all-district, first team all-area, Rio Grande Valley Sports Athlete of the Year, and first team all-valley wide receiver. Myende's uncle played football at the University of Arkansas. The son of Seth Myende, Tristen plans to study sports medicine with a minor in nursing at UIW.
 
Alisa Novosad -- Multis -- Victoria, Texas (St. Joseph H.S.)
A multi-faceted student-athlete on the track team, Novosad also competed as a guard on the basketball team, where she was a three-time first team all-district, a two-time first team all-state, and a second team all-state honoree. In track, she scored 46 points at the TAPPS 5A south regional meet and 34 points at the TAPPS state meet. In the pole vault, she was a meet champion with a PR height of 12-0. She finished as state runner up in the event. In the long jump, she won the state championship with a PR leap of 18-8.
 
Antonio Oakley -- Pole Vault -- San Antonio, Texas (Johnson H.S.)
Oakley reached a height of 15-0 at the 2018 UIL 25-26 area meet. He earned three top-three finishes in the vault. Oakley also competed in the long jump, where he finished second overall with a leap of 20-7.5.
 
Oghale Omakor -- Jumps -- Cedar Hill, Texas (Cedar Hill H.S.)
Omakor made an immediate impact for Cedar Hill High School, as she was named Freshman of the Year. She was a four-time district, area, and regional qualifier, and culminated her career with Athlete of the Year honors. In the triple jump, Omakor was the District 7-6a champion with a PR leap of 39-5.75. She won the District 7-8 area meet in the long jump with another PR leap of 18-6. The UIL District 7-6a champion in the high jump never leapt below a 5-4 in 2018.
 
Charlise Parks -- Throws -- Converse, Texas (Judson H.S.)
Parks set a PR in the discus with a throw of 124-1, earning the 2018 UIL 27-28 area meet championship.
 
Tristan Pena -- Distance -- Edinburg, Texas (Edinburg North H.S.)
Pena was both the district and area champion in the 1600m and 3200m and was a regional qualifier as a freshman. As a sophomore, he was a district cross country champion and was third in the regional state qualifier. In 2017, he returned to the top of the district championships in cross country and earned a top-five finish in the state regionals. As a senior, he was the district champion in the 1600m and 3200m, was the area champion in the 1600m and earned bronze at the state championships. Pena is the son of Romeo and Jessica. He plans to study kinesiology at UIW.
 
Jacob Rodriguez -- Distance -- Edinburg, Texas (Vela H.S.)
Rodriguez set four PRs at the UIL 31-6A meet: 2:02.30 in the 800m, 4:44.03 in the 1600m, 10:30.14 in the 3200m, and 16:52.80 in cross country.
 
Victoria Sunday -- Throws -- Poth, Texas (Poth H.S.)
Sunday was a three-sport athlete for the Pirettes, competing in track, basketball, and volleyball. She was a three-time Texas track and field state qualifier, a two-time volleyball regional semifinalist, and her basketball team made the regional semifinals in 2017. In the shot put, Sunday was a Region 4-3A meet champion with a PR throw of 38-10.75. She was named academic all-state in all three sports. Sunday was a Texas Girl Coaches Association All-Star and first team all-district in volleyball. She was a first team all-district selection in volleyball and basketball. Coming from a football family -- her father and grandfather played at Texas A&M and her uncle played at Texas Lutheran -- Sunday plans to study rehabilitative sciences at UIW and is the daughter of Jon Sunday and Tamarah Thorp.
 
Keira Taylor-Mathis -- Hurdles/Jumps -- Cibolo, Texas (Steele H.S.)
In her only year of competing in track, Taylor-Mathis was the UIL 27-6A district champion in the 100m hurdles. She set a PR in the Texas Relays, racing to a time of 14.96. In the triple jump, she was the district, area, and regional champion. She set a PR of 39-9.5 in only her third time competing in the event.
 
Emmanuel Toney -- Sprints/Jumps -- San Antonio, Texas (Johnson H.S.)
Toney competed for Johnson High School for two years. In 2017, he broke the school record in the long jump with a mark of 23-0 and won the District 26-6A meet in the event. He ran anchor and helped the 4x100m relay team break the school record with a time of 41.50. His junior year culminated with him qualifying for the AAU Junior Olympics in the long jump. As a senior, Toney again broke the school record with a leap of 23-4 and repeated as district champion. He qualified for state in the 4x200m relay team and ran the third leg to help break the school record with a time of 1:26.12. Toney is the son of Gary and Stephania. He plans to study marketing at UIW.
 
Faith Tormusa-Koroma -- Hurdles/Sprints -- Round Rock, Texas (McNeil H.S.)
Born in the country of Guinea, Tormusa-Koroma was a two-time 100m hurdles district and area champion and a three-time regional finalist. She won the Track High Point Award in 2016 and was the MVP as a freshman and senior. In the classroom, Tormusa-Koroma had a 4.0, or higher, GPA all four years, and was a four-time academic all-district and academic all-state. The daughter of Kumba Tormusa-Koroma, Faith plans to major in biology at UIW.
 
"Our recruiting coordinator, Coach Blair Sohl, did a good job of coordinating this class and bringing it all together nicely," said Riedel. "I appreciate the efforts of the entire staff. They all did a great job of identifying and building relationships with each and every one of these student-athletes we are bringing in."

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