Smith Announces Six Track Signees

NORMAN, Okla. University of Oklahoma track and field and cross country head coach Martin Smith announced Wednesday, the final day of the early signing period, that six high school student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to compete for the Sooners.

"We, as coaches, made a commitment to increasing the depth and quality of our women's cross country team," Smith said, "and we were extremely pleased to get four women of such a high caliber to run cross country and distance events.

"(Assistant coach) Tom (McArdle) made a great effort in securing these goals and these four women greatly improve our numbers and quality into what is already a strong group of distance runners at OU.

"Kevin (Schwab) and Missy (Barnes) are outstanding natural talents and will greatly contribute to any success we have in the future.

"We feel this part of the class is just outstanding and we will continue to build on it during when the signing period reopens in April."

Melissa Barnes (Arlington, Texas), Jessica Engel (Sturgis, S.D.), Chelsea Jones (Watonga, Okla.), Tiffany Leader (Yankton, S.D.), Kevin Schwab (Mustang, Okla.) and Kelly Waters (Louisville, Colo.) will compete for Oklahoma beginning with the 2007-08 academic year.

The Sooners track and field teams improved dramatically last season, Smith's first as head coach. The women's team tied for fourth place in the Big 12 Conference during the indoor season and the men were fifth during their outdoor campaign.

"On the men's side," Smith continued, "if we keep everyone healthy and hold firm on our mid-year commitments, we have the potential to be in the upper echelon of the Big 12 Conference.

"The women have the components to build on their great success last year, but must stabilize where they were and learn to be really consistent before we take the next step."

OU returns all of its All-Americans and Big 12 Champions from last season.

Wednesday marked the final day of the NCAA early signing period. The next period for recruits to sign with a school, in sports except football and soccer, begins April 1, 2007.

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The following is a more detailed glance at Oklahoma's early period track and field signings.

Melissa (Missy) Barnes
Sprints | Arlington, Texas | Mansfield Timberview High School

PR: 100 11.63

Placed fourth in the 100-meter dash in Class 4A at the 2006 Texas State High School Championships ... Also helped Timberview's 4x100 and 4x200 relays to runner-up finishes ... Was the Region 2 champion in the 100 ... Set a national record as part of the Dallas Gold Track Club 4x100-meter relay that won the gold medal at the 2006 USATF Junior National Championships.

Smith on Barnes: "Signing Missy in the early period was very important to us to maintaining a strong nucleus of women's sprinters. Missy will play a key role in advancing our sprints and relays to the next level and getting to the national championships."

Jessica Engel
Distance | Sturgis, S.D. | Sturgis High School

PR: 1600 5:04.10; 3200 11:04.93

Finished third (2006), fourth (2005) and ninth (2004) the past three years at the state cross country championships ... Was the state runner-up in the 3200-meter run last season after finishing sixth the prior year ... Finished sixth in state in the 1600.

Smith on Engel: "Jessica Engel may have the best credentials of all of the women we signed. She comes from a state that produces many of the top distance runners, which is a very encouraging sign when one of them considers our program."

Chelsea Jones
Distance | Watonga, Okla. | Watonga High School

PR: 800 2:23.04; 1600 5:14.06; 3200 11:04.26; 5000 18:54.60

Has won four state championships in the past two years ... As a junior, was the 2005 Class 2A state cross country champion ... Took two titles during the 2006 outdoor track season in the 1600- and 3200-meter runs ... As a sophomore, won the 3200 at the 2005 Class 3A state outdoor track meet ... Also placed third in the 1600 in 2004 and 2005 ... Finished eighth at the 2006 Class 2A state cross country championships.

Smith on Jones: "We were very happy when Chelsea decided to join our program. It was very important for us to sign the best in the state of Oklahoma and keep them here. She is an excellent runner and is a great fit for OU."

Tiffany Leader
Distance | Yankton, S.D. | Yankton High School

PR: 1600 5:00.17; 3200 11:16.33

Placed third in the 1600-meter run and fourth in the 3200 at the 2006 Class AA state championships ... Also helped Yankton's 4x800 relay to a state title ... Posted a seventh-place finish at the 2006 state cross country championships and was fifth last season.

Smith on Leader: "Tiffany comes from Yankton, S.D., where she was a teammate of current freshman Ashley Storm. She is a quality developmental runner and has the type of personality we search for in a student-athlete during our recruiting."

Kevin Schwab
Distance | Mustang, Okla. | Mustang High School

PR: 1600 - 4:21.87; 3200 - 9:20.68; 5000 - 15:00.56

A four-time state high school champion ... Has won the cross country title the past three seasons as well as the 3200-meter championship during the outdoor track season ... Is one of only four boys ever to win three individual state titles ... Holds course records for the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater and Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. ... A two-time winner (2004 and 2005) of the Oklahoma/Arkansas All-Star Cross Country Championships ... Was the state runner-up in the 1600 ... Also had runner-up finishes in the 3200 at the 2006 Texas Relays and the 5000 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals ... Placed third in the 3200 at the 2006 Great Southwest Meet ... Finished 20th at the 2005 Foot Locker South Region Cross Country Championships.

Smith on Schwab: "I'm really excited about Kevin's decision to attend OU for a number of reasons. We consider Kevin to be one of the best cross country/distance runners ever to come out of the state of Oklahoma. It was extremely important for us to keep him here at home. He is someone who can come in as a freshman and compete at a high level. He will play a pivotal role in taking our men's cross country team to the national championships."

Kelly Waters
Distance | Louisville, Colo. | Monarch High School

PR: 800 2:16.11; 1600 5:10.25

Placed fourth in the 1600-meter run and seventh in the 800 at the 2006 Class 5A state track and field championships ... Won the prestigious 2006 Liberty Bell Invitational 5K cross country race, finishing in 18:23.

Smith on Waters: "Kelly has an exciting upside in that she has tremendous natural athletic talents. She should, as all four of these women, evolve into a great distance runner."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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