Smith Announces 2009 Signing Class

Aug. 13, 2009

NORMAN, Okla. — The University of Oklahoma's Track and Field program expanded considerably Thursday as head coach Martin Smith announced the signing of 23 student-athletes, nine men and 14 women, to close out the 2009 class of newcomers. The class encompasses 13 states from across the U.S. as well as one athlete from Norway. Of the 23, 17 will be freshmen for the 2010 season while six transfer to the Oklahoma program from previous collegiate institutions.

The class is broken down on the men's side by five distance athletes, two sprinters and one each in the pole vault and throws areas. On the women's side, four athletes will compete in the multis followed by three jumpers, two each in distance, pole vault and throws and one in the sprints.

“This group of student-athletes exemplifies the type of talent and drive we look for in our quest for a Big 12 Championship,” said Smith. “We like the caliber of athletes in this group and we like the attitudes they bring to Norman, both on and off the track. These athletes are proven winners on their previous levels of competition and we expect them to remain on that plateau of excellence.”

One of the transfers will begin her career at Oklahoma with a NCAA All-America honor and two years of competition already under her belt. Charlotte Abrahamsen (Sande, Norway) comes to Norman from Memphis where she earned the honor in 2008 in the indoor pentathlon with 4,103 points.

2009-10 Oklahoma Track & Field Roster

Another transfer, this time from the junior college ranks, Jasmine Simmons (New York, N.Y.) will compete in the horizontal jumps after winning four NJCAA National Championships in the long jump and triple jump at Butler Community College. Simmons is one of two female athletes in the class with a NJCAA National Championship as Central Florida transfer Kelsey Poljansek (Milton, Kan.) accomplished the feat twice in the shot put while at Cowley College.

Marlena Wesh (Landstown, Va.) is the lone women's sprinter in the class and will look to help fill the shoes of five-time All-American Leslie Cole. Wesh's resume suggests the sprinter may have a shot at doing so with eight Virginia State Championships in her career including the 2009 100-, 200- and 400-meter titles.

On the men's side, Justin Shirk (Harrisburg, Pa.) grabbed headlines in 2008 as the three-time Pennsylvania state champion produced the No. 3 all-time U.S. high school throw in the new rule javelin with a toss of 235-3. The two-time Gatorade Athlete of the Year for Pennsylvania became the first athlete in state history to win three consecutive state titles in the event.

In men's distance, Alex Muntefering (Parkston, S.D.) recovered from a severe farming injury in the spring of his sophomore year that resulted Muntefering losing half of the big toe on his left foot to emerge as the top distance runner in South Dakota. Muntefering owns five South Dakota state titles. He'll be joined in the distance events by two Paradise Community College athletes who helped lead their program to the 2008 NJCAA Cross Country Championship. Jeremy Sudbury (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Eric Harasyn (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) have combined for five NJCAA All-America honors along with the 2008 XC team title. Erin Hargens (Sioux Falls, S.D.) brings the 2008 South Dakota 1600 state title to the women's distance group.

The men's sprints group will be bolstered by the addition of Nathaniel Winfrey (Stillwater, Okla.) and Jeffrey Artis-Gray (Chesapeake, Va.). Winfrey owns three Oklahoma state titles including the last two 6A 300-meter hurdle championships while Artis won the 2009 Virginia state championship in the 110-meter hurdles and the indoor 55-meter hurdles.

Full list of 2009 Oklahoma signees:

Chenale Smith – High Jump - Mansfield, Texas (Timberview HS)
Charlotte Abrahamsen – Multis – Sande, Norway (Memphis)
Kristen Carson – Multis – Stillwell, Okla. (Stillwell HS)
Claire McConnell – Multis – Klein, Texas (Klein HS)
Patrick Gomez – Distance – Auburn, Ala. (Auburn HS)
Tati Ogan – Distance – Fort Collins, Colo. (Fort Collins HS)
Jeremy Sudbury – Distance – Las Vegas, Nev. (Paradise Valley Community College)
Eric Harasyn – Distance – Sierra Vista, Ariz. (Paradise Valley Community College)
Jasmine Simmons – Horizontal Jumps – New York, N.Y. (Butler Community College)
Erin Hargens – Distance – Sioux Falls, S.D. (Roosevelt HS)
Jeffrey Artis-Gray – Hurdles – Chesapeake, Va. (Western Branch HS)
Nathaniel Winfrey – Hurdles – Stillwater, Okla. (Stillwater HS)
Marlena Wesh – Sprints – Landstown, Va. (Landstown HS)
Kristen Rice – High Jump – Flower Mound, Texas (Flower Mound HS)
Bobby Nicolls – Distance – Parker, Colo. (Regis HS)
Alex Muntefering – Distance – Parkston, S.D. (Parkston HS)
Jacy Bennett – Pole Vault – Mesa, Ariz. (Mountain View HS)
Christina Flandrick – Pole Vault – Somerset, Wis. (Somerset HS)
Jonathan Webb – Pole Vault – Moore, Okla. (Moore HS)
Justin Shirk – Javelin – Harrisburg, Pa. (Central Dauphin HS)
Chelsea Goodman – Multis – Edmond, Okla. (Memorial HS)
Kelsey Poljansek – Throws – Milton, Kan. (Central Florida)
Brittany Borman – Throws – Festus, Mo. (UCLA)

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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