Men's Track Adds 18 for 2011-12 Campaign

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - - Head Coach John Goodridge is pleased to announce the addition of 18 new athletes to the Eastern Michigan University men's track & field team for the 2011-2012 year.

"I am very pleased to welcome an exciting recruiting class to campus,” said Goodridge. “This is a talented and well-balanced group with the potential to make very strong contributions to our team and program."

The Eagles welcome three nationally-ranked seniors, including Keremiah Crockett (Dublin, Calif.), Chris Hall (Long Beach, Calif.) and Solomon Ijah (Murietta, Calif.).

Crockett is a jumper who competed in both the triple and long jump in high school. He was the California State Runner-Up in the triple jump with a 49'-0” leap, for the 15th best mark in the nation. He has also jumped 23'-6” in the long jump.

Hall is a runner that has crossed the finish line in 1:50.68 in the 800-meter run for the 12th best time in the nation. He is also a member of the National High School record holding relay team from Poly High School in the 4x800 meter. Hall has also logged a 4:17.19 in the 1600-meter run.

Ijah placed 12th in the U.S. National Junior Decathlon Championships scoring 6305 points and also has a triple jump best of 48'-10". Ijah was also an All-League and All-Valley selection in his senior year at Murrieta Valley High School.

Along with nationally ranked competitors, Goodridge adds a group of event-balanced athletes to his arsenal to compete for a Mid-American Conference championship.

Cameron Bolton (Missouri City, Texas) is one of the two sprinters in the class. Bolton has run a 10.76 in the 100, a 21.49 in the 200 and a 48.27 400-meter runs. Joining Bolton is Terrence Glenn (Dayton, Ohio). Glenn was a two-sport athlete at Dunbar High School, competing in football and track. He was an all-state special mention award recipient in football, as well as a state runner-up in the 4x100-meter relay his senior year. Glenn was named to the All-City team for track & field and placed fourth in the 4x200-meter relay in the Ohio State Championship Meet his senior year.

Goodridge is adding a trio of hurdlers to his squad for the upcoming year. These athletes include Fontaine Holland (Burlington Township, N.J.) the Group 3 State 400-meter hurdling champion with a best of 54.75, Levi Selvig (Flushing, Mich.) who has bests of 14.64 & 38.94 and Dion Walker (Canton, Mich.). Walker was a two-sport varsity athlete in tennis and track & field.

Two other middle distance runners will join Hall in the 2011-2012 freshman class. These athletes are Nick Twining (Pemberville, Ohio) who recorded a 1:54 in the 800-meter run and a 4:32 in the 1600, and Jordan Walker (Lansing, Mich.) who has finished the 800 and 1600 in 1:58 and 4:35, respectively.

Goodridge adds one distance runner in Cameron Trinh (Oakland, Calif.) who has a 3200-meter best of 9:18.30. Trinh was also named to the All-East Bay Cross Country team and was a CIF State Cross Country Champion Qualifier.

Three pole vaulters enroll at EMU, led by Brandon Diplock (Imlay City, Mich.) who has jumped 15'-0". Diplock was a two-sport athlete in soccer and track at Imlay City High School. He was the varsity soccer captain, as well as being named MVP of his track team during his senior campaign. He also broke the Imlay City High School record for pole vault. Derrick Lee (Plymouth, Ind.) has jumped 14'-9" and Branden Stites (Huntsville, Ohio) cleared 14'-4". Stites was a two-sport standout at Indian Lake High School, and placed fifth in the pole vault at the Ohio Indoor State meet.

The Eagles also add a high jumper in Sidney Jackson (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) who has cleared the bar at 6'-6” in his career.

Illinois 1A State Shot Put Champion Keith Williams (Sherman, Ill.) heads the throwers with marks of 59'-1" in the shot and 167'-5” in the discus. Williams was a Class-2A All-State award winner at Williamsville High School, as well as holding the school record for solo tackles in a career. He was also fifth in the 1A discus at the Illinois State meet. He is joined by Mitch Sears (Gates Mills, Ohio) with a discus best of 152'-0". Sears was a letterwinner in both football and track & field at Mayfield High School. Ben Wells (Ironton, Ohio) who has thrown the discus 150'-2” also joins the Eagles for the 2011-2012 campaign. Wells was a two-sport letterwinner at Ironton High School in both football and track & field. Wells was a regional qualifier in both his junior and senior years.

The Eagles start the 2011-2012 campaign this fall when they open their indoor season and look to build on their third place finish in the 2011 MAC Indoor Champioship.

Cameron Trinh

Chris Hall

Keith Williams

Keremiah Crockett

Solomon Ijah

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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