TWC BULLDOGS CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK PREVIEW
Building on the national success of 2014-2015, the Tennessee Wesleyan College Track and Cross Country coaching staff is excited to announce a top national level recruiting class. The men’s program which boasted a national champion, 9 All-Americans and 18 national qualifiers looks to re-load.
Saheed Oyeshile, 4 time JUCO All American at Montgomery-Rockville, MD junior college adds more strength to the track program. At last season’s Outdoor NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Oyeshile finished third in the 400m and lead his 4x100m relay team to a national championship.
Sheldon Wilson comes to TWC as a 2 time JUCO All American from Montgomery-Rockville. Wilson was a national qualifier and is the current Montgomery record holder in the 100m dash brings. Wilson is expected to bring speed and maturity to a deep, young sprint squad.
"Oyeshile and Wilson have been JUCO teammates and they've stacked up the honors at that level for the last two years. Now it's time to see if they can do the same here at Tennessee Wesleyan," says Head Coach Justin Herbert. "They not only bring talent and depth, but leadership as well and I'm looking forward to watching them improve."
Malik Hardy from Oak Ridge High School brings versatility to the men’s track program. In his final track season, Malik qualified for the Tennessee State Meet in the long jump and 100m in 2014 and 2015 and was the 200m runner-up in 2015.
Isaiah Woodruff from Hardin Valley Academy will be hurdling and triple jumping for the Bulldogs this upcoming track season. In his first year of track Woodruff was one of the top hurdlers and jumpers in the K.I.L. for 2015.
Andrew Myers from Daniel Boone High School, located in Gray, Tennessee, will specialize in the long sprints this upcoming track season for the Bulldogs. Andrew was a state qualifier on the Daniel Boone Relay teams.
Kendall Henderson from East Hamilton High School in the Chattanooga area was a state qualifier in the 100m dash in 2015.
"These four guys are going to come in and make an impact right away, but the reality is that we're looking for them to come here, develop, and be the leaders of this team in four years," explains Coach Herbert. "We're continuing to grow, continuing to add depth, and continuing to get better."
Coming from France, Christopher Gabez leads the distance recruiting class. Gabez specializes in the middle distance events, with personal bests of 1:55 for the 800, 4:05 for the 1500, and 15:56 for 5000.
Luis Vargas joins the Bulldogs from Hartnell Community College in Salinas, California where he specialized in the 5000m event with a personal best of 15:28.
Bryce Choate from Tellico Plains High School also adds depth to the middle distance program. Bryce comes in with a personal best of 1:56 for the 800 and 49.21 for the 400. Bryce finished second in the 400m at the Tennessee Track and Field State Meet in 2015.
"We've really got a range of talent with our distance recruits this year, but these three are very strong in their events. Gabez and Vargas should contribute right away in cross country. Choate brings a ton of mid-distance talent and potential, and I think all three of these guys are going to find themselves at the NAIA National Championships this years," explains Coach Herbert.
Rounding out the distance recruits are state qualifiers Will Vineyard from Sweetwater High School, Dakota Ackerman from Willis High School, located in Willis, Texas and Elijah Mitchell from Baldwin High School, located in Milledgeville, Georgia.
"These three guys have some solid times, but what I like about them is that they are hungry. They have a desire to train, to develop, to get faster, and I think they'll add both depth and desire to our squad," says Coach Herbert.
The Bulldogs Cross Country team opens up their competitive season on September 5th at Victor Ashe Park.