April 10, 2008
DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis men's and women's cross country and track and field teams have signed nine student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, it was announced this week. The women's teams combined to sign six of the nine student-athletes. In addition, two men and four women will compete in cross country and track and field. All nine are expected to enroll at UC Davis for the fall quarter of 2008.
The signees, in alphabetical order, are Kristin Arkin of Trabuco Hills High School, Gavin Banks of Elk Grove High School, Andrew Campbell of Clovis West High School, Krista Drechsler of Santa Barbara High School, Abbey Gallaher of Great Oak High School, Kayla Green of Florin High School, Martin Mwangi of Newark Memorial High School, Sarah Sumpter of Healdsburg High School and Tonie Williams of San Luis Obispo High School.
Below is a brief bio and quotes on each signee, listed alphabetically by gender:
Gavin Banks (Elk Grove, Calif./Elk Grove HS)
Earned the coaches' award in both football and track and field... Is a four-year scholar athlete... Helped lead his high school to back-to-back track and field Delta Valley League titles in 2004-05 and 2005-06... Team finished as Sac-Joaquin Section runners-up during his sophomore year... He won the DVL league championship in the 100-meter dash last season... Also runs the 200- and 400-meter dash along the relay events... Gained 100 all-purpose yards in football as a senior... Football team finished second in league and made the section playoffs.
"Gavin is really a diamond in the rough out of Elk Grove High School. He's a true sprinter and a pure 100-meter runner. He'll be a great asset to our team next year and will really let us move some other guys around." - Jon Vochatzer. "He's up and coming and has had some break through performances last summer. We thought he was a good fit. He'll bring young energy to our sprint squad." - Byron Talley.
Andrew Campbell (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West High School)
A three-sport start at Clovis West High School... Thrice named All-Tri River Athletic Conference (TRAC) and All-Valley selection in consecutive seasons in cross country... Also named team MVP as senior and a sophomore.... Capped prep cross country career with a league championship... Was twice named All-TRAC in soccer... Soccer team won three straight league titles from 2006-08 and claimed the Central Coast title in 2006 and 2007... Ran the 800-meter on the track team and put up a personal-best time of 1:56.70... Helped the team win the league championship as a freshman and win the Central Section championship.
"This will be the third year in a row that we take a runner from a Clovis-area high school. He had a 15:30 at Woodward Park and that makes him the second-fastest coming in to UC Davis. We're really looking for Andrew to help us not only in cross country but also in our middle distances during track season." - Chris Puppione.
Martin Mwangi (Nyeri, Kenya/Newark Memorial HS)
Born in Kenya, attended high school at Newark Memorial for the past two years... Named team MVP in track and field and cross country in 2007... Won the Mission Valley Athletic League championship in cross country with his time of 15:52 on the three-mile course... Clocked personal-best times of 4:25 in the 1,600-meter run and 1:56 in the 800 as a junior on the track team... He is an AP scholar athlete.
"Martin is a raw talent that's just starting to come into his own. He's definitely another runner we're looking to add to our middle distance corps to strengthen us in the 800 and 1,500. He was also high school teammates with Jonathan Sees, so we're really looking forward to having them working together again." - Chris Puppione.
Kristin Arkin (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Trabuco Hills High School)
Led Trabuco Hills High School to the Orange County Championships as a senior... Finished third at that meet and during the Sea View League (SVL) Championships... Was named All-Orange County and All-SVL for her efforts... Also placed 12th at the Division I State Championships to earn second team all-state accolades... Has been a member of back-to-back league championship teams in cross country and track and field.... Track and field team finished third at the state championships in 2007... Holds the school record in the mile with a time of 5:09... Personal-best time in the 800-meter run is 2:25 while her two mile best is 11:36... Also has personal-best of 10:54 in the 3,200 and 5:02 in the 1,600... Becomes the first Trabuco Hills female cross country runner to earn athletic scholarship.
"She's having a monster senior season and has been able to put in great work. She put in a sub-18 at Mt. SAC and in our school history we've only had two other runners do that coming into our program. I also think she'll be our fastest two-milers ever coming into UC Davis. She'll have an immediate impact." - Chris Puppione.
Krista Drechsler (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara High School)
Won the Channel League and Santa Barbara County Championships as a senior... Finished eighth overall at the state championships to earn all-state honors.... Named team MVP for her efforts... Was a team captain during her final two seasons... Started off her 2008 track and field season with a personal-best time of 11:20.01 in the 3,200-meter run, which earned her a first-place finish at the Don Green Invitational... Named team MVP of the track and field team last season as a junior... Place third at the Southern Section Championships in the 3,000-meter run... Is also a two-year captain of the track team... Excels academically as a scholar athlete and a member of the honor society.
"She's shown tremendous improvement coming into her senior year and is another one of our runners to put in a sub-18 at Mt. SAC. We think she will be the one who will be a standout for us in the 5,000 and 10,000 on the track. She will no doubt be looking to compete for top positions on the team coming in" - Chris Puppione.
Abbey Gallaher (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak High School)
Earned first team All-Southwestern League honors during her senior cross country season... Helped Great Oak High School finish second in league and earn a spot at the state championships... Was second team All-Southern Section and placed 24th overall at the state championships with a school-record time of 17:38... Was named team MVP for the second straight season for her efforts... Helped the track and field team to its third straight league title last season... Holds the school record in the mile at 5:08... Is a member of the National Honor Society.
"She's a very hard worker. She's a grinder. She'll just press the pace until the competition buckles. We feel that she can be a key performer in the heart of our team right off the bat." - Chris Puppione.
Kayla Green (Sacramento, Calif./Florin High School)
A long jump and triple jump specialist for Florin High School... Was named Co-MVP last season... Won a Delta River League Championship in the long jump with a personal-best distance of 17'8"... Recorded a personal-best leap of 39' in the triple jump at last year's Sac-Joaquin Masters Finals to finish second... Won the Nevada Union Invitational in the triple jump (36'7.75)... Ranked 19th in her class in overall GPA.
"Kayla is an athlete with many talents. She's explored the long and triple jump so far in her career and we believe she may help us out in the sprints next year. We also believe she'll be our next 40-foot jumper. She's got the potential and we look forward to working with her." - Byron Talley.
Sarah Sumpter (Cloverdale, Calif./Healdsburg High School)
Won the Division IV state championship at Stanford as a senior with a meet-record time of 17:26... Won the Sonoma County League and North Coast Section championships with meet-record times en route to the state title... Earned All-America status with a top 25 finish at the Foot Locker Nationals... Was named team MVP the past two years... Also runs 5,000- and 10,000-meters for track and field team.... Also a four-year member of the honor roll at Healdsburg High.
"Sarah is definitely a marquee athlete. She's a state champion, an All-American and a Foot Locker national finalist. More importantly, she just loves to run. In addition to being a terrific student in the classroom, Sarah is definitely a student of the sport and brings an intelligent approach to her training and racing. She is going to make her presence felt in the Big West and the West Region immediately in cross country, as well as the 5,000 and 10,000 during the track season. We are excited about her potential to help lead this team in the future."- Chris Puppione.
Tonie Williams (Fresno, Calif./San Luis Obispo High School)
Earned first team all-state honors last season in the 400-meter dash... Won the 200, 400 and 800 at the San Luis Obispo County Championships en route to earning her third consecutive county MVP honors... Also earned her third consecutive team MVP honors at San Luis Obispo High... Had earned second team all-state honors her previous two years at SLOHS... Team earned Pac 7 League championships in 2005 and 2007... Owns personal-best times of 2:10 in the 800-meter run and 56.45 in the 400-meter dash.
"She is one of my favorite prototypes to work with because she is a true 400- and 800-meter runner. She's also got great 200 speed and will be a great sprint/quarter-miler. Just her range going 2, 4, 8 is great for us. Her work ethic is also great and I'm looking forward to working with her. She wants to do very well in college and isn't scared to work hard." - Deanne Vochatzer.
