The Northern Kentucky University men's cross country and track & field teams have added nine student-athletes to their roster for the 2013-14 campaign. The Norse are looking to build off of their first season as a Division-I institution. Head coach Steve Kruse and assistant coach Paul Longano are looking to improve their program as they head into year two of Atlantic Sun Conference competition. The Norse will have to replace their star distance runner Brendan Chwalek and fellow graduating senior Ricky Harm.
Brad Fortuna
Fortuna comes to NKU as a graduate student after completing his undergraduate degree at Eastern Kentucky University. He hails from South Dearborn High School in Aurora, Ind. He is a long-distance runner who set a personal best in the 8000-meter with a time of 26:27.80 in the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic during his senior season at EKU. He has a personal record in the mile of 4:23.75, which he ran during the Ohio Valley Conference Championships in 2010. Fortuna ran the 5000-meter in 15:10.08 during the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State University. In high school, he set school records in the 1600-meter at 4:26 and 3200-meter at 9:24. At EKU, he was part of the three-time OVC Championship team and was a two-time NCAA qualifier.
Isaak Haas
Haas is a distance runner from Silver Creek High School in Sellersburg, Ind. In 2012, he was named the News and Tribute Runner of the Year. He is a three-time regional qualifier and has been named to the All-Area team on two occasions. His personal best in the 1600-meter came at the North Harrison Invitational, where he finished third with a time of 4:30. He also runs the 3200-meter and has a personal best time of 9:37.
Izak Velasquez
Velasquez joins the Norse after transferring from St. Xavier University in Chicago. He is an Ohio native that ran at Oak Hills High School. While at St. Xavier, he frequented the 3000-meter and set a personal best of 9:07.14 at the Chicagoland Championships. He was one of Oak Hills' most decorated runners earning several honors his senior, year including All-City, All-District, All-Region, and All-Conference. His greatest high school achievements include a first-place finish in the 3200-meter in the district finals and a 10th-place finish in the 3200-meter at the State Championships.
Jess Adamson
Adamson is one of the most decorate high school field athletes to join the men's track team. He has been the most dominant shot put and discus thrower in Georgetown (OH) High School history. He is a three-time 1st-team field athlete in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference. He was named the Field Event Athlete of the Year by the SBAAC in 2011 and 2012. In his senior season, he placed third in the shot put at the state championships. He has two school records at Georgetown in discus and shot put with marks of 155'9" and 65'5",respectively. His shot put record, which is also a Greater Cincinnati record, was set at the Midwest Meet of Champions.
Austin Eibel
Eibel is a versatile track & field athlete and will contribute in several events for the Norse. He is best suited in hurdles and the high jump. In his senior year at St. Henry District High School in Erlanger, Ky., he placed fourth during the state finals in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 41.93. This was after he placed first in the event during the Regional Championships. He also finished third at state in the 110-meter hurdles, setting a personal best time of 15.96. Eibel also has a personal best in the high jump of 6'2".
Branan Foster
Foster competed in the 400-meter dash, long jump, and triple jump during his time at Sycamore High School in Cincinnati. He ran a personal best in the 400-meter his senior year, during the Greater Miami Conference Championships with a time of 50.12. He also set a personal best in the long jump during that same meet with a mark of 19'11.5". Foster set a personal best in the triple jump at the Wayne Invitational with a mark of 39'9.5". In his senior year, he earned a 5th-place spot at the OHSAA District Championships in the 400-meter and 14th-place in the long jump.
Danny Keller
Another thrower to join the Norse this season comes out of Turpin High School in Cincinnati. Keller is a well balanced thrower in shot put and discus. He has a personal best in the discus of 144' which he threw at the OHSAA District Championships his junior year. In his senior season, he placed third in both shot put and discus at the districts. While at the OHSAA Regional Championships, he placed sixth in the shot put. He was named All-Academic for the Eastern Cincinnati Conference.
Logan Lucas
Lucas is a sprinter and middle-distance runner from Georgetown (OH) High School. He was a captain of the track & field team his senior year. He ran a personal best in the 400meter of 57.23 during the OHSAA District Championships his senior year. He finished in 8th-place in the event and earned 12th-place in the 800-meter. He has a personal best of 24.69 in the 200-meter dash, which he ran during the Western Brown Invitational his senior season.
Bannon Swartz
The third Georgetown (OH) High School athlete to join the Norse is Bannon Swartz. He was the fellow shot put and discus thrower to Adamson. He earned 7th-place during the OHSAA Regional Championships in discus with a mark of 148' which was just one inch off of his personal best that he set at the District Championships. He set a personal best in shot put at districts as well, with a mark of 39'10". He was named first-team All-SBAAC for discus his senior season.
This class will be an addition to the early signees for the men' cross country and track & field teams as seen in the story below..
http://www.nkunorse.com/news/2013/2/7/MXC_0207134445.aspx?path=mcross
The Norse finished the 2012-13 season in sixth place in the A-Sun in cross country and track & field. The team rallied behind the strong performances of J.J. Webber, who earned All-Conference honors in cross country. The cross country season begins on August 31st at the Flyer 5K, hosted by the University of Dayton.
The Northern Kentucky University women's cross country and track & field teams have added nine student-athletes for the 2013-14 season. The Norse are coming off of their first year at the Division-I level where the women's track & field program began its inaugural season. Head coach Steve Kruse and assistant coach Paul Longano added talent from all across the tri-state area in an effort to improve on last season and to replace graduating seniors Kayla Justice, Danielle Mercer, and Kelsey Gaffney.
Kelly Burrows
Burrows was a force for Lakota East High School in the 3200-meter. The Liberty Township, Ohio native has a personal best of 11:25.46 in the 3200-meter which was set at the Regional Championships her senior year. She was named to the All-District and All-Conference teams her senior season. She is also able to run longer distances as she frequented the 5000-meter for the cross country team. She has a personal best in the 5000-meter of 18:31.17 and she finished in 18th-place in the event at the State Championships.
Marisa Derenzo
Derenzo was a middle-distance and hurdles competitor for Owensboro High School in Owensboro, Ky. She is the Owensboro City Champion in the 300-meter hurdles, and she has a personal best in the event of 50.02. She placed in the top-three in every event in all but two meets this past season. While not competing in hurdles, she runs the 800-meter, where she has a personal best of 2:33. She was named All-Henderson County and All-Region during her senior year.
McKenzie McDaniel
McDaniel is a distance runner from Taylor High School in North Bend, Ohio. She placed first in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter events in the Cincinnati Hills League Championships. She ran a personal best in the 3200-meter of 11:50.31 at the district finals in which she finished third. She was named a Cincinnati Area All-Star following her senior season with the cross country squad.
Rebecca Ashton
Ashton ran the hurdles and competed in the long jump for McAuley High School in Cincinnati. She set a personal record in the long jump of 17'6" at the GCL South Championships, placing first. At districts, she set a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.73. She was a four-year varsity athlete, and during her senior year she was named team MVP and Best Hurdler.
Kelsey Cornett
Cornett is a hurdler and jumper from Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati. She was the Eastern Cincinnati Conference champion in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump and the 4x400 meter relay. She was on the team that earned 4th-place at the State Championships in the 4x100 relay with a time of 47.95. She has a personal best in the high jump of 5'2". She was on the varsity squad all four years of high school, and she was named Conference Runner of the Year in 2012.
Jordan Hauck
Hauck is a sprinter from Cooper High School in Union, Ky. She specializes in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. She set a personal best in the 100-meter with a time of 12.39 and in the 200-meter with a time of 26.41. She was named the Most-Improved athlete her freshman year and went on to be named the team MVP her next three years. In her senior season, she was the points leader for her team, placing in the top five in almost every event. She finished fourth in the 100-meter and sixth in the 200-meter at the Regional Championships.
Maya Spalding
Spalding ran hurdles at Central High School in Louisville. She was the 2011 State Champion in the 300-meter hurdles but she suffered a season-ending injury as a junior. She returned in 2013 to place fourth in the 100-meter hurdles and fifth in the 300-meter hurdles at the State Championships. She was also a part of State Champion relay teams in the 4x200-meter at 1:45.21 and the 4x400-meter at 4:05.14. Her high school won the 2013 State Championship title with Maya contributing 14-points. She has personal bests in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles of 15.33 and 46.54, respectively.
Demondrea Starnes
Starnes competed in the long jump and triple jump at Central High School in Louisville. She won four events at the State Championships including two individual and two relay titles. She set personal records in the long jump and triple jump at state, with marks of 17'8.75" and 35'10.75", respectively. She, along with Spalding, was a part of the 4x200 and 4x400-meter relay teams that placed first. She earned 25-points for her high school as they won the 2013 State Championship. Starnes was also named Mrs. Track and Field for the Class-AA division by the Kentucky State Track Coaches Association.
Arica Stutz
Stutz ran hurdles and competed in the long jump and triple jump at Felicity (OH) High School. She won four events at the Southern Buckeye Conference Championship Meet in the 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump. She has a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles of 15.40. She qualified for the State Championships in the 100-meter hurdles and finished in 11th-place.
The incoming 2013/14 class will look to help the Norse to compete for the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. The Norse finished the conference eighth in cross country and seventh in track & field. The cross country season begins August 31st at the University of Dayton for the Flyer 5K.