COLUMBIA, Ky. Twenty-four student-athletes are set to join the Lindsey Wilson men's and women's track & field teams for the upcoming 2015-16 season, head coach Jamaine Gordon announced on Tuesday.
The men's team adds depth across the entire team as a variety of 15 student-athletes join the Blue Raiders in 2015-16.
One of the top sprinters in the state of Kentucky in Austin Hayes is set to join the Blue Raiders for the upcoming season. Hayes comes from South Laurel High School in London, Ky., where he was a 100 meter Class AAA state champion and state runner-up in the 200 meters. At South Laurel, Hayes holds the school record in the 100 meters at the USATF Jr. National Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and the 200 and 400 meter records at the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) state track & field meet.
Hayes recently recorded a trio of top-10 finishes at national track meets over the summer. He finished 10th in both the 100 meter and 200 meters at the New Balance National Meet in Greensboro, N.C., and later finished eighth in the 100 meters at the USATF Jr. Nationals in Eugene, Ore.
Javaurs Wesley comes to Lindsey Wilson from Lakeside High School in Atlanta, Ga., where he was a state qualifier in both the 110 meter hurdle and 300 meter hurdle events. He holds personal best times of 15.06 seconds (110m) and 38.25 seconds (300m) and is expected to compete alongside the Blue Raiders' strong returning group of hurdlers.
Holt Keeling comes from Southside-Gadsden High School in Southside, Ala. Keeling holds top-five finishes in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash and the long jump and will add depth to both the sprint and jump squads.
Jayshawn Coleman comes to Lindsey Wilson from Paul Dunbar High School in Lexington, Ky., where he was a state qualifier in 100 meter dash event.
Corey Hinkle comes from Western High School in Russiaville, Ind., and will compete in the throwing events where he holds a personal best distance of 153 feet in the discus event.
Matt Hughes is one of multiple new student-athletes to join the Blue Raiders from North Hardin High School in Radcliff, Ky. Hughes finished as the region runner-up in the shot put event at the 2014 Region 2 Class AAA meet in 2014. He later finished in fourth place at the Kentucky state track meet in the shot put. Hughes holds personal records of 52 feet, 6.5 inches in the shot put and 131'8 feet, 11 inches in the discus throw.
A.J. Hampton also comes to Lindsey Wilson from North Hardin where he too competed in the throwing events. Hampton took first place in the Region 2 Class AAA Track Meet and later finished fourth at the Kentucky state meet.
Andrew Hedgespeth is a 2014 Class A State Champion in the shot put event from Green County High School in Greensburg, Ky. He finished as the state runner-up in the shot put event in 2015.
Jonah Quire is a three-time state qualifier and a two-time regional champion in the pole vault event from Louisville Male High School. He holds a career best height of 13 feet, six inches and has won the pole vault event 16 times throughout his high school career. Quire finished in sixth place at the Class AAA State meet in 2014 and finished as the state runner-up in the 2015 competition.
Trevor Wright also comes from Green County High School and will compete in the mid-distance events. He is a five-time state qualifier in cross country and a three-time regional cross country champion. Wright has also qualified twice for the 800 meter track & field event and finished as the state runner-up in the event this past year with a school-record time of 1:59.33.
Zach Carr also comes from North Hardin and is expected to contribute to the men's distance teams. He is a four-time cross country state qualifier and a regional team champion. Carr's North Hardin track & field team captured track titles in both 2013 and 2014.
Jeremiah Hart comes from Central Hardin High School in Cecilia, Ky., and is expected to compete in the sprinting events for the Blue Raiders.
Austin May comes to Lindsey Wilson from Western Hills High School where he was a state qualifier in the 400 meters. May will be a versatile athlete for the Blue Raiders competing in both sprint events and jump events.
Austin Sparrow comes from Mercer County High School where he was a three sport athlete in football, basketball and track & field. He finished runner-up at the 2015 Region 5 AA track meet in the 800 meters and later competed in the state competition. Sparrow is expected to compete in both the sprint and mid-distance events for the Blue Raiders.
Noah Slinker also comes to Lindsey Wilson from Green County High School where he was a four-time state qualifier in the hurdle events, finishing in eighth place at the state competition last season.
On the women's side, nine student-athletes are expected to contribute towards the Blue Raiders' success in 2015-16.
Annesha Harris comes to Lindsey Wilson from Cumberland High School in Cumberland, Va., where she was a four-time Virginia state champion. She captured the state title in the long jump, the 300 meter hurdles and twice in the 100 meter hurdles events. He personal bests include 15.15 seconds in the 100 hurdles, 47.09 seconds in the 300 hurdles, 18'5.5 feet in the long jump and 36'8.5 feet in the triple jump.
Brandy Baas was a state qualifier at Marshall County High School and is a versatile athlete expected to compete in hurdles, jumps and throwing events. She holds a personal best time of 49.44 seconds in the 300 meter hurdles.
Raevin Cain comes from Madison Central High School and will compete in the throwing events. She qualified for state competition this past season in the discus throw and holds personal bests distances of 110'6 feet in the discus and 32'3 feet in the shot put.
Oreatha Hurt joins the Blue Raiders from Central High School where she was a state qualifier in both the long jump and triple jump events. Her personal records include 16'7 feet in the long jump and 34'4 feet in the triple jump.
Jermesha Crenshaw is a sprinter from Shawnee High School. While at Shawnee, Crenshaw finished as a regional runner-up in the 2014 Region 3 A 400 meter dash event. She later finished ninth that same season at the state competition.
Cortessa Witherspoon is another student-athlete joining the Blue Raiders from North Hardin High School. She was a regional champion in the shot put event and finished in fifth place at the Kentucky state competition. She holds personal best distances of 87'11 feet in the discus and 36'9 feet in the shot put.
Another student-athlete set to compete in the throwing events is Holley Hayes from Grayson County High School in Leitchfield, Ky. Hayes qualified for state competition last season in both the shot put and discus throw events, holding personal record distances of 37'2 feet in the shot put and 98'9 feet in the discus throw.
Erin Jaggers is a two-time state qualifier from Green County High School. She is expected to compete in both the sprint and jump events for the Blue Raiders during the upcoming season.
Ashley Anderson comes from Bracken County High School where she was a two-time state qualifier in cross country. She will be competing on the Blue Raider cross country team and the track & field team in distance events.