University of San Francisco Athletics

SAN FRANCISCO — University of San Francisco cross country and track head coach Pat McCurry is proud to announce his staff's first full recruiting class, a program-altering group of 21 incoming women and men that will pave the way for Dons cross country and track for years to come.
 
"We accomplished exactly what we wanted in this recruiting class, bringing a base of freshman that we will build around in the coming years and then complimenting that with some heavy-hitter transfers," said McCurry. "Coach (Gary) Newell and Coach (Tim) Riley did a phenomenal job with recruitment this year."

The Dons' 2019 recruiting class includes 10 distance runners, five middle-distance specialists and six sprinters/hurdlers, spread out among 18 women and three men. The class hails from 10 different states and seven different countries. A strong base of 15 true freshmen will mix with the leadership and experience of six transfers.
 
"We can't wait to get to work in a few weeks coaching this great group of young people we've brought together," said McCurry. "Many different backgrounds are represented, but they are all Dons now!"
 
See below a list of the incoming cross country and track student-athletes for 2019-20:
 
WOMEN
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Elissa Mann	Sr.	Middle Distance	Louisville Colo./Colorado

Notables – Personal best: 800 - 2:03.96 … 2019 Pac-12 Conference 800 champion … Ran the 400 leg on 2017 National Championship Distance Medley Relay team for Colorado.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Melanie Marquis	Fr.	Sprints/Hurdles	Meridian, Idaho/Mountain View HS

Notables – Back-to-back Idaho state champion (2017 and 2018) in the 300 hurdles … 2019 State runner-up in the 300 hurdles.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Sarah Marske	Fr.	Sprints/Hurdles	Mesa Ariz./Mountain View Mesa HS

Notables – Personal bests: 300 hurdles - 43.38; 100 hurdles - 14.17; 400 hurdles - 65.95; 200 meters - 24.85; 100 - 12.36 … 2019 Arizona State Champion in the 300 hurdles … 2019 State third Place in the 100 hurdles … 2019 State fifth place in the 200.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Abby Pradere	Fr.	Middle Distance	Carson City, Nev./Carson HS

Notables – Personal bests: 800 meters - 2:12.50; Mile - 4:58 … Back-to-back Nevada 4A state champion doubling in both the 800 and the mile (2018, '19).
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Aoible Richardson	Sr.	Distance	Kilkenny, Ireland/Portland

 
Notables – Personal bests: 10,000 meters - 33:41; 5,000 - 16:16 … Finished 14th in the 10,000 at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary Meet … Finished 57th at the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championship.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Sophie Soefeldt	Fr.	Distance	Copenhagen, Denmark/Sortedamskolen

 
Notables – Personal bests: 1,500 meters - 4:23.29; 3,000 - 9:32.30 … 2019 World Junior Cross Country Championship qualifier … 2019 World Junior Track and Field qualifier.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
McKenzie Yanek	Jr.	Distance	Bettendorf, Iowa/Alabama

Notables – Personal best: 10,000 meters - 33:58 … Runner-up in the 10,000 at the 2018 SEC Championships … 2018 Cardinal Class 10,000m champion.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Rayne Anwar	Fr.	Sprints	Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley HS

Notables – Personal bests: 100 meters - 12.20; 200 - 25.39 … 2019 CIF South Section Division II qualifier (100/200).
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Katherine Badham	Jr.	Distance	Auckland, New Zealand/Mississippi State

Notables – Personal best: 3,000-meter steeplechase - 10:58 … Will also compete for the triathlon team at USF.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Baneet Bains	Fr.	Middle Distance	Surrey, British Columbia/Princess Margaret Secondary

Notables – Personal bests: 1,500 meters - 4:34; 3,000 steeplechase - 10:57 … Competed in steeplechase on the Canadian National Team at Pan-American U20 Championships this summer.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Kalii Caldwell	Fr.	Distance	Ogden Utah/Ogden HS

Notables – Personal bests: 3,200 meters - 11:03; 5,000 - 17:38 … 10th at New Balance Indoor Nationals in 2018.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Willa Gibson	Fr.	Sprints	Draper, Utah/Corner Canyon HS

Notables – Personal bests: 400 meters - 57.75; 800 - 2:19.58 … 2019 fourth-place finisher at Utah State Championships in the 400, sixth place in the 800.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Evelyn How	Fr.	Sprints	Cupertino, Calif./Monta Vista HS

Notables – Personal bests: 100 meters - 12.24; 200 - 25.78 … Central Coast Section Finalist (100m)
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Eve Jensen	Fr.	Distance	Boise, Idaho/Boise HS

Notables – Personal best: 3,200 meters - 10:40 … Ran at 2018 Nike NXN qualifier
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
London Lewis	Fr.	Sprints	Stevenson Ranch, Calif./West Ranch HS

Notables – Personal bests: 200 meters - 26.39; 400 - 58.50 … 79th Nike Chandler Rotary participant (800m)
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Julia Morales	Fr.	Middle Distance	San Diego/Scripps Ranch HS

Notables – Personal best: 800 meters - 2:12.92 … Multi-time CIF State Finals competitor in the 800 and relays.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Ruby Smee	Fr.	Distance	Hobart, Australia/Hobart College

Notables – Personal best: 5,000 meters - 16:47 … Runner-up at 2019 U20 Australian Championships in the 5,000.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Anna Tait	Sr.	Middle Distance	Glasgow Scotland/Caledonian U

Notables – Personal bests: 1,500 meters - 4:21; 3,000 - 9:36.
 
MEN
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Andy Snyder	Sr.	Distance	Kennewick, Wash./Washington

Notables – Personal best: 10,000 meters - 29:23 … Ninth place at the 2018 NCAA West Region Cross Country Championship … 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary meet qualifier.
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Hiruy Alemsged	Fr.	Distance	Portland, Ore./Aloha HS

Notables –2018 Oregon Cross Country State Championship qualifier
 

Name	Yr.	Specialty	Hometown/Previous School
Caleb Haugland	Fr.	Distance	Minneapolis/Minneapolis Washburn HS

Notables – Personal bests: 1,600 meters - 4:20; 3,200 - 9:29 … 23rd at 2018 NXR Heartland Regional Championships.