Track and Field Adds Six Newcomers to 2021 Signing Class
Mar 16, 2021 | Track & Field
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State track and field has signed six student-athletes to National Letters of Intent (NLI) for the 2021-22 season, Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto announced.
"We are always looking to add quality depth to our teams," said Rovelto. "The distance athletes can enhance our teams both in cross country and track. We have quality jumpers on our team returning but some of them will be finished with us next year. We feel that the jumpers will not only contribute at a high level immediately, but they will provide us continuity in those event areas."
The six-person class is highlighted by the nation's top-rated high jumper in Kamyren Garrett, who hails from Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis. On February 27, he cleared 2.20m/7-2.5 to win the Adidas Indoor National high jump title at Virginia Beach, Virginia. The height ties for the eighth-best mark in the event in the U.S. during the 2021 indoor season and ties the Indiana high school record set in 2011.
Garrett is joined in the class by distance runners Matthew Hauser (Columbia, Mo.), Tommy Hazen (Overland Park, Kan.), Carson Sturdy (DeSoto, Kan.) and Alexa Rios (Maize, Kan.) as well as international horizontal jumps' standout Velecia Williams (Bybrook, Portland, Jamaica).
A product of Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri, Hauser collected four first-place finishes during the 2020 cross country season, including winning the Missouri High School Activities Association (MSHAA) Class 5A state title with a season-best time of 15:34.5. He also competed at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions in mid-November, finishing in 41st place in a field of 161 runners from across the country with a time of 16:01.4. He also competed in the 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters and 4x800 meter relay for Rock Bridge during the 2019 track season.
Hazen earned seven Top 5 finishes during the 2020 cross country season at St. Thomas Aquinas in Overland Park, Kansas, including a third-place finish at the Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Class 5A/6A State Championship with a time of 15:57.6 on October 31. He also competed in the 800 meters, 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters as well as the distance medley relay for St. Thomas Aquinas during the 2019 track season.
Sturdy collected four first-place finishes during the 2020 cross country season for De Soto High School in De Soto, Kansas and placed fifth at the Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Class 5A/6A State Championship on October 31 with a time of 16:11.1. He also competed in the 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters and 4x800 meter relay for De Soto during the 2019 track season.
Rios also enjoyed a successful 2020 cross country season at Maize South High School in Wichita, Kansas, where she earned four first-place finishes and placed fifth at the Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Class 5A/6A State Championship on October 31 with a time of 19:19.5. She also competed in the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters for Maize South during the 2019 track season.
A product of Hydel High School, Williams recently completed a sweep of the Class 1 triple jump and long jumps at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) qualification field event meet on February 27. She posted a leap of 12.37m/40-7 to win the triple jump then earned a mark of 5.93m/19-5.50 to capture the long jump.
A total of three states (Missouri, Kansas, Indiana) and one country (Jamaica) are represented in the class.
Below are full profiles of each of the six signees who will join K-State this fall:
Kamyren Garrett | Lawrence Central | Indianapolis, Ind. | Jumps
Matthew Hauser | Columbia, Mo. | Rock Bridge High School | Distance
Tommy Hazen | St. Thomas Aquinas | Overland Park, Kan. | Distance
Alexa Rios | Maize South High School | Maize, Kan. | Distance
Carson Sturdy | De Soto High School | De Soto, Kan. | Distance
Velecia Williams | Hydel High School | Bybrook, Portland, Jamaica | Jumps
For the latest on K-State Track and Field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.
"We are always looking to add quality depth to our teams," said Rovelto. "The distance athletes can enhance our teams both in cross country and track. We have quality jumpers on our team returning but some of them will be finished with us next year. We feel that the jumpers will not only contribute at a high level immediately, but they will provide us continuity in those event areas."
The six-person class is highlighted by the nation's top-rated high jumper in Kamyren Garrett, who hails from Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis. On February 27, he cleared 2.20m/7-2.5 to win the Adidas Indoor National high jump title at Virginia Beach, Virginia. The height ties for the eighth-best mark in the event in the U.S. during the 2021 indoor season and ties the Indiana high school record set in 2011.
Garrett is joined in the class by distance runners Matthew Hauser (Columbia, Mo.), Tommy Hazen (Overland Park, Kan.), Carson Sturdy (DeSoto, Kan.) and Alexa Rios (Maize, Kan.) as well as international horizontal jumps' standout Velecia Williams (Bybrook, Portland, Jamaica).
A product of Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri, Hauser collected four first-place finishes during the 2020 cross country season, including winning the Missouri High School Activities Association (MSHAA) Class 5A state title with a season-best time of 15:34.5. He also competed at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions in mid-November, finishing in 41st place in a field of 161 runners from across the country with a time of 16:01.4. He also competed in the 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters and 4x800 meter relay for Rock Bridge during the 2019 track season.
Hazen earned seven Top 5 finishes during the 2020 cross country season at St. Thomas Aquinas in Overland Park, Kansas, including a third-place finish at the Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Class 5A/6A State Championship with a time of 15:57.6 on October 31. He also competed in the 800 meters, 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters as well as the distance medley relay for St. Thomas Aquinas during the 2019 track season.
Sturdy collected four first-place finishes during the 2020 cross country season for De Soto High School in De Soto, Kansas and placed fifth at the Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Class 5A/6A State Championship on October 31 with a time of 16:11.1. He also competed in the 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters and 4x800 meter relay for De Soto during the 2019 track season.
Rios also enjoyed a successful 2020 cross country season at Maize South High School in Wichita, Kansas, where she earned four first-place finishes and placed fifth at the Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Class 5A/6A State Championship on October 31 with a time of 19:19.5. She also competed in the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters for Maize South during the 2019 track season.
A product of Hydel High School, Williams recently completed a sweep of the Class 1 triple jump and long jumps at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) qualification field event meet on February 27. She posted a leap of 12.37m/40-7 to win the triple jump then earned a mark of 5.93m/19-5.50 to capture the long jump.
A total of three states (Missouri, Kansas, Indiana) and one country (Jamaica) are represented in the class.
Below are full profiles of each of the six signees who will join K-State this fall:
Kamyren Garrett | Lawrence Central | Indianapolis, Ind. | Jumps
- Personal Bests: High Jump (2.20m/7-2.50)
Matthew Hauser | Columbia, Mo. | Rock Bridge High School | Distance
- 2020 MSHAA 5A Cross Country State Champion
- 2019 MSHAA Cross Country State Finisher
Tommy Hazen | St. Thomas Aquinas | Overland Park, Kan. | Distance
- 2020 KSHSAA 5A Cross Country State Finisher
- Ranked 15th in the country in the two-mile race
Alexa Rios | Maize South High School | Maize, Kan. | Distance
- 2020 KSHSAA 5A Cross Country State Finisher
- 2020 5A Regional Cross Country Champion
Carson Sturdy | De Soto High School | De Soto, Kan. | Distance
- 2020 KSHSAA 5A Cross Country State Finisher
- 2020 United Kansas Conference Cross Country Champion
Velecia Williams | Hydel High School | Bybrook, Portland, Jamaica | Jumps
- Personal Bests: Long Jump (6.14m/20-1.75), Triple Jump (13.03m/42-9.00)
For the latest on K-State Track and Field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.
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