Lorman, Miss.-First year head track and field coach,
Garry Lewis announces the addition of six new faces to the Alcorn State women's track and field/cross country program this afternoon. Coach Lewis is very pleased with the newcomers that are joining the Alcorn State family and is expecting this talented young group of ladies to make an immediate impact for the upcoming season.
The recruiting class features blazing speed from the state of Texas, two of the best throwers from the state of Florida, and one in-state signee.
Signing with the Lady Braves are sprinters Rakibba Burrell (Bentonia, Miss.), Chinyere Mbonu (Klein, Texas),
Jasmine Heggins-Venters (Houston, Texas), Cameisha Young (Dallas, Texas).
Samiria Martin (Monticello, Fla.) and
Dominique Edwards (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) round out the rest of the 2013 signing class.
Burrell is a product of Lanier High School in Jackson, Miss. where she established herself as one of the best sprinters in school history. She was dominant in the 200m in 2012 where she captured the Division 4-5A and the 5A North State titles (Career best-25.34). She was the runner-up in the 200m at the 2012 5A state championships. She recently set a personal best time of 12.16 in the 100m at the 2013 North State Finals.
Mbonu attended Klein High School in Texas where she was Most Valuable Female Runner all four years while running for the Bearkats. She posted a personal best time of 12.13 in the 100m dash at the 2013 Region 3 Area Meet. She also was a member of the fifth best 4x100m relay in Texas and has a personal best jump of 17-08 in the long jump.
Heggins-Venters ran for Houston Lamar High School in Texas. Though she's only 5-1, Heggins-Venters is a talented 400m runner. She ran a personal best time of 59.34 this season at the Texas Southern Relays in March. She can also a run every relay from the 4x100m to the 4x400m.
Young, a native of Dallas, Texas, ran for one of the top sprinting programs in the country at Dallas Skyline High School. Just like Heggins-Venters, she can run every relay from the 4x100m to the 4x400m. She won the 2013 District 9-5A title in the 100m dash posting a time of 12.23. Her personal best time in the 100m is 11.91.
Martin joins the Lady Braves from Florida where she attended Jefferson County High School. Martin is 4-time regional champion in the shot put and a 4-time district champ in the discus. She also is the 2012 1A State Champion in the shot put and was the runner-up in the event in 2013. She's thrown a personal best of 39-3 in the shot put and 114-5 in the discus.
Edwards comes in from Flanagan High School located in South Florida. Edwards entered the 2013 season with the best throws in the shot put and discus in the entire state of Florida. Edwards won shot put and discus district titles in 2012. She was an All-State performer in 2012 and 2013. She has thrown a personal best of 46-11.75 in the shot put and 146-3.5 in the discus at the 2012 AAU Junior Olympic National Championships.
