Washington university track and field recruiting standards

The Husky track and field program will welcome a huge class of newcomers sure to make a major impact next season. Washington put together NCAA top-25 finishes in five of six championships during the 2021-22 year, and the new members of the pack will keep the Dawgs pursuing new heights.

The number of newcomers currently stands at 24, with eight transfers and 16 freshmen coming to Montlake next season.

Among the transfers are some incredibly accomplished talents looking to continue developing to the highest levels of the sport. They include 2022 NCAA steeplechase runner-up Kayley DeLay, the third-fastest steepler in NCAA history; 2022 NCAA 1,500-meter bronze medalist Sam Ellis; Ed Trippas, a 2020 Olympian for Australia and the 12th-fastest steeplechaser in NCAA history; two-time First Team All-American and SEC pole vault champion Nastassja Campbell; and an NCAA Division-III record-holder in Aidan Ryan.

Three of the eight transfers are coming from Princeton. Ellis and Trippas, both coming off NCAA top-five finishes, as well as javelin thrower Chandler Ault, a two-time NCAA Prelims qualifier. A fourth Ivy League transfer is DeLay, from Yale.

The full group breaks down into twelve distance runners, four sprinters, three throwers, and five jumpers (three pole vaulters, one high jumper, and one decathlete).

Of the freshmen, six hail from Washington state, four come from California, two from Oregon, and one each from Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, and New York.

The eight transfers come from six different states--Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New York, Texas, and Washington--plus two international recruits, Bruno Comín Pescador from Spain, and Trippas from Australia.

2022-23 Washington Track & Field Newcomers

Men

Chandler Ault – Midland, Mich. – Princeton – Throws Joins the Huskies after graduating from Princeton, where he was a two-time NCAA East Prelims qualifier in the javelin. The 2022 Ivy League runner-up in the javelin, throwing a PR of 237-9. Was 23rd at East Prelims in 2022, throwing 212-3, and in 2019 was 20th at NCAA Prelims throwing 209-1. Also threw 236-10 at the Larry Ellis Invitational and 237-4 at the Texas Relays.

Bruno Comín Pescador – Santander, Spain – Universidad Europea del Atlantico – Multis An experienced and talented decathlete with a career-best score of 7,688 points, a mark he set at the 2021 European U23 Championships in Estonia, taking 10th overall. Comín Pescador took third in the decathlon at the 2022 Ibero American Athletics Championships, scoring 7,668. He also has an indoor heptathlon best of 5,480 from the 2020 Spanish Indoor Championships. In February of this year, he was fifth at the Spanish U23 Indoor Championships in the 60m hurdles in 8.19 seconds. Comín Pescador also has a long jump best of 24-0 ¾.

James Crabtree – Sherwood, Ore. – Sherwood – Distances Crabtree won the title at the 2021 Oregon 6A State Cross Country Championships as a senior. On the track, his 3,000-meters PR of 8:11.83 ranked sixth in the U.S. in 2022. As a junior, he took 17th overall at the Outdoor Nationals in the two-mile championship. He also has run a 4:08 mile PR.

Jamar Distel – Chattaroy, Wash. – Riverside – Distances Distel won the 1A Washington state cross country championship in 2021 with the second-fastest time across classifications. Earlier that season, he captured the Nike Portland XC title by 12 seconds in a 5,000-meter best of 14:47. Distel possesses PRs of 4:12 for 1,600-meters and 9:04 for 3,200-meters.

Sam Ellis – Decatur, Ga. – Princeton – Distances Ellis was the NCAA bronze medalist in the NCAA 1,500-meter final that included three current Huskies. He set his PR in the NCAA semis this season at 3:37.60. and advanced to Eugene by taking sixth in the East Prelim quarterfinals in 3:41.31. Ellis also ran on the Princeton distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships that finished fourth. He won the Ivy League indoor titles in the 800m and the mile. He rolled to a mile PR of 3:56.87, and ran an indoor 800m best of 1:48.32.

Daniel Gaik – Kent, Wash. – Eastern Washington – Sprints Gaik comes over from Cheney, Wash. where he was a top sprinter for the Eagles. He owns a 400-meters PR of 47.00, set at the 2021 Big Sky Championships, where he was third overall. He also ran on the EWU conference winning 4x100m relay. This season, Gaik clocked PRs in the 100-meters at 10.65 and the 200-meters at 21.46. At Kentwood High School, Gaik was 4A state runner-up in 2019, his junior season, running 49.03 for 400-meters, and he was fourth in the 200-meters. His senior season in 2020 was canceled.

Evan Jenkins – Camas, Wash. – Camas High School – Distances The Camas product was fourth at the Washington 4A state meet as just a sophomore in 2019, and was 18th at Nike Cross Regionals. Last track season he ran a 3,200m PR of 8:50 that ranked 12th nationally. He also has a 1,600-meters best of 4:11.

Leland Lieberg – Alhambra, Calif. – St. Francis High School – Jumps Lieberg will leap tall objects for the Dawgs next season. The high jumper from Alhambra, Calif. has a PR of 6-9 set during the 2021 season. He won the CIF-SS Division 3 finals in 2021 with a high jump of 6-4, and went on to take sixth at the 2021 CIF state meet with another 6-4 make.

Aidan Ryan – New York, N.Y. – Williams College – Distances Ryan shattered the NCAA Division III record in the mile this indoor season, running a 3:56.88 in Boston. Ryan went on to win the NCAA D-III title in the mile indoors, and also took third in the 3,000-meters and second on the DMR. He ran at UW's Indoor Preview in January, going 7:55.29 for the 3k, and he ran a NCAA D-III record of 7:54.58 at the Boston David Hemery Valentine Invite, breaking the previous record by 13 seconds. Ryan also was fourth at the 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships.

Ed Trippas – Sydney, Australia – Princeton – Distances A 2020 Tokyo Games Olympian for Australia, as he qualified in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Trippas ran the third-fastest steeple in Australian history when he went 8:19.60 at a meet in Spain to hit the Olympic qualifier. He was 11th in his Olympics heat, running 8:29.90. This spring back in the NCAA, Trippas took fifth in the NCAA steeplechase final, which was one of the fastest in history. Trippas ran 8:20.29 in the final, the No. 12 time in NCAA history, as the top-five finishers ran five of the twelve fastest times in collegiate history. Trippas was 67th at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships and the Ivy League XC runner-up.

Women

Ella Borsheim – Tacoma, Wash. – Bellarmine Prep - Distances A multiple Washington state champion, Borsheim finished her senior season with a win in the 4A 1,600-meter state final. She was runner-up at the 2022 Nike Outdoor Nationals in the mile run, going 4:46.90. In 2021, she ran a mile PR of 4:45.63. Borsheim captured the 2021 Washington 4A state cross country title and then took second at the Nike Cross Regionals. She was a Foot Locker National finalist in 2019 as a sophomore. Borsheim was state cross country champion her freshman season as well.

Alyssia Brown – Brooklyn, N.Y. – Notre Dame Academy – Distances Brown was fourth at the New York Indoor Championships in 2022 setting a 1,500-meters PR of 4:35.65. She ran a 5:00.91 mile PR at 2022 New Balance Indoor Nationals. She also won the New York Sectional Championships 800-meters race in 2:15.36.

Nastassja Campbell – New Caney, Texas – Arkansas – Pole Vault A two-time First Team All-American with one of the best PRs in collegiate history, Nastassja Campbell will have two years of eligibility remaining. At Arkansas, Campbell was the 2021 SEC Champion, clearing 14-10 ¾, which ranks 18th in NCAA history outdoors. She was eighth at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships and had a season-best make of 14-7 ¼. Prior to Arkansas, Campbell also vaulted for Stephen F. Austin, where she was seventh at the 2019 NCAA Indoor meet, and won Southland Conference titles indoors and out. Campbell also won the 2019 U.S. Under-20 pole vault title.

Kayley DeLay – Jacksonville Beach, Fla. – Yale – Distances DeLay was one of the elite runners in the NCAA in 2022. She was NCAA runner-up in the steeplechase in a blazing time of 9:25.08, the third-fastest time in NCAA history as the only runner ahead of DeLay broke the NCAA record. DeLay ranked 19th in the world and fourth in the U.S. in the steeplechase for 2022 as of June. She also ran a 1,500-meters PR of 4:12.12 at the Princeton Invitational. DeLay won the Ivy League steeplechase as well as the 5,000-meters in 2022, and she also ran the 5k at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships, placing 15th. DeLay was a cross country All-American last fall, finishing 10th, after winning the Ivy League XC title.

Sarah Ferguson – Lexington, Ky. – Lafayette High School – Pole Vault The New Balance Indoor Nationals champion in 2022 in the pole vault, as she made 13-9 ¼ for the win. That mark ranked fifth nationally indoors in 2022. Ferguson has routinely cleared 13-6 this outdoor season, making the height to win the Kentucky 3A state title for the third time in her career. She won New Balance Outdoor Nationals Emerging Elite as a freshman going 13-0 ¼.

Chloe Foerster – Portland, Ore. – Jesuit High School – Distances Ranked seventh in 2022 in the 800-meters and sixth in the 1,600-meters. Foerster set an Oregon state 1,500m meet record with a time of 4:24.39, then followed that up a couple hours later with a win in the 800-meters in 2:09.60. Foerster took second in the mile at the Arcadia Invite in 4:40.27, an Oregon state record, and she won the Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays elite mile in 4:43.81. The Jesuit standout won three-straight Oregon 800-meter state titles. She ran an 800m PR in 2021 at the Portland Track Festival in 2:05.27.

Ava McCumber Gandara – West Hills, Calif. – Notre Dame High School – Sprints Ran a big 400-meters PR of 54.66 to win the CIF-SS Division 3 title in her senior year. Took third at the 2022 Arcadia Invitational, going 56.01. Ran 24.48 in the 200-meters to take second at CIF-SS in 2022. Won the Mission League 200m and 400m titles as a senior.

Sophia McHenry – Littleton, Colo. – Rock Canyon High School – Sprints McHenry took third in the 100-meter dash finals at the Colorado 5A state meet and fourth in the 200-meters. She had a season-best 100m time of 12.10 and a 200m season-best of 25.05. She also ran on the 4x400m relay that took sixth at state. She was fourth in both the 100m and 200m state finals as a junior in 2021, getting a 200m PR of 24.98 in the final.

Sophia Nordenholz – Albany, Calif. – Albany High School – Distances Nordenholz ran the fifth-fastest time in California state meet history at the 2021 cross country championships. She was the runner-up on the track this spring in the CIF state track finals over 3,200-meters, going 10:10.49. She also won the 1,600-meters at the CIF North Coast Meet of Champions in 4:49.36. In 2021, she took second in the 3,200m at the Arcadia Invite in a PR of 10:05.91. Ran to ninth at the 2021 Eastbay National Cross Country Championships.

Dawson Rothenbuhler – Bellingham, Wash. – Sehome High School – Throws Dominant season for Sehome in 2022, as she finished first in 12 of 13 competitions, winning the 2A state shot put title and posting a PR of 44-9. Threw a discus PR this season of 132-10 to win the district title. Season-bests ranked fourth in the state overall in the shot put and fifth in the discus.

Ashley Schroeder – Kirkland, Wash. – Juanita High School – Throws Schroeder ranked No. 9 nationally in the javelin in 2022 as she won the Washington 3A state title with a PR of 151-0. That was one of five meets where Schroeder threw beyond 140-feet her senior season. Schroeder made state for the first time as just a freshman in 2019, placing eighth.

Anna Terrell – Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. – Palos Verdes High School – Sprints Terrell brings added depth to the long sprinters, as she was a California State 400-meter finalist in 2021. She ran a best 400m time of 56.48 to take second at 2021 CIF-SS. A sprinter with range, Terrell has moved up to 800-meters and down to 200-meters frequently.

Josephine Welin – Oak Park, Ill. – Oak park and River Forest High School – Distances The Illinois 3A state cross country champion and a 3,200-meters state champion on the track as well. Welin ranked sixth nationally in 2021 in the 3,200m with a PR of 10:03.72. She also was fifth in the mile (4:50.79) and fourth in the 2-mile (10:17.67) at the 2021 adidas Indoor Nationals.

Avril Wilson – Duvall, Wash. – Cedarcrest High School – Pole Vault Wilson is the Washington 2A state pole vault champion for 2022, clearing 12-6 to take the title. She then went on and cleared 13-2 ¼ at the Nike Outdoor Nationals for sixth-place overall. Wilson cleared 13-feet once more during the 2022 indoor season and twice outdoors in 2021, taking fourth at Vaulter Magazine Nationals at 13-0.