Two of the nine, Joseph "Lopez" Lomong and Dominic Luka, will enroll at NSU but sit out this coming year. Both athletes attended Tully High School in Marietta, N.Y. Lomong was 20th at the 2003 Foot Locker Cross Country National Finals and placed second in the mile at the 2004 Nike Indoor Classic national meet. He was also the 2004 New York outdoor state champion in the 1,600.
Luka ran the fourth-fastest 800-meter time in the country this past outdoor season by a high school athlete, according to DyeStat.com. He was the outdoor state champion in the event, and also took second at the 2004 Nike Indoor Classic national meet.
The other signees, who will all compete for the Spartans in 2003-04, are:
Keenan Harris, Lake Taylor High School, Norfolk, Va., 400/800: Harris placed fourth at the Virginia High School League Group AAA state outdoor meet this past spring, and placed second at the 2004 Outdoor Eastern Regionals in the 400.
Francis Kirong, Nairobi, Kenya, Moi University, Middle/Long Distance: Kirong, who will also run cross country at NSU, has run a personal-best of 1:53 in the 800, 3:55 in the 1,500 and 25:46 in the 8,000.
Robert Odutola, Aurora, Ill., Waubonsie Valley High School, 100: Odutola was his conference's champion in 2003 in the 100 meters, and can also run the 60 meters.
Marlon Powells, Hyattsville, Md., DeMatha High School, Middle Distance/Shot/Discus: Powells placed third in the 2003 Maryland state outdoor meet in the discus and fourth in the shot put.
Jade Smith, Camden, N.J., Camden High School, 200/400: Smith, who sat out last season at NSU, was ranked second in the nation among high school athletes in the 400 in 2002.
Troy Wilkerson, Norfolk, Va., Maury High School, 100/200: At the 2004 VHSL Group AAA state meet, Wilkerson placed second in the 100 and third in the 200. He was also the 2004 Eastern Region outdoor champion in the 200 and placed second in the 100.
Maurice Young, Camden, N.J., Camden High School, 400 hurdles: Young, who also sat out last year at NSU, was the New Jersey 2002 outdoor champion in the 400 hurdles, came in third at the 2002 Penn Relays in the same event and was ranked in the top 10 nationally among high school athletes in the 400 hurdles in 2002.
"This is an outstanding class, because it addresses all of our needs," Giles said. "At the MEAC outdoor meet this spring, we didn't score in the 100, 200 or the 4x100, and we still earned the runner-up trophy. We added some top sprinters, Francis will be a great distance and cross country runner for us, and we signed two blue-chippers in Lomong and Luka."