The Lewis & Clark College Department of PE & Athletics is preparing to welcome in a class of talented first-year student athletes. With more students committing to Lewis & Clark every day, the Pioneers already have 102 recruited student-athletes who have paid deposits to attend the school in the fall. This is over a 100% increase above the number of new student-athletes that arrived on Palatine Hill last fall. In addition to these 54 female and 48 male recruits, there are another 70 non-recruited students who will also be attending the College who have expressed an interest in participating in one of the Pioneers’ 19 varsity sports.

The incoming student-athletes have a very impressive academic and athletic profile and come from 28 different states and the District of Columbia. Among the 102 recruited athletes, there are eight valedictorians and thirteen with a 4.0 GPA. On average, this group is in the upper 20% of their class, has a grade point average of 3.6 and scored nearly 1280 on the SAT.

The student-athletes have collectively earned 47 first team all-league, 11 second team all-league, and 27 all-district honors. They also have 12 all-state designations, 11 conference MVP awards. 17 received scholar-athlete awards. In a leadership role, the incoming class has 43 terms as team captain and 25 team MVP’s among them.

The Pioneer track & field and cross country teams have 31 incoming student-athletes for the 2007-08 season with 18 women and 13 men participating in one or both of the sports.

For the women, Heather Jones was a two-time Most Valuable Runner and a 2007 first team all-league runner for the Ceres High cross country team in Ceres, Calif. Jones was also a two-time most valuable runner for the Ceres track team and will be competing in the hurdles for the Pioneers. Raven Campbell was a State Silver Medalist in the 3200 in South Carolina. While attending Governor’s School of Humanities in Westminster, S.C. Campbell was fourth in state 1600, while earning Region Runner of the Year awards after becoming the region champion in the 1600 and 3200. Kelsey Croall of Newcastle, Calif. was a two-time state qualifier in cross country. In track, she was a three-time sections qualifier in the 1600m and twice was a subsections qualifier in the 800m. She was honorable mention all-league in cross country and all-league in track, holding the Lincoln High school record in the 1600m. Kroall also attended the AAU Junior Olympic National Cross Country Championships. Cheyenne Feliz, from Davis High in Davis, Calif., was All-League MEL in 2006 as a member of the 4x400 relay. Feliz was All-League DVC in 2007 in that same relay. Maren Swanson was a member of the state champion 4x400 relay team for Washington, running for Bainbridge High.

Other incoming female Pioneers: Ashley Anderson (McMinnville High, McMinnville, Ore.) Kirsten Anderson (Sentinel High, Missoula, Mont.), Cat Anthony (Sammamish High, Bellevue, Wash.), Jaclyn Feeney (Staten Island, NY, St. Joseph Hill), Sarah Goldberg (Flagstaff High, Flagstaff, Ariz.), Katherine Groesbeck (Ballard High, Seattle, Wash.), Christina Herring (Vivian Webb, San Dimas, Calif.), Liz Johnson (Skyline High, Salt Lake City, Utah), Amy Madden (Canby High, Canby, Ore.), Kelsey Ostenaa (Conifer High, Evergreen, Colo.), Andrea Porter-Smith (Ballard High, Seattle, Wash.), Tealah Sampson (Ritzville High, Chattaroy, Wash.), and Marissa Silver (Pioneer High, San Jose, Calif.).

For the men, Joevonte Mayes was fourth in state in the 100 and 200, running for Rex Putnam High in Milwaukie, Ore. Mayes was also first at districts in the 100m three years in a row. Sam Margevicius , from Palo Alto High in Palo Alto, Calif., was second place in the 110m hurdles and third place in the 300m hurdles at the SCVALs. Lars Steier was both the St. Pete Times and the Tampa Tribune All County Cross Country as well as earning distinction in track for performances in the distance events. Steier, whose hometown is Temple Terrace, Florida, comes to Lewis & Clark as a sophomore, transferring from the University of Delaware. Kai Watts, from Cannon Beach, Ore., was the league champion in discus in 2006 and 2007 while competing at Seaside High.

Other incoming male Pioneer track athletes: Aukeem Ballard (Charles Wright Academy, Tacoma, Wash.), Trent Binford-Walsh (Moravian High, Bethleham, Penn.), Jeff Carman (Lane CC, Veneta, Ore.), Richie LeDonne (Lower Merion High, Narbath, Penn.), Robin Osofsky (Sandia Prep, Albuquerque, N.M.), Eric Randall (Benson Polytech, Portland, Ore.), David Rollins (Mt. Ararat High, Bowdoinham, Maine), Paul Stirneman (Putnam High, Milwaukie, Ore.), Caleb Sturgill (Grant Union High, John Day, Ore.) and Zach Yeager (Hamilton College, Mertztown, Penn.).