Track and Field adds six during 2021 signing period

HOUSTON – The University of Houston track and field team added six new faces to the team head coach Leroy Burrell announced Friday.

"I am excited about the 2021 signing class," head coach Leroy Burrell said. "Our recruiting goal was pretty straightforward, we needed to bring in some depth in events where we are thin lining up against the competition in the American while branching out to events we currently are not covering or events where we need to improve. We also felt we needed to look forward to the level of competition in our future conference, the Big 12, and find athletes that will be competitive in that league. The coaching staff did a great job of targeting and recruiting athletes to meet our objectives."

SPRINTER
Cesley Williams
Fort Bend Marshall HS | Missouri City, Texas | Sprinter

Williams comes from Fort Bend Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas, just down the road from the University of Houston. The Texas product is the 5A state champion in the 400-meter with a personal best of 55.07. With the help of her coaches Lloyd Banks and Rodney Alix, she is the No. 5 400-meter recruit in the state of Texas. Her high school 4x100-meter relay team also grabbed the 5A state title this past season.

Coach Burrell on Williams: I noticed Cesley Williams back when I watched her compete as a freshman for traditional Texas track and field powerhouse Fort Bend Marshall. Flash forward three years and she has had a remarkable high school career thus far having won a state championship as a junior in the 400 meters. We expect Cesley to come in and immediately become a scorer and national qualifier as well as play a role in continuing to build depth in our women's 4x400 relay group.

DISCUS and SHOT PUT
Shanice Hutson
Bridgetown, Barbados | Shot Put and Discuss

One of two international signees, Hutson comes to Houston from Bridgetown, Barbados. The shot put and discus athlete hold personal best in the discus at 46.04 and 15.56 in the shot. She was a member of the Barbados CARIFTA Team from 2017-2019 and won gold in the discus in 2018.

Coach Burrell on Hutson: We really felt we needed to target some very high-level athletes that could score in the Big 12 in the throws events, an area where we lost several all-time great athletes to graduation last year. Shanice Hutson will immediately come in and fill that void. She is extremely athletic and has a great deal of experience in international competition having competed in the CARIFTA Games for several years for Barbados.

DISTANCE
Brenda Tuwei
Kenya, Eldoret | Distance

Tuwei adds to the distance side of the track and field team at Houston. A native of Kenya, Tuwei will join the women's cross country team as well as the distance teams.

Coach Burrell on Tuwei: Brenda Tuwei comes to us from Eldoret, Kenya. She hold a 9:46 time in the 3000 and a 16:39 in the 5000 meter in cross country in her home country. Her performances on the track exceed scoring performances on the track in the American Conference and will be very competitive in the Big 12 and at the national level. She is the younger sister of Emmanuel Korir the 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 800-meters and 2017 NCAA 800 meter champion for UTEP. Brenda will join #HTownSpeedCity in January and will compete in the 2022 indoor season, so we expect to see an immediate impact on our women's team once she arrives on campus in January.

POLE VAULT
Coach Burrell on the Pole Vaulters: We signed three female pole vaulters Aubrey Tupper, Lauren Reed and Nicolette Schmidt. They will address the current lack of depth in that area. The group also brings a level of speed and athleticism that will develop to be competitive in the new conference in a year or two.

Nikolette Schmidt
Smithville HS | Smithville, Texas | Pole Vault
Schmidt a native of Smithville, Texas tabs an impressive personal best of 12-6. The Smithville product captured the gold medal at the Region III meet in May with a mark of 12-3.

Aubrey Tupper
Seven Lakes High School | Houston, Texas | Pole Vault
A local athlete, Tupper comes to the University of Houston from Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas. The pole vaulter holds a personal best of 11-6. In the Katy Area High School Regional, Tupper placed fourth with a 10-6 mark.

Aubrey Tupper

Lauren Reed
Stratford HS | Houston, Texas | Pole Vault
Another local athlete, Reed will add to the University of Houston's pole vaulting team. The Stratford High School senior was the pole vault area champion in 2021. She currently holds a personal best of 11-9.

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