MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head track and field coach Paul Brueske announced Friday that five individuals — three women and a pair of men — have signed National Letters-of-Intent and will join the program in the fall.

Elysa Griffin, Savannah Howie, Michella Obijiaku, Jacob Johnson and David Savic will all have four years of eligibility to compete when they arrive on campus in 2016.

"Overall, we've addressed some areas that we needed to address," Brueske stated. "The signees are all solid student-athletes, academically and athletically.  We feel all of these individuals can contribute."

Griffin, who hails from Homewood, Ala., won the long jump with a personal-best mark of 18-6.75 and placed third in the 60-meter dash in a career-low 7.76 seconds at the state indoor 6A championship meet in 2015 to help Homewood High place second in the team standings.  Her efforts at the state 6A outdoor championships — placing third in the 200 meters, fifth in the 100-meter dash and sixth in the long jump — helped Patriots claim the team title.  Her best times of 12.08 and 24.93 seconds in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, respectively, came at the Mountain Brook Invite last spring, while her 18-9.75 distance in the long jump at the section meet last season was the best of her career.

Howie recorded an 11-9 mark in the pole vault last spring to win the event at the Palatine Relays, as she would go on to place sixth at the Illinois state 3A preliminary championships.  The senior at McHenry HS won twice and was third on two other occasions while competing at five meets during the 2015 outdoor campaign, while during the indoor season Howie won the pole vault three times and was among the top three at all five events she participated in.

A native of London, England, Obijuaka attends Bishop Grant High School and competes for the Herne Hill Harriers club team.  Last year, she won the shot put at the Surrey County Championships with a 13.13m mark while posting her best time of 12.44 seconds in the 100 meters at the first UK Women's League Division 3 match in Exeter.  Obijuaka is currently 17th in the country in the outdoor shot put and is fourth in the nation's Under-20 rankings, and she also stands fifth in the Under-20 category in the event indoors.

"Michella has thrown 13.13 m from a standing position and can run a 12.4 100 meters.  She has a lot of potential," observed Brueske.  "Elysa will be an asset to us in the sprints and long jump, and Savannah is an up-and-coming vaulter."

Savic crossed the line at the Georgia state AAAAAA cross country championships last month in a time of 16:33.50, finishing sixth out of 225 competitors individually to pick up all-state honors while helping Marietta HS win the team title.  He also competed at the NIKE Cross Nationals Southeast Regional, placing 11th in a field of 254 runners in a personal-best 15:32.10, to lead the Marietta XC Club to a win and qualification for the national meet.  Savic's best clocking the 3,200 meters during the outdoor season was 9:25.00, and he also won the region championship at the distance in the spring.

Johnson, an Owatonna, Minn., resident, recorded a career-best time of 14.56 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles at the AAU Junior Olympic Games in August after placing fourth in the race at the state AA meet for Owatonna High; he won the event in the finals at five different meets during the spring campaign.  He also claimed the title in the 300-meter hurdles three times during the 2015 outdoor season, and had a personal-best clocking at that distance of 39.28 seconds in May.

"Jacob is one of the top returning hurdlers in Minnesota," said Brueske.  "He is new to the sport and has improved quickly, we expect he will develop into a solid competitor.

"We are not finished recruiting.  We plan to add to more signees during the next signing period in April," Brueske added.

The Jaguars will open the indoor season on Friday, Jan. 15, at the Commodore Indoor Invitational, a two-day meet hosted by Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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