MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head track and field coach Paul Brueske announced Wednesday that six individuals have signed National Letters-of-Intent and will join the program in the fall.  The group includes two from high schools in Alabama, a pair from elsewhere in the Southeast and two others from the Great Lakes region.

In all, USA has inked 16 individuals to National Letters-of-Intent dating back to the fall.

"We feel good about this recruiting class, this could be one of the best classes that we've had since I've been here.  We need that because our league has gotten tougher over the past couple of years," observed Brueske.  "I think all of them have the ability to come in and be successful in the Sun Belt Conference and possibly beyond that.  Several of these student-athlete — on paper — should be able to step right in and be competitive in the conference, and some others will develop into pretty good athletes.

"If you look at people like Garrett Schumacher, Leah Hixon, Lindsay Schwartz, Latifah Johnson and Bobbie Williamson, they all were alright when they came in and got really good on even the national level.  We feel like we have some good ones in this class too."

Daniel Montville — the lone male in the group to sign in the spring — placed sixth in the 400-meter dash for Prattville (Ala.) High at the state 7A indoor championships this season, and he currently ranks 12th in Alabama at the distance outdoors after posting a time of 49.77 seconds.  Olivia Swan, who hails from Spanish Fort, Ala., is currently second in the state outdoor rankings in the girl's high jump having recorded a height of 5-5 in March.

Taylor Dames (Miami, Fla.), who also competes in the girl's high jump for Coral Reef HS, has a season-best mark of 5-8 that is tied for third in Florida and 31st in the nation, while Kylie Touchard (Mandeville, La.) placed fourth at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association state indoor meet with a career-best time of 5:26.71 in the girl's 1,600 meters.  Kailee Kiminski (Esko, Minn.) has been a member of the varsity teams at Esko HS and competed in five straight Minnesota State High School League Class A state cross country championships, winning the section 7A individual title as a senior, and has personal-best times of 2:17.63 in the 800 meters and 5:10.76 in the 1,600-meter run with Lakeville (Minn.) High's Michaela Preachuk currently standing third in the state with a clocking of 14.56 seconds in the girl's 100-meter hurdles.

In addition to the events they already compete in, both Preachuk and Swan are slated to participate in the heptathlon for the Jags.

Three members of the Jaguars' recruiting class who signed in the fall are also ranked, both nationally and in Alabama, in their events.  Sean Collins (McGill-Toolen HS, Mobile) stands fourth in the country with a mark of 17-3.25 in the boy's pole vault, a height that is first in the state rankings.  He and teammate Chris Taylor rank first and second in the event in Alabama, respectively, after finishing in the same order at the state 7A meet during the indoor campaign.  And, Lane Adams (Lexington [Ala.] HS) has the top mark in the state in the boy's javelin with a 186-0 throw, which is among the top 50 in the nation as well.

The Jag track and field program will begin postseason action on Friday, May 8, with the start of the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala.

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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