Feb. 17, 2014
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State track and field team has signed six student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, head coach Shelia Burrell announced today.
The six athletes - Jazmen Bunch (Fresno, Calif./Edison HS), Bonnie Draxler (Wrightstown, Wis./Wrightstown HS), Simone Glenn (Snellville, Ga./Brookwood HS), Ashley Henderson (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central HS), Dominque Regalado (Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills HS) and Cassidy Towner (Placentia, Calif./El Dorado HS) - will all join the Aztecs in the fall with still another indoor and outdoor season to compete in 2014.
Bunch comes to The Mesa after starring for Edison High School in Fresno, Calif., where she ran the sprints. Bunch owns high school best times of 7.21 in the indoor 55 meters, and 11.83 and 24.34 in the outdoor 100 and 200, respectively. The 7.21 time would rank third in SDSU history. Bunch is coming off a 2013 season that saw her take fifth at the CIF State Championships in the 100 (11.83) and 11th in the 200 (24.34).
Draxler joins San Diego State's rich tradition in the pole vault after dominating the prep ranks at Wrightsville High School in Wrightsville, Wis. Draxler, who was named an All-America selection by Track & Field News and was picked as the No. 1 pole vaulter in the nation, has a personal-best mark of 13 feet, 7 ¼ inches (4.15 meters), which would rank in a tie for sixth on the Aztecs' outdoor list. She has won three consecutive pole vault and 400 titles at the Wisconsin D2 state meet, along with one in the 100 in 2013.
Glenn will run the sprints for SDSU after competing at Brookwood High School in Snellville, Ga., and the Glenarden Track Club in Lanham, Md. Glenn has indoor personal-best times of 7.25 in the 55, which would tie for fourth on the San Diego State all-time top 10, and 7.89 in the 60, and outdoor wind-legal best marks of 11.91 in the 100, 23.75 in the 200 and 57.95 in the 400. The 23.75 outdoor clocking would rank ninth on the Aztecs' all-time list. Glenn has competed multiple times at the Georgia state championships, most recently taking third in the 100 (12.05) and fourth in the 200 (24.75) in 2013.
Henderson will also compete in the sprinting events for San Diego State, coming from Hazelwood Central High School in Florissant, Mo. Henderson has outdoor personal-best times of 11.85 in the 100, 24.33 in the 200 and 58.74 in the 400. She has four Missouri Class 3 & 4 state titles under her belt, including wins in the 100 (11.95), 200 (24.50) and the 4x200 relay (1:39.86) in 2013, and the 4x200 relay (1:41.55) in 2012. Individually, Henderson has finished no worse than fourth at the Missouri state meet over her three-year career so far.
Regalado specializes in the distance events and should provide an immediate impact to an improving Aztec distance squad. Regalado, who ran at Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo, Calif., has outdoor personal-best times of 5:04.93 in the 1,600, 5:08.69 in the mile and 11:08.38 in the 3,200 heading into her final prep season, along with cross country bests of 17:16 in the 3-mile and 18:10 in the 5K.
Towner will join Regalado on the distance squad at SDSU after running for El Dorado High School in Placentia, Calif. While at El Dorado HS, Towner has outdoor personal-best times of 2:22.84 in the 800, 5:04.20 in the 1,600 and 11:13.56 in the 3,200, and cross country bests of 17:18 in the 3-mile and 18:30 in the 5K. Her personal record of 5:04.20 came at the 2013 Century League Championships, where she placed third.
San Diego State has back-to-back top-25 finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and is also the defending champion at both the indoor and outdoor Mountain West Championships. The Aztecs will look for a second straight indoor title at the MW Championships from Feb. 27-March 1 at USAFA, Colo.