The University of Wyoming track & field and cross country programs have announced the addition of nine student-athletes who will compete for the brown and gold. The group includes five distance runners, two throwers, one jumper and one multi-event athlete.
Calbi Ausmann, Kacey Doner, Harry Ewing, Hap Frketich, Chris Henry, Daniel Hintz, Jay Shuman, Kirk Unland and Anissa Warner will join UW as freshmen for the 2016-17 season. The group of new Cowboy and Cowgirls includes two local Wyoming athletes.
“I am very happy with the incoming class,” UW head coach Bryan Berryhill said. “We were able to go out and get a number of student-athletes that will make us a better track and field program all around. We understand that in order to be the best program we can be, we can’t limit ourselves with recruiting. It’s extremely important we recruit the state of Wyoming first and then we start looking within the region and the United States, as well as internationally. Looking at the event areas we wanted to address, I think we did all of that with this group.”
Calbi Ausmann – Newcastle, Wyo. (Newcastle High School)
Ausmann will join the Cowgirls from Newcastle, Wyo. Ausmann is a three-time state champion in the 800m, a two-time state champion in the 3200m, and two-time state runner up in the mile. She owns personal best times of 2:15.37 in the 800m and 11:10.99 in the 3200m. Ausmann was coached by Pat Hayman, and is the daughter of Craig and Michelle Ausmann.
Kacey Doner – Fort Collins, Colo. (Rocky Mountain High School)
Doner, a native of Fort Collins, Colo., will also join the Cowgirls for the upcoming season. She owns personal best times of 5:11.27 in the mile and 10:59.17 in the 3200m. Doner is the daughter of Mark and Debbie Doner, additionally she was coached by John Prasuhn.
Harry Ewing – Hamilton, New Zealand (St. Peter’s School)
Ewing is a distance runner from St. Peter’s School in Hamilton, New Zealand. He was the 3000m Steeplechase National runner-up with a personal best time of 9:11.39. Ewing was coached by Angela Russek, and is the son of Mark and Allison Ewing.
Hap Frketich – Newberg, Ore. (Newberg High School)
Frketich will join the Cowboys after being named the 2016 6A Oregon State Champ in the javelin and hammer throw events. He is currently ranked No. 14 and No. 23 in the nation with personal records of 200’ 11” and 191’ 2”, respectively. He also won the 2016 Simplot Games in the 25lb weight throw event with a personal record of 64’ 6”, which ranked him 21st in the nation. Frketich recently placed 11th in both the javelin and hammer throws at the 2016 USA Junior National Championships.
Chris Henry – Laramie, WY (Laramie High School)
The Laramie native was the state champion in the 3200m and owns a personal best time of 9:11.15. He was also the state runner-up in the mile. Henry was a two-time state champion in cross country. He was coached by Greg Schabron, and is the son of Kent and Patricia Henry.
Daniel Hintz – Tauranga, New Zealand (Tauranga Boys College)
The New Zealand native was the Junior National Champion in the 1500m with a personal best time of 3:51.06. He was also the New Zealand Junior National runner-up in the 800m with a personal best time of 1:51.37. Additionally, Hintz represented New Zealand at the Australian Cross Country Junior Championships. He was coached by Gareth Hyett, and is the son of Roger and Colette Hintz.
Jay Shuman – Palisade, Colo. (Palisade High School)
Shuman is the lone multi-event signee for UW for the upcoming season. He qualified for the 2016 State Championships in four events (110 and 300 hurdles, long Jump, 4×200), and was the 2016 4A Colorado 110 hurdles state champion. Shuman is also ranked in the top-20 U.S. Indoors for 60m hurdles.
His personal bests include 8.10 in the 60m hurdles, 14.40 in the 110 hurdles, 21’6” in the long jump, 42’ 6 ¾” in the shot put and 22.64 in the 200.
Kirk Unland – Spokane, Wash. (Ferris High School)
Unland will join UW after a successful prep career in the Pacific Northwest. He was the 2016 Washington State Champ in the hammer throw, and is currently ranked No. 6 in the nation with a personal best of 215’ 10”. Unland also placed seventh at the recent USA National Junior Championships in the hammer event. At the 4A Washington State Track and Field Championships he also placed third in the discus throw, and fourth in the shot put with personal records in both events at 167’ 7” and 58’ 2.25”, respectively. Unland was also ranked No. 14 in the nation during the indoor season in the 25lb weight throw with a Washington State leading throw of 67’ 2”. He will be joining his brother Damon Unland, who is currently a junior thrower for the Cowboys this upcoming season. Their father and high school coach Kyle Unland, was a hammer All-American and teammate of Coach Paul Barrett’s while at Washington State.
Anissa Warner – Powell, Wyo. (Powell High School)
Warner will join the Cowgirls after being the 2016 Wyoming 3A state champion in the long jump, triple jump and high jump. She holds personal bests of 5’ 7” in the high jump and 17’ 11.5” in the long jump.