Men's Track and Field Sign Six
12/09/2002 | 12:00:00 | Track and Field
Dec. 9, 2002
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois University's head men's track and field coach Cameron Wright recently announced the signing of six athletes to national letters of intent.
Three runners will join SIU in January. Distance runners Joe Byrne, a high school senior from Down Patrick, Ireland, and Julian Garcia, a transfer student from France, will add depth in an area where the Salukis need more numbers. Emmanuel Paris, a short sprinter from Toronto, Canada, should immediately impact the Salukis' solid sprints crew. Wright tags him as "one of Canada's best young rising athletes."
Iran Bickham, a 100 meter runner and long and triple jumper, from New Orleans, La., will enroll at SIU next fall.
"He jumps 25 feet in the long jump and 51 feet in the triple jump," said Wright. "He should be at the top of the junior college competition this season."
Joining Bickham will be Maurice Hewitt, a 100 to 400 meter sprinter from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Both currently attend Barton County Community College.
Rounding out the fall signees is Todd Green an two-time All-American high jumper from Rend Lake College. Green won the Illinois state meet high jump title for Wayne City High School in 2000.
"I believe Todd has a shot to be a junior college national champion this year," said Wright.
"We're excited as a coaching staff to gain such excellent athletes," said Wright. "All are extremely talented and will help us a lot."
Wright said he plans to sign four to five more athletes during the spring signing period.