Women's Track and Field signs three to National Letters of Intent
Feb. 4, 2009 AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas women's track and field coach Beverly Kearney announced the signing of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2009-10 academic season. Sprinter Chalonda Goodman (Newnan, Ga./Newnan) will compete in the short sprints while on the Forty Acres. A three-time Georgia High School Class-5A state champion in the 100 and 200 meters, two-time Nike Outdoor Champion (100 and 200) and 2008 USATF Junior Olympics Champion (100 and 200), Goodman has set personal bests of 11.31 (100 meters), 23.22 (200 meters) and 7.04 (55 meters). Her 100-meter time stood as the top national time among high school runners for the majority of 2008 and her 200-meter mark was the best at the prep level. Goodman boasted three 200-meter times of 23.40 or faster in 2008 and is considered the top 200m runner in the country. The sprinter also owns a perfect 4.00 GPA. "Chalonda is an amazing individual," Kearney stated. "She exemplifies everything that Texas tradition stands for. She is an amazingly talented athlete, a very intelligent young lady and has a heart of gold. I think that she will add depth to our great freshman class from this past year and will definitely carry on the tradition of moving on to the international level and compete to be an Olympian." High jumper Alicia Peterson (Sherman, Texas/Sherman HS) who owns a personal-best high jump clearance of five feet, 10 inches, joins the Longhorn squad and will also race in the 200 and 400 meter events. At the 2007 UIL State Championships, Peterson claimed the high jump title with a clearance of five feet, seven inches and placed second in the 400m with a time of 54.22. "Alicia is the example of the athleticism that the University of Texas strives for," added Kearney. "We have a lot of talented athletes and she is definitely one of the best. She has a great passion for Texas and is also a great student and person overall. She has the heart of a warrior."
The Longhorns also welcome distance specialist Melissa Mahoney (Cypress, Texas/Cypress Woods). Mahoney owns personal-best marks of 5:28.26 in the 1,600m and 19:04.88 in the 5,000m and claimed the 2008 District 15-5A two-mile title clocking an 11:54.00. "We're really excited about Melissa becoming a Longhorn because she helps solidify the gains that we've been making in cross country," assistant coach Steve Sisson commented. "She represents the type of athlete that we feel will be a dual threat competing in both track and cross country, which is something of great importance to us. She will help us with added depth and I believe she has the ability to be very competitive at the Big 12 level." "We have a number of distance runners and we will continue to add to this area," Kearney added. "We feel like this is part of the foundation for future successes at Texas. It makes us a well-rounded team." |
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