Track and Field, Cross Country Add Five More For Fall
7/6/2012 8:23:00 AM | Cross Country, Track & Field
Distance standouts add to 2012-13 roster depth
Montana State Track and Field announced the addition of four more student-athletes to the 2012-13 cross country and track and field rosters. Joel Estelle, Kaylee Schmitz, Cristian Soratos and Marcus Swan and join 15 others who have already signed with Montana State for the 2012-13 season.
Kaylee Schmitz comes to Montana State all the way from O'Fallon, Ill., where she earned four letters each in cross country and track at O'Fallon Township High School. Schmitz posts personal bests in the 400 (58.50), 800 (2:11.98) and the 1,600 (5:27). In her senior season, she placed eighth overall in the 800 at the Class 3A State Championships and was a First Team All-Southwestern Conference honoree in both track and field and cross country. She earned all-conference honors in both sports all four years. Notably, she saw an eight second drop in her 800 time between her junior and senior seasons. As a sophomore, she contributed to the state championship 4x400 relay.
Academically, Schmitz was an OTHS Scholar Athlete, a member of the National Honor Society and was named an Illinois State Scholar. She was also a Southwestern Conference All-Academic selection.
“I love Kaylee's range on the track,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “That eight-second jump her senior year shows that she's on the up in terms of progress. Her state meet appearances in both cross country and track show her versatility that will really help her at the collegiate level. We're impressed with her off-track ventures, as well. Her grades are among some of the best and she is clearly devoted to the community as well as her sport.”
Joel Estelle comes to Bozeman from Spokane, Wash., where he is a 2012 graduate of Lewis and Clark High School. Estelle just closed out a senior season where he saw remarkable drops in his races. In the 1,600, he placed 10th at the Washington 4A Regional Meet and posted a lifetime best time of 4:18.76 during his senior slate, after a time of 4:38 just one year prior. At the 4A Regional Meet, she placed fifth in the 3,200 in 9:21.43, which was a 35 second drop from his 9:56 finish in 2011.
He was also named to the First Team All-Greater Spokane League for cross country.
“Joel is a quality young man,” said Kennedy. “If he continues to improve at this same rate that he's seen over the last year, his future as a Bobcat distance runner looks tremendously bright. He's a great fit with our freshman class of distance runners.”
Cristian Soratos is a transfer from Hartnell College in Salinas, Calif. and is coming off a very impressive junior college career. In cross country, he placed fifth at the Norcal Championship with a time of 21:38 (4.2 miles), which was the eighth-fastest time in site history at Crystal Springs.
His cross country performances have not only earned him Coast Conference championships but also some of the best performances at several notable northern California venues. He ranks number one at Toro Park and second at Golden Gate Park.
In track, he won four Coast Conference titles in the 800, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 races and was named the Hartnell College Most Valuable Track Athlete. He holds the record in the 1,500 with a lifetime best time of 3:47.03 and ranks second in the 800 (1:51.68) and 5,000 (14:46.36).
“Cristian really had an incredible sophomore year,” said Kennedy. “His times and improvement are pretty indicative of something to come from both a cross country and track standpoint. Coach (Lyle) Weese was a great connection for us, having coached at Hartnell before coming back to Montana State. Performance-wise, we see Cristian really fitting in with Big Sky Conference competition right away.”
Marcus Swan rounds out the latest slew of new Bobcats and comes to Montana State from nearby Manhattan, Mont. Swan earned four letters in track, three in basketball and three in cross country at Manhattan High School. Competing in all three sports, Swan made several appearances at the state level. For track, he was part of the championship team in 2009 and 2012 and anchored the title-winning 4x400 his junior and senior seasons.
His time of 49.71 in the 400 marked the third fastest time among all divisions in Montana in 2012, as well as a lifetime best. He posts a personal best time of 1:55.77 in the 800, which was a five second improvement from his junior season.
Swan also has family ties to Montana State. His father, Steve ran for the Bobcats in the 1980's and ranks fourth all-time in both the indoor (48.30) and outdoor (47.62) 400.
“Marcus had really developed into a strong 800 runner,” Kennedy said. “His improvement is indicative that he's really working his way up.”
In addition to track and field, all plan on running cross country for Montana State in the fall.
Kaylee Schmitz comes to Montana State all the way from O'Fallon, Ill., where she earned four letters each in cross country and track at O'Fallon Township High School. Schmitz posts personal bests in the 400 (58.50), 800 (2:11.98) and the 1,600 (5:27). In her senior season, she placed eighth overall in the 800 at the Class 3A State Championships and was a First Team All-Southwestern Conference honoree in both track and field and cross country. She earned all-conference honors in both sports all four years. Notably, she saw an eight second drop in her 800 time between her junior and senior seasons. As a sophomore, she contributed to the state championship 4x400 relay.
Academically, Schmitz was an OTHS Scholar Athlete, a member of the National Honor Society and was named an Illinois State Scholar. She was also a Southwestern Conference All-Academic selection.
“I love Kaylee's range on the track,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “That eight-second jump her senior year shows that she's on the up in terms of progress. Her state meet appearances in both cross country and track show her versatility that will really help her at the collegiate level. We're impressed with her off-track ventures, as well. Her grades are among some of the best and she is clearly devoted to the community as well as her sport.”
Joel Estelle comes to Bozeman from Spokane, Wash., where he is a 2012 graduate of Lewis and Clark High School. Estelle just closed out a senior season where he saw remarkable drops in his races. In the 1,600, he placed 10th at the Washington 4A Regional Meet and posted a lifetime best time of 4:18.76 during his senior slate, after a time of 4:38 just one year prior. At the 4A Regional Meet, she placed fifth in the 3,200 in 9:21.43, which was a 35 second drop from his 9:56 finish in 2011.
He was also named to the First Team All-Greater Spokane League for cross country.
“Joel is a quality young man,” said Kennedy. “If he continues to improve at this same rate that he's seen over the last year, his future as a Bobcat distance runner looks tremendously bright. He's a great fit with our freshman class of distance runners.”
Cristian Soratos is a transfer from Hartnell College in Salinas, Calif. and is coming off a very impressive junior college career. In cross country, he placed fifth at the Norcal Championship with a time of 21:38 (4.2 miles), which was the eighth-fastest time in site history at Crystal Springs.
His cross country performances have not only earned him Coast Conference championships but also some of the best performances at several notable northern California venues. He ranks number one at Toro Park and second at Golden Gate Park.
In track, he won four Coast Conference titles in the 800, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 races and was named the Hartnell College Most Valuable Track Athlete. He holds the record in the 1,500 with a lifetime best time of 3:47.03 and ranks second in the 800 (1:51.68) and 5,000 (14:46.36).
“Cristian really had an incredible sophomore year,” said Kennedy. “His times and improvement are pretty indicative of something to come from both a cross country and track standpoint. Coach (Lyle) Weese was a great connection for us, having coached at Hartnell before coming back to Montana State. Performance-wise, we see Cristian really fitting in with Big Sky Conference competition right away.”
Marcus Swan rounds out the latest slew of new Bobcats and comes to Montana State from nearby Manhattan, Mont. Swan earned four letters in track, three in basketball and three in cross country at Manhattan High School. Competing in all three sports, Swan made several appearances at the state level. For track, he was part of the championship team in 2009 and 2012 and anchored the title-winning 4x400 his junior and senior seasons.
His time of 49.71 in the 400 marked the third fastest time among all divisions in Montana in 2012, as well as a lifetime best. He posts a personal best time of 1:55.77 in the 800, which was a five second improvement from his junior season.
Swan also has family ties to Montana State. His father, Steve ran for the Bobcats in the 1980's and ranks fourth all-time in both the indoor (48.30) and outdoor (47.62) 400.
“Marcus had really developed into a strong 800 runner,” Kennedy said. “His improvement is indicative that he's really working his way up.”
In addition to track and field, all plan on running cross country for Montana State in the fall.
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