July 9, 2004
As Columbia continues to emerge as an Ivy League power in track and field and cross-country, the Lions solidified their position as an elite with another strong recruiting class. Coaches Willy Wood and Craig Lake and staff have added a national caliber class, especially in the distance events.
Brian Anderson (Bunnell, Fla.) finished fourth in the Florida cross-country championships. Liam Boylan-Pett (Bath, Mich.) joins his brother Will with the Columbia squad. Liam is ranked in the top 10 nationally in both the mile and 800 and was the state champ in XC in 2002 and runner-up in 2003. John Hiestand (Bloomington, Ind.) won the Indiana state title in the 800 and ranks fifth in the nation in that event. Greg Hughes (Northfield, N.J.) placed second at the New Jersey Meet of Champions for cross-country and took home the bronze at the Penn Relays in the 3000 meters. Robert Longoria (Hope Mills, N.C.) finished third in North Carolina and 11th in the Footlocker South region in cross-country. Ryan McMahon (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) ran sprints ranging from the 100 to 400 meters at state events. Jonah Rathbun (Seattle, Wash.) was the 2003 Junior Olympic Northwest Regional 800 meter champion. John Wihtol (Carmichael, Calif.) leaves one distance powerhouse in Jesuit High of Sacramento for another in Columbia. Wihtol placed second at the Stanford cross-country meet, fourth at Mt. SAC, and seventh at the California state meet. Zach Richard (Scottsdale, Ariz.), a promising middle distance runner, and Justin Fiske (Yuba City, Calif.), yet another talented west coast distance runner, completed the impressive class.
Brian Anderson Bunnell, Fla./Flagler Palm Coast Distance/XC
Liam Boylan-Pett Bath, Mich./Bath Community Distance/XC
Justin Fiske Yuba City, Calif./Yuba City Mid. Distance
John Hiestand Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North Mid. Distance
Greg Hughes Northfield, N.J./Mainland Distance/XC
Robert Longoria Hope Mills, N.C./Southview Distance/XC
Ryan McMahon Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice Sprints
Jonah Rathbun Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School Mid. Distance
Zach Richard Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain Mid. Distance
John Wihtol Carmichael, Calif./Jesuit Distance/XC
Women's Track and Field and Cross Country
Coaches Willy Wood, Craig Lake and assistant coach Jeff Petersmeyer brought in a talented class of 13 women with equal emphasis on cross country, distance and sprint events.
Carmen Ballard (Kelowna, B.C.) was a dominant runner as a Canadian Junior, placing second in her nation in cross-country while showing immense talent at the middle distance events as well. Shelby Leland (Redwood Valley, Calif.) and Stephanie Lenihan (Yakima, Wash.) are both standout distance and cross country prospects. Middle distance star Kurstin Nelms (Spotsylvania, Va.) comes from a good gene pool, her father, Mike, a former Washington Redskin and her sister an All-American runner at North Carolina. Rachel Belt (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), Oriana Campbell (Oxnard, Calif.), Elizabeth Gill (San Anselmo, Calif.) and Anne Kennedy (Santa Barbara, Calif.), talented runners all, show that the Columbia reputation for producing standout distance runners reaches the West Coast. Ana Valdez (Pharr, Tex.) and Rachel Mistur (Cleveland, Ohio), a transfer from Wake Forest, round out the distance recruits.
The Lions brought in their best group of sprinters in years to compliment the strong distance corps. Osamuede Iyoha (Ann Arbor, Mich), a nationally ranked sprinter and hurdler, won the Mideast Meet of Champions hurdle title. Whitney Crayton (Houston, Tex.) was also nationally ranked in those events. Erika Moses (Mentone, Calif.) is more of a straight out sprinter, but was one of the best in California last year.
Carmen Ballard MD/XC Fr.-C Kelowna, B.C., Canada/Kelowna Christian
Rachel Belt D/XC Fr.-C Bainbridge Island, Wa./Bainbridge
Oriana Campbell D/XC Fr.-C Oxnard, Calif./Ventura
Whitney Crayton Spr./Hurdles Fr.-C Houston, Tex./Alief Elsik
Elizabeth Gill D/XC Fr.-C San Anselmo, Calif./Branson School
Osamuede Iyoha Spr./Hurdles Fr.-B Ann Arbor, Calif./Pioneer
Anne Kennedy MD/XC Fr.-C Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara
Shelby Leland MD/XC Fr.-C Redwood Valley, Calif./Ukiah
Stephanie Lenihan D/XC Fr.-C Yakima, Wa./Davis
Rachel Mistur D/XC Jr.-B Cleveland, Oh./St. Joseph's
Erika Moses Spr. Fr.-C Mentone, Calif./Redlands Valley East
Kurstin Nelms MD Fr.-C Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania
Ana Valdez MD Fr.-C Pharr, Tex./PSJA North
