ITHACA, N.Y. – Nathan Taylor, The George E. Heekin '29 Coach of Men's Track & Field and Cross Country, has just announced an exciting collection of 28 newcomers who will join the Big Red men's program for the 2014-15 academic year.
 
"I feel strongly that this year's outstanding class, coupled with the Top 10 recruiting class from 2013, will cover all the events and help keep Cornell Track at the top of the Ivy League," Taylor said. "This class has more than a dozen athletes who could score at the Heps as freshmen. Needless to say, the staff and I are very excited to see what the future holds for them."
 
Men's Track is coming off another fantastic season, with a clean sweep of both the Indoor and Outdoor Heptagonal team titles, while also securing an Indoor IC4A team championship. The freshmen newcomers will look to bolster the Big Red's title defenses in 2014-15. The Class of 2018 hails from 15 different states, while also includes two international athletes. While still green at the collegiate level, it is an impressive group, with several already competing at the national and international levels.
 
- The Class of 2018 -
 
Oseoba Airewele | Ithaca HS | Ithaca, N.Y. | Jumps
Airewele has the tools to have an immediate impact in the triple jump at Cornell. He was the Co-Captain of the Ithaca High Varsity Track and Field his senior season, helping the team to a Section IV Class A Championship. He posted the top triple jump of 46' 6" en route to earning the top spot at the section championships. He qualified as a finalist in the triple jump at the NY State Championships. He was named to the All Southern Tier Athletic Conference Team at the conclusion of the season.
 
Tim Boston | Suffern HS | Suffern, N.Y. | Mid-Distance 
Boston looks to bolster Cornell's strong middle-distance group. He has posted personal bests of 1:54.56 in the 800, 2:29.74 in the 1000 and 4:17.38 in the 1600 during his career at Suffern. He comes from a lineage of Big Red runners, as his father, Oral Boston, was on the Cornell Men's Track team 25 years ago.
 
Lionel Chambers | Parsippany HS | Parsippany, N.J. | Mid-Distance
Chambers had an extremely successful junior season. Primarily competing in the middle distances, he earned 1st Team All-Conference, All-County, and All-Area Honors. His best race is the 400, where he has marked a personal best time of 49.27.               
 
Raymond Chang | Shanghai American School | Shanghai, China | Sprints  
Chang had extremely successful senior season. He was named Asia Pacific Athletic Conference and Shanghai International Sport Athletic Conference MVP, posting a personal best 100 of 10.94. He also was a key cog in record breaking relay performance in the 4x1, sprint medley, and 4x4 events. He will look to contribute in the sprint and relays during his debut season for the Big Red.
 
Sam Chauvin | Corning HS | Corning, N.Y. | Distance
Chauvin competed in the distance races during his career at Corning High School. He took home 5th place in the 3200 at the New York State Outdoor Championships, posting a personal best 3200 of 9:11.03. He looks to bolster the Big Red in the distance events, while also participating on the cross-country squad.
 
Alex Clapacs | Gilmour Academy | Cleaveland, Ohio | Mid-Distance
Clapacs was a standout hockey player, before transitioning to track his senior year. He took home 1st place in the 800 at the Outdoor Ohio State Championships, posting a personal best 800 of 1:53.05. He also played a pivotal role in Gilmour capturing 1st place in both the 4x4 and 4x8 relays at the state championships.
 
Ross Clarke | Franklin HS | Somerset, N.J. | Mid-Distance
Clarke blossomed into one of the best middle distance runners in the state during his senior season. He took home 4th place in the 800 at the New Jersey Meet of Champions. His personal best in the 800 is 1:52.92. He was named Somerset County Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the academic year.
 
Stanford Cooper | Cherry Creek HS | Greenwood Village, Colo. | Sprints 
Cooper played a major role in Cherry Creek's sprint events. He took 3rd in the 400 and 2nd in the 200 at the USATF Colorado Jr. Olympic Championships. He has personal bests of 11.00 in the 100, 21.85 in the 200, and 48.31 in the 400. He will look to have an immediate impact on the Big Red's sprint events.
 
Dominic DeLuca | Dallas HS | Dallas, Pa. | Distance
DeLuca was one of the top distance runners in the state during his senior season. He started the year by taking home 1st place at the PIAA AA Cross-Country Championships. He took home 4th place in the 3000 at the high school division of the Penn Relays, marking a personal best of 8:21.89. He then shattered his district record with a new personal best 9:03.54 in the 3200. He went on to finish 5th in the 3200 at PIAA AA State Championships.
 
Josh Dyrland | Irondequoit HS | Irondequoit, N.Y. | Distance
Dyrland had strong senior year at the high school level, taking home 3rd place at both the New York Federation Cross-Country Meet and the Nike New York Regional Meet. On the track, he was one of the best steeplechase runners in the country. He took home 6th place in the 3000 steeplechase at the New Balance Outdoor National Championship. He has personal bests of 6:03.69 in the 2000 steeple and 9:35.28 in the 3000 steeple.
 
Jared Failor | Cedar Falls HS | Cedar Falls, Iowa | Mid-Distance
Failor was an instrumental cog on the Cedar Falls relay teams, helping the team post a 7:50.98 to score a 3rd place finish at the Iowa Outdoor State Championships. At 6'5", he will likely improve greatly with further strength development.
 
Winston Hallam-Eames | Nathan Hale HS | Seattle, Wash. | Throws
Hallam-Eames was one of the top throwers in the Pacific Northwest. He had a fantastic final two seasons at Nathan Hale, taking home the 3A State Championship in the discus both years, while also qualifying for the finals in the shot put. He has personal bests of 185' 9" in the discus and 52' 2" in the shot put. His performance in the field events helped his team to a 2nd place finish at the 3A State Championships his senior season.
 
Elly Kipkogei | Alliance HS | Nairobi, Kenya | Distance
Kipkogei comes to Cornell through the prestigious KENSAP academic program. He is a passionate runner despite not competeting competitively during his high school career. He will look to run competitively for the Big Red this coming fall.
 
Myles Lazarou | Northern Guilford HS | Summerfield, N.C. | Jumps
Lazarou enters Cornell as one of the most decorated prep high jumpers over the last two years. He competed exclusively for his club team, Platinum Sports, where he served as team captain the last two seasons. In 2013, he earned All-America honors after placing third in the high jump at the United States Track and Field Junior Olympic National Championships. He recorded a personal best 7' clearance, which was the best in North Carolina and 3rd best jump all-time jump by a prep competitor in the state. His personal best clearance also ranked in the Top 20 nationally for the 2013-14 Indoor/Outdoor season.
 
Christian Leefmans | Exeter HS | Exeter, N.H. | Mid-Distance
Leefmans focused primarily on the 400 during his high school career, posting a personal best of 49.88. He took home 2nd place in the 400 at the New Hampshire State Meet his senior season. He will look to transition to the middle distances for the Big Red.
 
Kelsey Nedd | McDonough School | Randallstown, Md. | Jumps
Nedd competed primarily in the jumps during a successful high school career. He focused on the triple jump during his senior season, posting the top mark of 45' 7" in the triple jump at the Prep School League Championships. He helped the team to MIAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in both his junior and senior seasons. He served as team captain during his senior season.
 
Brailin Paulino | Clovis West HS | Fresno, Calif. | Sprints
Paulino has already been a major contributor on the national scene as a member of the Domincan Republic National Jr. Team. He ran a key leg of an extremely fast 4x1 relay time of 41.10 at the Central American and Caribbean Under-20 Championship, hosted in Morelia, Mexico. He will look to contribute immediately to the Big Red's sprint relay teams, after posting personal bests of 10.80 in the 100 and 21.79 in the 200.
               
Andrew Robinson | McDonough School | Owings Mill, Md. | Throws
Robinson had a distinguished throwing career at the McDonough. Serving as a team captain in both his junior and senior seasons, he took home 1st place in the shot put both seasons at the Private School State Championships. During his senior season he helped his team to a team state championship title, while also finishing 2nd in the high school division of the shot put at the Penn Relays. He was All-Baltimore Metro for indoor track his junior year and for indoor/outdoor his senior season. He was also named All MIAA Conference for both indoor and outdoor track during his junior and senior seasons. He has personal bests of 60' 2" in the shot put and 171' 0" in the discus.
 
Alex Rodriguez | Walsh Jesuit HS | Sagamore Hills, Ohio | Jumps  
Rodriguez specialized in the long jump during his high school career. He marked a career best 22' 4" jump in route to a 2nd place finish in Regionals, while also qualifying for the Ohio State Championships.
 
Will Ronchetti | Brighton HS | Brighton, N.Y. | Distance
Ronchetti had an impactful cross-country and distance career at the high school level. He finished 9th in the 3200 at the New York Outdoor State Meet during his junior season. He will look to make an immediate impact on the Big Red Cross Country team. He has personal bests of 4:16.36 in the 1600 and 9:19.22 in the 3200.
 
Jacob Shaffer | Midd-West HS | Middleburg, Pa. | Throws 
Shaffer had a highly successful career at Midd-West, leaving the school with multiple program records. He was PIAA AAA District 4 champion in the discus his senior season, marking a personal best throw of 169' 4". He was named to the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference 1st Team for the discus at the conclusion of the season.
 
Chase Silverman | New Trier HS | Winnetka, Ill. | Distance
Silverman had a successful senior season to close out his high school career. He posted a personal best 4:16.36 to take home 10th place in the 1600 at the Illinois State Meet, while improving his 3200 time by over 15 seconds to a personal best 9:12.73.
 
Blake Smith | DeWitt HS | DeWitt, Mich. | Sprints  
Smith had an extremely successful senior year at DeWitt. He finished 5th in the 60 with a personal best of 6.99 at the Michigan Indoor Track Series State Championships. Outdoors, he took home 2nd place in the 100 at the Michigan High School Athletic Association State Championship. He also marked a personal best 100 of 10.77 at the AAU district qualifier.
 
James Smith | Wayzata HS | Wayzata, Minn. | Sprints
Like his twin-brother Michael, James was a major contributor in the 400 and the relay teams. He took home 4th place in the 400 at the Minnesota State Championships, while also running solid legs in 1st place finishes for both the 4x2 and 4x4 relay teams. He has a personal best 400 of 48.92.
 
Michael Smith | Wayzata HS | Wayzata, Minn. | Sprints 
Smith was a standout performer from day one at Wayzata High. He was an All-Section and All-State selection in each of his four years. He helped the team to a Minnesota State Championship his sophomore season, while he led the team to runner-up finishes in his freshman and senior seasons. Individually, he competed primarily in the 400, while he also served as the anchor on the 4x2 and 4x4 relay teams. He helped Wayzata to three consecutive state championships in the 4x4 relay. In his final two years he also led the team to state championships in the 4x2 relay, including setting a new state record in his junior season. Individually, he took home the state championship in the 400 his senior season, running a school record 47.40. He also has personal bests of 10.81 in the 100 and 21.98 in the 200.
 
Michael Wang | Acalanes HS | Lafayette, Calif. | Distance
Wang had a very successful junior season at Acalanes, taking home 1st place in the 1600 with a personal best time of 4:14.67 at the 2013 Sacramento Meet of Champions. He will look to make an immediate impact in the distance races for the Big Red.
 
Ryan Weigel | Southlake Carroll | Southlake, Texas | Sprints
Weigel will look to have an immediate impact in the short sprints in his first season for the Big Red. He will focus solely on track, after a successful football career at Texas power Southlake Carroll. He has an extremely fast personal best 100 of 10.62.
 
Mark Zavrl | Phillips Exeter Academy | Exeter, N.H. | Throws
Zavrl was one of the top high school throwers in New England during his senior season. He paced the field in the javelin, while finishing 3rd in the shot put at the New England Prep School Championships. He posted personal best throws of 194' in the javelin and 50' 3" in the shot put at the event.