STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford strengthened its cross country and track and field programs with its fall signing class. Chris Miltenberg, Stanford's Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, announced Monday the signing of 14 to National Letters of Intent. Additions will be announced in the spring.
Men's signees are Liam Anderson (Corte Madera, Calif./Redwood HS), Devin Hart (Point Pleasant, N.J./ Point Pleasant Borough HS), Charles Hicks (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School), Karson Lippert (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS), Max Manson (Superior, Colo./Monarch HS), Ryan Oosting, (Arlington, Mass./Arlington HS) and Dorien Simon (Lakewood, Wash./Lakes HS).
Women's signees are Grace Connolly (Natick, Mass./Natick HS), Kristin Fahy (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS), Lily Flynn (New Rochelle, N.Y./The Ursuline School), Morgan Foster (Phoenix, Ariz./Chandler HS), Alexa Rossum (Atlanta, Ga./Buford HS), Ellie Talius (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake HS), and Laurel Wong (Salinas, Calif./Santa Catalina School).
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Liam Anderson (Corte Madera, Calif./Redwood HS)
Personal Bests: 1600 - 4:09.31; 3200 - 8:52.74.
Bay Area product Liam Anderson won the Nike Cross Nationals on Saturday in course-record time, running 14:57.6 over 5K to win by more than three seconds. Anderson is a two-time California Division III cross country champion, the reigning state 1,600-meter track champion, and is the California Gatorade Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year, the first from Northern California to receive the honor since German Fernandez in 2007. Anderson was a three-time NXN qualifier and a third-place finisher in 2017. He has captured three North Coast Section Meet of Champions track titles: two in the 1,600 and one in the 3,200. His 3,200 best of 8:52.74 came at the Arcadia Invitational. He ran 4:09.31 in his state-winning 1,600 last spring.
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Grace Connolly (Natick, Mass./Natick HS)
Personal bests: Mile - 4:49.34, Two-mile - 10:41.79; 5K (XC) - 16:35.3.
Grace Connolly is a two-time Massachusetts Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year who was second in the mile – in a best of 4:49.34 -- at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Connolly grew up running with her mom, Christina, the 1986 Big East outdoor 5,000 champ. Connolly, ninth at the 2016 Foot Locker nationals, is a three-time Massachusetts All-State cross country champion, capturing her most recent title last week by more than a minute in the snow and leading Natick to the state title. Connolly was third at the recent Northeast Regional championship, advancing to the Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals on Dec. 8. Connolly, who also has four All-State titles on the track, is ranked No. 6 in the nation in cross country by Dyestat and is the No. 4 senior.
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Kristin Fahy (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS)
Personal bests: 3,200 - 10:16.45; 1,600 - 4:50.26; Steeplechase – 10:58.06; 3,000 - 9:44.19.
Kristin Fahy won the Foot Locker West region cross country championship on Saturday and will be the hometown favorite at Foot Locker nationals on Dec. 8 in San Diego. She recently captured the California state Division II cross country title, running 17:22.6 over 5K. Fahy is the sister of Stanford's Pac-12 steeplechase champion Steven Fahy and Georgetown All-America Darren Fahy. Kristin was second in the steeplechase, and the second high school runner, at the U.S. junior nationals, running 10:58.06. She was fourth in the state 3,200 on the track last spring in a best of 10:16.45 and won the prestigious Mt. SAC Invitational Sweepstakes race in cross country this fall. She owns back-to-back CIF-San Diego Section titles in the 3,200 and is a three-time section champ in cross country, recently leading La Costa Canyon to the Division II championship.
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Lily Flynn (New Rochelle, N.Y./The Ursuline School)
Personal bests: 1,000 (2:45.83); 800 – 2:09.74; 1,500 – 4:27.80; Mile – 4:48.26; 3,000 – 10:05.80.
Lily Flynn ran the second-fastest indoor 1,000 in New York history, bumping Mary Cain to third, when she ran 2:45.83 to win the state championship and set a meet record. Flynn is among three sisters, including her twin Sarah, who also will run in NCAA Division I next fall. Lily anchored her team to the 2018 New Balance Outdoor Nationals title in the distance medley relay and was ninth in the 800 in a best of 2:09.74. Flynn also is her league's soccer player of the year as a defender and has three all-section honors in that sport. She holds 15 school records, including on relays, and is a 29-time All-Westchester County honoree in track and field.
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Morgan Foster (Phoenix, Ariz./Chandler HS)
Personal bests: 800 - 2:07.06; 1,600 - 4:52.79; 3,200 - 10:52.98.
Morgan Foster made an immediate impact as a high school runner, running an Arizona record 2:07.06 in the 800 at the Portland Track Festival as a freshman. Foster has since placed third (2018, 2:08.38) and fourth (2017, 2:07.63) at the Brooks PR Invitational. At the Arizona state Division I meet, Foster has won six titles – three in the 4x800, two in the 800, one in the 1,600 – and led Chandler to three team championships, plus two more in cross country. She holds school records in the 800, 1,600, and 5,000. Foster comes from an athletic family, her father Bruce was a two-time Olympic trials qualifier in swimming.
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Devin Hart (Point Pleasant, N.J./ Point Pleasant Borough HS)
Personal bests: 1,600 - 4:09.49; 2 Mile - 8:53.36; 3,000 – 8:22.24; 5,000 - 14:44.06.
Devin Hart won the high school 3,000 at the Penn Relays last year and ranks as the No. 5 distance recruit in the country by MileSplit. Within 24 hours in June, Hart placed third in the two-mile at the Brooks PR Invitational near Seattle in 8:53.26 and won the New Jersey Meet of Champions 3,200 in 8:58.58. Hart has five Meet of Champions titles: two in cross country, two in the outdoor 3,200, and one in the indoor two mile. Last spring, Hart was third in the 5,000 at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals and owns a 10th place at the Foot Locker cross country nationals. Hart advanced again to Foot Locker Nationals, on Dec. 8, by placing fifth at the Northeast Regional. Hart's 9:06.11 was the No. 3 indoor 3,200 time in the country last year and the best by a non-senior.
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Charles Hicks (Jacksonville, Fla., The Bolles School)
Personal bests: 1,600 - 4:11.46; 3,200 - 8:58.78.
Charles Hicks recently won the Nike Cross Southeast Regional title and was 14th in the national race. Hicks earned national attention when he won the Manhattan Cross Country Invitational Eastern State Championship with the 11th-fastest time ever (12:15.2) on the venerable 2.5-mile course at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. A week earlier, he was fourth at the prestigious Great American Cross Country Festival. Hicks, born and lived in London until age 12, is a two-time Florida 2A cross country champion, leading The Bolles School to team titles each time, its first championships since 1985. As a sophomore, Hicks reached the Foot Locker cross country nationals and was ninth last year at the Nike Cross Nationals. In track, Hicks captured state 2A championships in the 1,600, 3,200, and 4x800 relay.
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Karson Lippert (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS)
Personal bests: 200 – 21.48, 21.28w; 400 – 46.91.
Karson Lippert is the No. 1 400-meter runner in California in the class of 2019. Lippert ran 46.91 as a sophomore to place second in the state in the second-fastest time in CIF-San Diego Section history. Lippert won the section title in the 400 and was second in the 200 in 2017, but was sidelined by injury in the 2018 championship season. Lippert also plays football for the Mavericks as a running back and safety.
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Max Manson (Superior, Colo./Monarch HS)
Personal best: Pole vault - 17-3 ½ (5.27m).
Max Manson won the 2018 Colorado 5A championship by breaking a 32-year-old state meet pole vault record held by his father, Pat Manson, a two-time U.S. top-ranked vaulter and three-time Pan Am Games gold medalist. Max jumped 17-3 ½ (5.27 meters) to edge his father's mark by a half-inch. Max's mother Amy was an All-America distance runner and three-time Olympic trials qualifier. Max was the 2017 Junior Olympic national champion, and placed third at the 2018 New Balance Indoor Nationals and fourth at the U.S. junior nationals. He is a champion climber, having summited all 53 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks by age 12. He was Colorado's Young Climber of the Year and owns two divisional speed-climbing championships.
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Ryan Oosting (Arlington, Mass./Arlington HS)
Personal bests: - 1,600 - 4:11.93; 2 Mile - 8:53.46; Mile – 4:11.78; 5K – 14:36.13; 3,000 – 8:21.56.
Ryan Oosting, the No. 2 distance recruit in the country by MileSplit, was the 2017 New Balance Outdoor Nationals champion in the 5,000, becoming the fourth consecutive winner of that event to go to Stanford, following Alex Ostberg, Will Lauer, and DJ Principe. Oosting, a dual citizen of the U.S. and the Netherlands, captured bronze at the European Junior Championships in the 3,000. On Saturday, Oosting placed 12th at the Nike Cross Nationals, to cap a season in which he won his first Massachusetts All-State cross country title and led the Spy Ponders to their first team championship. Last spring, he was fifth at the Brooks PR Invitational two mile, running 8:53.46. And he is a two-time Massachusetts Eastern State cross country winner.
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Alexa Rossum (Atlanta, Ga./Buford HS)
Personal bests: 60 – 7.59; 100 – 11.63; 200 – 23.43; 400 – 56.90.
Alexa Rossum is ranked No. 3 in the country in her class in the 200 and No. 10 in the 100. Rossum was the top high school placer in the 200 at the 2018 U.S. junior nationals, running her best of 23.43 in the prelims, and was sixth overall. Alexa teamed with twin Avian to help Buford win two Georgia state 5A team titles. Alexa won the 100 and 4x100 at the 2018 state 5A championships, and won the 100, 200, and 4x400 as a sophomore. Rossum is the daughter of Allen Rossum, a two-time NCAA indoor All-America at Notre Dame in the 55-meter dash and a 12-year NFL veteran and All-Pro kick returner. Alexa owns 2018 Junior Olympic national titles in the 200 and 4x100.
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Dorien Simon (Lakewood, Wash./Lakes HS)
Personal bests: 60 – 6.88; 100 – 10.53; 200 – 21.50.
Dorien Simon captured three Washington state 3A titles last spring, winning the 100, 200 (in a best 21.50), and 4x100. He earlier won the 100 at the Stanford Invitational. Simon is a two-sport star. As a diver, he won the 2018 District 3A championship and was third at the state 3A championships. He holds school records in the 100, 200, and in diving, with a score of 400.7 points. Simon was sixth in the 100 at the Brooks PR Invitational. Off the track, he interned at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and has interests in biomechanical engineering and physics.
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Ellie Talius (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake HS)
Personal bests: Pole vault - 13-6 (4.11m); Long jump - 18-5 (5.61m).
Ellie Talius was second at the Pole Vault Summit in Reno with a jump of 13-6 (4.11 meters), the No. 10 vault in the country by a high schooler last year. Talius was the 2017 Washington 4A champion and reached the state 4A final a year later in three events in 2018 -- the pole vault, long jump, and 4x400. Talius was the Washington state vault champion as a Level 8 gymnast in 2016. She holds school records in the pole vault, long jump and 4x400. She also ran cross country and was named Eastlake's Most Inspirational Athlete.
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Laurel Wong (Salinas, Calif./Santa Catalina School)
Personal best: Pole vault – 13-4 (4.06m).
Laurel Wong is the reigning California state pole vault champion and is the first from Santa Catalina School to win a state track and field title. Wong was the 2018 Golden West Invitational champion and was fourth at the 2017 U.S. junior nationals. Wong won two Central Coast Section titles and owns the Monterey County record of 13-4. Wong was a training partner of current Stanford All-America pole vaulter Erika Malaspina under Monterey Bay-area coach Joe Miyoshi. A former Level 9 gymnast, Wong was named Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division MVP this fall in field hockey.