University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Track & Field Announce Early Signees
11/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field/Cross Country
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss track and field coach Jon Stuart announced the signing of nine student-athletes to the program. Brooklyn Polk, Natayla Hall-Dekleva, Nadia Maffo will all be on campus in January and will be a part of this spring's squad. Callie Jones, Adriana Mitchell, Chenelle Ricketts, Kate Mattox, Chedlin Sagesse, and McKinely West will be joining the Golden Eagles in the Fall of 2017.
"First, I would like to thank assistant coaches, John Ellis, Aaron Kindt and Jennifer Svoboda, for assembling an excellent group of athletes; they worked tirelessly on recruiting each individual athlete," Stuart said. "I'm very pleased with the early class of student-athletes. This group brings a lot of talent, character and academic success to our track and field family. We certainly are not finished yet, because there is an April signing period in a few months, but we are thrilled about the immediate impact this group brings."
Polk of Como, Miss., currently competes in the 400m for Barton Community College. As a freshman last spring, she recorded an eighth-place finish in the 400m at the NJCAA Indoor National Championship. At the NJCAA Indoor Championship, Polk registered a sixth-place finish in the 4x400m relay, earning 2015 NJCCA Indoor All-American. At the NJCCA Outdoor Championships, she placed sixth in the 4x400m. She has a personal best of 56.68 in the 400m.
Hall-Dekleva of Victoria, Australia, currently competes at Clonard College in the 800m and 1500m. She is the Victorian All School 800m Champion. She placed sixth in the 800m and sixth in the 1500m at the Australian Jr. Championships, and also had a Top 25 finish at the U-20 Australian Cross Country Championships. Hall-Dekleva has a personal best of 2:13 in the 800m and 4:35 in the 1500m.
Maffo of Udine, Italy, is a senior at Stringher High School where she competes in the hammer throw. She placed third at the 2016 Italian National Championships. Maffo is a Udine Regional Champion and a Udine Regional Hammer Throw record holder. Maffo has a personal best of 58'24.
Jones of Mobile, Ala., is a senior at Cottage Hill Christian Academy, where she competes in the heptathlon, long jump, triple jump and javelin. She is a three-time Alabama Long Jump State Champion, three-time Alabama Triple Jump State Champion, two-time Alabama Javelin State Champion and is the 2016 New-Balance Nationals Javelin Bronze Medalist. She has personal bests of 150'11 in javelin, 39'9.5 in the triple jump, and 18'8.5 in the long jump. She has a personal best of 4,558 points in the heptathlon.
Mitchell of Crawfordville, Fla., is a senior at Florida High School, where she competes in the long jump and triple jump. She is the 2016 Florida Triple Jump State Champion, and placed third at the 2016 Florida State Championship in the long jump. She has a personal best of 18'7 in the long jump and 39'1.5 in the triple jump.
Ricketts of Oakland Park, Fla., currently competes at Barton Community College where she runs sprints. She placed seventh in the 400m at the NJCAA Outdoor National Championship, and was also named a NJCAA Outdoor All-American. She has a personal best of 55.29 in the 400m.
Mattox of Starkville, Miss., is a senior at Starkville High School where she runs the 1600m, 3200m, and the 5k races. She is a three-time Gatorade Runner of the Year and is a 16-time State Champion (6-Cross Country Individual Championships, 5-1600m State Championships, and 5-3200m State Championships). She is also undefeated in Mississippi State Championships. Mattox has personal bests of 5:05 in the 1600m, 10:56 in the 3200m, and 17:59 in the 5k.
Sagesse of Lake Worth, Fla., currently competes at Barton Community College in the 60m, 100m, 220m, and the long jump. He placed seventh at the NJCCA Regional Championships and placed fourth in the 4x1 relay at the Outdoor NJCCA Championship. He has personal bests of 6.76 in the 60m, 10.42 in the 100m, 21.00 in the 200m and a personal best of 22'9 in the long jump.
West of Camilla, Ga., currently is competing at Barton Community College in sprints. He competes in the 60m, 100m, 200m, and the 400m. He is an Indoor and Outdoor NJCCA All-American. West placed fifth in the 60m and fourth in the 200m at the Indoor NJCAA Championships and placed fourth in the 4X1 Relay at the Outdoor NJCCA Championship. He has personal bests of 6.75 in the 60m, 10.38 in the 100m, 20.93 in the 200m and 48.92 in the 400m.
