Tulane Track Signs Eight Student-Athletes During Spring Period
May 8, 2003 | Track & Field
May 8, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Heather Van Norman, the Tulane women's track and field and men's and women's cross country coach has signed eight student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the spring signing period, the school announced on Thursday.
Van Norman, who is in her first year at the helm of the Green Wave program, has added five female athletes for the track and field program and three male student-athletes to the cross country team.
"I am very excited about the group we signed to join our teams," Van Norman said. "They are not just excellent athletes, but true Tulane-caliber students as well. Combining this group with our returning student-athletes is exactly what we need to compete for Conference USA titles next year."
Four of the recruits are Texas natives, while the remaining four hail from Massachusetts, California, New Hampshire and Georgia.
Gloria Asumnu (Alief, Texas) is expected to be an immediate contributor in the sprints for the Green Wave. She posted the third fastest time in Texas state history in the 100-meter dash his year. Her time of 11.40 seconds would rank as the top time in Green Wave history.
Christina Tegbe (Pflugerville, Texas) is also wrapping up an impressive high school career. She has qualified for the Texas State Championship in the long jump and the triple jump, with a personal-best triple jump of 39 feet, one-quarter inch. That mark would rank as the third-best by a Tulane athlete this season.
Eva Gordon (Atlanta, Ga.), Bessie Hatch (Ojai, Calif.) and Lauren Swenson (Southlake, Texas) will all contribute to the Wave track and cross country teams. Hatch is the 2002 California State Champion in cross country, while Swenson is a state qualifier in both cross country and the two-mile run. Gordon has posted a career-best time of 5:16 in the mile.
Tulane's men's cross country team, which returns just two runners from a year ago, will receive needed reinforcement from its three-member recruiting class. Tyler Chapman (Flowermound, Texas) has the top five-kilometer time of the group at 15:47, however, Kevin Martes (South Easton, Mass.) and Dave Posnick (Nashua, N.H.) will also be strong additions to the Wave. Martes was one of the top cross country runners in Massachusetts while fellow New Englander Posnick finished ninth in the New Hampshire Cross Country Meet of Champions.
"We were very impressed with the high school performances of all of our signees," Van Norman said. "But what we liked best about this group is they all show tremendous potential to continue to improve at the collegiate level."
The Tulane track program is currently preparing for the Conference USA Championships which will take place May 14-17 in Charlotte, N.C.
Women's Track & Field and Cross Country Signees
| Name | Event | Hometown/High School |
| Gloria Asumnu | Sprints | Alief, Texas/Elsik |
| Eva Gordon | Distance | Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody |
| Bessie Hatch | Distance | Ojai, Calif./Thacher |
| Lauren Swenson | Distance | Southlake, Texas/Carroll |
| Christina Tegbu | Jumps | Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville |
Men's Cross Country Signees
| Name | Event | Hometown/High School |
| Tyler Chapman | X-Country | Flowermound, Texas/Marcus |
| Kevin Martes | X-Country | South Easton, Mass./South Easton |
| Dave Posnick | X-Country | Nashua, N.H./Nashua |
