Track & Field Lands Two Signees for 2017 Season
Sep 28, 2016 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
NEW ORLEANS – Tulane track & field has added two incoming student-athletes for the 2017 season, director Eric Peterson announced this week. Kenyan sprinter Raymond Kibet and Alyssa Applebee, a pole-vaulter from the University of Missouri pursuing her Masters in management, will bring their talents to New Orleans this year.
Kibet, who comes to Tulane as a freshman, is hot off an appearance in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. He won gold at the 2015 African Games as part of the 4x400 relay team and also finished seventh in the 400 meter sprint before placing second at the Kenyan National Championship, which allowed him to qualify for the country's Olympic team. In Rio, Kibet competed in the men's 400m dash, placing fifth in his heat on a time of 46.15.
"Obviously Raymond is already a highly accomplished athlete," director of track and field and cross country Eric Peterson said. "He will have every opportunity to develop and improve as an athlete while here at Tulane. He is smart, mature and completely committed to excellence and high achievement both as an athlete and student. I'm thrilled to have him in our program."
Applebee competed at Mizzou in her undergraduate years, leading the team in the pole vault with in all but one meet in 2016. She set a personal record of 4.22m/13-10.25 at the 2016 NCAA West Regional in Lawrence, Kansas, qualifying her for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. At the meet, she earned First-Team All-American honors with a seventh-place finish, jumping 4.20m/13-9.25 for a no. 2 mark in the Missouri record book. She was a 2015 NCAA West Preliminary Round qualifier in her event and also owns the no. 2 all-time mark in indoor pole vault (4.06m/13-3.75).
"We are very excited that Alyssa has chosen to join us here at Tulane for her final year of collegiate eligibility," associate head track and field coach Doug Fraley said. "We have a solid group of returning pole vaulters and the addition of Alyssa gives us top-end power at both the conference and national level."
Though the athletes of Tulane track and field don't start official workouts until November, the team has been training consistently in the offseason working on strength and conditioning drills to prepare for the season opener in December.
Fans can keep up with Tulane track and field and cross country by following on Twitter (@GreenWaveXCTF) or finding the team on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
