July 22, 2004

DETROIT - Wayne State University head cross country coach Rick Cummins announced today that 11 student-athletes (four women and seven men) have signed National Letters of Intent to attend WSU this fall.

The newcomers to the women's squad will be Meghan Wafer (Redford, Mich./Thurston), Sarah Snyder (Quincy, Mich.), Sarah Kearfott (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) and Kara Kessler (Ionia, Mich.). The 2003 WSU women's cross country team was third in the GLIAC, fourth at the NCAA Regional meet and tied-for-16th at the national championship meet.

The men's newcomers are Kevin Christensen (Battle Creek, Mich./Pennfield), Mike Delaney (Williamston, Mich.), Randy LaPrairie (Warren, Mich./Center Line), Dave Lucas (Dearborn, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) Chris Mehay (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay), Abdull Saleh (Dearborn, Mich./Fordson) and Dave Smith (Byron, Mich./Byron Area). In 2003, the Warrior men's cross country team placed sixth at the NCAA Division II National Championship meet after placing second at both the GLIAC Championship and NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet. Six contributors from last year's squad graduated including two-time All-American Nick Allen.

"I am excited with our incoming class," stated Cummins. "All of these young men and women have the ability to contribute to our program. A few of them I expect to contribute to the top five right away and the rest either need to recover from recent injuries or get some more mileage in their legs. They all seem to be quality people that have the team interest ahead of their own. They are new to our program and there will be an adjustment period, but I like how our team is shaping up for the next couple of years. I am looking forward to August."

Wafer is a 2004 graduate of Redford Thurston where she earned nine letters for the Eagles (one in cross country, four in track, three in volleyball and one in basketball). She served as a team captain in volleyball, track and basketball. Wafer placed 27th at the 2003 Division 2 state cross country meet in a time of 19:05.45, finished 13th at the 2003 state track meet in the 1600m (5:23.62) and placed 19th in the 3200m (11:57.60) at the 2004 state track meet.

The daughter of Michael and Alicia Wafer, Meghan plans to major in pre-med.

Snyder is a 2004 graduate of Quincy where she earned four varsity letters in cross country for the Orioles and coaches Rob Evans and Kevin Paradine. She helped QHS to the 2003 Big 8 Conference title and was an all-conference and all-area selection. She also earned varsity letters in basketball, track and volleyball and served as a team captain in both basketball and track. Snyder was a four-year academic all-conference honoree.

The daughter of Glenn and Julie Snyder, Sarah plans to major in pre-med.

Kearfott ran two years (2002 and 2003) at Schoolcraft Community College and placed 30th at the 2002 National Junior College Athletic Association championships with a time of 21:08.1. She finished 23rd at the 2003 NJCAA Region XII meet in a time of 22:36. Kearfott was a two-time Academic All-NJCAA selection and also served as a team captain.

Kessler is a 2004 graduate of Ionia where she earned two varsity letters in cross country for the Bulldogs. She was a second team all-league selection in 2002 after finishing eighth and was first team all-league in 2003 after placing fifth. Kessler was named first team all-county and academic all-state. She also earned varsity letters in soccer and track and served as a team captain in both cross country and soccer. She placed 67th at the 2003 Division 2 state meet in a personal-best time of 19:44 after finishing 73rd in team scoring in 2002. Kessler finished seventh in the 3200m at the 2004 state championship in a time of 12:25.

The daughter of Ted and Susan Kessler, Kara plans to major in physical therapy.