Track And Field Adds Three For 2009-10
July 06, 2009 | Track & Field
July 6, 2009
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Miles Coats (Lacy, Wash.), Drew Kanz (Tabernacle, N.J.) and Joseph Samuels (Charlotte, N.C.) have signed national letters-of-intent to compete for and attend East Carolina University in the fall, according to an announcement by head coach Curt Kraft Monday. With the additions, the 2009-10 signing class now totals 25 student-athletes.
Coats will compete in the jumping events for the Pirates and looks to make an immediate impact at the Conference USA level. He won the Washington 2A, 3A, 4A state title in the high jump and triple jump this past outdoor season with marks of 48-6.0 feet and 6-6.0 feet while taking the 2008 2A state championship in the triple jump (46-11.0). Additionally, Coats turned in a career-best triple jump mark of 49-8.5 at the Shaner Invite in May.
Kraft on Coats: "Miles is an outstanding athlete and we are excited to have such a talented triple jumper sign with our program. Adding someone of his caliber in that event was definitely a priority for us. He helps fill a very important hole in the team and we are quite optimistic about his future."
Kanz is a multi-dimensional athlete that should help ECU both in the track and field, as he is currently ranked ninth nationally in the high jump. The Seneca High School graduate broke the Burlington County high jump record in 2009 with a 7-1.0 foot clearance in the high jump and became only the second male in history to win four events at the County Open (high jump, long jump, triple jump, high hurdles). Kanz also won the long jump while placing in the top three in the other three events at the state Group 3 meet. His career-best time in the hurdles is 14.42 while his personal-high mark in the long jump sits at 22-10.5.
Kraft on Kanz: Signing Drew will really help move our program in the right direction. Anytime you can bring in someone that is ranked in the top 10 nationally, it strengthens you right away. Drew's ability to help us in three different events will be an integral part to our championship team."
Samuels is a versatile athlete that will compete in the hurdles and multi-events for the Pirates. He took fourth-place in the 400m intermediate hurdles at the 2009 Nike Outdoor National Championships, turning in a time of 53.62. Samuels also boasts a career-high time of 14.62 in the 110m intermediate hurdles and a personal-best mark of 22-10.5 in the long jump. Competing for Vance High School, he finished third in the 300m hurdles at the 2009 North Carolina 4A Outdoor Championships, clocking in at 38.10 while capturing fourth in the long jump (22-10.5).
Kraft on Samuels: "Joseph is an athlete in every sense of the word. After spending most of his career as a long jumper, he learned to hurdle during his senior year. It definitely paid off as he showed fourth in the 400m intermediate hurdles at nationals. He is a quick learner and will be a great help to us in the hurdles and multi-events.
