MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head track and field coach Paul Brueske announced Friday the addition of five new student-athletes to the 2010-11 roster, bring the total of number of signees for the program to 11.

2010-11 USA Track and Field Signees:
Women’s Team
Johnnie Borries – Throws/Combined Events – University of Georgia (Mobile, Ala.)
Borries returns to Alabama after starting her collegiate athletic career at Georgia. In her senior year of high school in 2008, Borries grabbed three AHSAA state championship titles in the heptathlon, shot put and javelin for St. Paul’s High School. Borries went on to finish 13th in the pentathlon at the 2009 SEC Indoor Championships for UGA. She comes to USA with a grade-point average over 3.0.

Leah Hixon – Jumps/Combined Events – Etowah High School (Woodstock, Ga.)
Hixon was the Georgia High School Athletic Association 2010 Region 5 long jump champion. In her senior year, she collected three county championships in the long jump, triple jump, and the 400 meters, earning her the title of 2010 Cherokee Tribune Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Hixon went on to the Georgia state championship meet for her third consecutive appearance, where she placed sixth in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump. Hixon is also a recipient of USA’s Presidential Academic Scholarship.

Melissa McCluskey – Sprints – Pensacola Catholic High School (Pensacola, Fla.)
McCluskey finished eighth in the 400 meters at the Florida High School Athletic Association state championships, after finishing fourth in the event at the regional meet.  The Pensacola, Fla. sprinter qualified for the regional meet with her second consecutive championship in the event at the FHSAA District 1 meet. McCluskey also graduated from Pensacola Catholic High School with a 3.0 grade-point average.

Marian Epperson – Throws – Bob Jones High School (Madison, Ala.)
Epperson recorded a pair of titles in the shot put and the discus at the 2010 Alabama High School Athletic Association 6A Section 4 Championships, following up by placing fourth in the shot put and fifth in the discus at the state meet. Epperson is also a recipient of USA’s Presidential Academic Scholarship.

Men’s Team
James Grantham – Distance – Rend Lake Junior College (Ina, Ill.)
Grantham was a National Junior College Athletic Association national championship qualifier in six different events and was also a member of the NJCAA All-American Distance Medley Relay team for Rend Lake (Ill.) J.C. in 2010. In his senior year of high school, Grantham placed 33rd in the FHSAA state cross country meet and was named Cross Country Runner of the Year by the Herald-Tribune. He was also the state champion in the 1,600 meters in 2007.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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