November 23, 2004
USI women’s cross country/track inks two
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women’s cross country/track and field team announced that Kate Powell (Columbus, Indiana) and Allison Shafer (Plainville, Indiana) have signed national letters of intent during the early signing period to compete for Head Coach Mike Hillyard’s Screaming Eagles in 2005-06.
Powell is a senior at Columbus North High School where she has earned six varsity letters in cross country and track and field. She finished 64th at the IHSAA Cross Country Championships this fall and was All-Conference in 2003 and 2004 in track and field as well as All-State honorable mention this past spring.
Her performance at the IHSAA Cross Country Championships helped CNHS to a fifth-place finish. Powell has personal-best times of 15 minutes, 24 seconds in the 4k five minutes, 39 seconds in the 1,600 meters and 11 minutes, 57 seconds in the 3,200 meters.
Shafer is a senior at North Daviess Junior/Senior High School where she has earned eight varsity letters in volleyball, basketball, track, and cross country. She was the most valuable distance runner for NDHS’s track team in 2002 and 2003 and helped her cross country team to the South West Indiana Athletic Conference championship last season. She also was named MVP of her cross country team three times.
A three-time All-Area MVP in Cross Country, Shafer took the SWIAC championship this fall. She won conference titles in the 800 meters, 1,600 meters, and 3,200 meters as a junior during the 2004 track and field season. She was the 2004 sectional champion in the 3,200 meters.
“I am very excited about the addition of Kate and Allie to our program,” Hillyard said. “We feel that both have a lot of room to improve at the next level.
“Kate comes from a highly successful high school program, and Allie is an individual who has more or less done things on her own,” Hillyard continued. “They have a very good understanding of basic physiological training principles, which you just don’t see much at their age. They will both compete for a top 5 spot on the team next fall.”
Dan McDonnell,
USI Sports Information
