Feb. 3, 2011
COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M added another pair of athletes to its 2011 signing class on a day they were departing campus for New York City, where they will compete in the New Balance Collegiate Invitational this weekend.
Signing their national letters of intent on Thursday were distance runner Henry Lelei and thrower Brett Sharp. The two additions bring the total number of athletes the Aggies have received a national letter of intent to 29, which includes 17 men and 12 women.
Lelei, a key addition as the 10th distance runner in this Aggie signing class, is a native of Kapsabet, Kenya (Tulon Secondary School) who currently competes for Central Arizona Junior College. Sharp, a discus thrower for Longview Pine Tree, won the State 4A title in 2010 and has a best of 179-10 in the event. Sharp is the third thrower among the A&M men's group that has signed a letter of intent this season.
This past fall Lelei claimed the 2010 NJCAA national cross country championship title in a meet record of 23:29 on an 8,000-meter course to defeat the field by 25 seconds. Central Arizona also captured the team championship with 105 points to better South Plains by nine points. In 2009, Lelei finished as the runner-up at the NJCAA cross country meet.
Last spring Lelei won the steeplechase title at the 2010 NJCAA Outdoor Championships while also placing second in the 1,500 and third in the 5,000. He has recorded best times of 9:01.24 in the steeplechase along with 3:52.33 in the 1,500 and 14:13.75 in the 5,000.
Texas A&M, with it's women's team ranked No. 2 in the nation and the men's squad ranked No. 3, will compete in the Armory on Friday and Saturday. The Aggies have enjoyed recent individual, relay and team success at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, which is a scored meet. Action on Friday begins at 11 a.m. for A&M athletes and at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday.