Florida Hauls In Seven Early Signees

GAINESVILLE, Florida, November 16. UNIVERSITY of Florida head coach Gregg Troy announced Wednesday that Michael Joyce (Sewell, N.J./St. Augustine Prep), Mathew Norton (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek) and Logan Storie (Corvallis, Ore./Corvallis) have signed National Letters of Intent to begin swimming for the men's team. He also announced that three swimmers and a diver have signed National Letters of Intent and will swim for the women in 2007-08. Florida products Julianne Lago (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) and Sarah Sykes (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School), as well as Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind./Whiteland Community) and Molly Houlton (Tuscon, Ariz./Catalina Foothills), highlight the early signing class for the women.

Joyce owns high school All-America honors in the 100 back, 200 individual medley, 400 free relay and 200 medley relay, in addition to earning USA Swimming Scholastic All-America recognition. He is a 2006 Junior National qualifier in the 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM and 400 IM, and also qualified for the 2006 U.S. Senior Nationals. Joyce led St. Augustine Prep to back-to-back state championships and captured a state title in the 200 medley relay en route to being named 2006 South Jersey High School Swimmer of the Year and garnering All-South Jersey accolades. He has also been a qualifier for the IM Xtreme Challenge in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"Michael is a little bit of a sleeper," Troy said. "He's got a lot of raw talent and comes highly recommended from his coaches in New Jersey. He's got great ability in the 400 IM that will be a benefit for our team."

Norton will come to Gainesville from Spruce Creek High School, the same school as current UF sophomore Rex Tullius (Port Orange, Fla.), where he won state championships in the 200 free, 500 free and 200 IM. At the 2006 Speedo Southern Sectional meet, he placed 12th in the 100-meter fly (58.13), and added a 17th-place showing in the 100-meter free (54.02). Norton swam for former Florida standout Ryan Lochte's father, Steve Lochte, on the Daytona Beach Speed club.

"Mathew comes with great praise from Ryan Lochte's father," Troy said. "He stands about 6-7, so he's a really big kid on the blocks. One of the best things about Mathew is that he is a very versatile athlete who can help us out in a lot of different areas."

A member of the 2006 National Junior Team and a 2008 Olympic Trials qualifier in the 200-meter, 400-meter and 1,500-meter free, Storie finished his high school career with two Oregon state titles in the 500 free and one in the 200 free. In 2006, Storie took sixth in the 1,500-meter free, eighth in the 800-meter free and 11th in the 400-meter free at the USS Spring Nationals, while also placing ninth in the 5k swim at the Open Water Nationals and 14th in the 1,500-meter race at the U.S. Summer Nationals. He also owns a 10th-place finish in the 1,500-meter free at the 2005 U.S. Nationals. In addition to his exploits in the water, Storie also served as Oregon's athlete representative to the USS National Convention twice and was a state qualifier in cross country.

"Logan is one of the best high-school distance freestylers in the country," Troy said. "He's extremely versatile, and his background in track and cross country shows that he is a really good athlete. His level of versatility coming out of high school reminds me of Ryan Lochte when he came to Florida."

A senior at Gulliver Prep High School, Lago holds four individual state titles, including two in the 100-yard butterfly and two in the 100-yard backstroke. Her time of 54.51 in the 100 fly stands as a state record in Florida, and she is also the Southern Zone record holder in the 100-meter fly. A four-time All-American, Lago has earned All-Dade honors for five-straight years, claimed the Junior National Championship in the 50-yard and 100-yard fly, and holds the junior national record in the 50 fly with a time of 24.50. Lago will join her older sister, Jenny, on next year's squad.

"Julianne has a tremendous amount of natural speed. She will fill a large gap for us next year when (current Gator) Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif./Castro Valley) graduates," Troy said.

Sykes, a two-time Olympic Trial qualifier and two-time sectional champion, has earned both short and long-course Florida Swimming Swimmer of the Year honors during her high school career at The Bolles School, where Troy made a coaching stop from 1977-97. A National High School All-American, Sykes has been named to the Florida High School All-State, All-District and All-Regional teams. In addition, she earned The Bolles School Van Etten Bent Award for outstanding contribution to athletics, and is an 11-time National Qualifier.

"Sarah is hands-down one of the best distance freestylers in the state of Florida," Troy said. "She has wanted to be a Gator for quite some time, and we've been watching her. She's going to make an excellent addition to next year's lineup."

A native of Franklin, Ind., native Dodson brings experience in all three diving events to Florida's diving squad. She has also been a member of a synchronized diving team that qualified for Olympic Trials.

"Monica is an excellent diver, and even though she's been out for a little while due to a lower back injury, I expect her to make a full recovery and become a vital asset to our team. I think she may end up being one of the best diving recruits we've ever had at Florida," said diving coach Donnie Craine.

Houlton, a Junior National Champion in the 400-yard individual medley, is expected to be a versatile swimmer for the Gators with her successes in the backstroke and freestyle events.

"Molly is going to add a lot to this team. She is going to help strengthen us in a lot of areas because she is so versatile with her skills in all of the strokes," said Troy.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x