Hawaii Inks 11 Early Signees

HONOLULU, Hawaii, December 7. UNIVERSITY of Hawai`i head swimming coach Victor Wales signed 11 athletes during the early signing period. He inked 10 women and one male for the 2007-08 season.

For the Rainbow Wahine, Wales signed Maura Barrett, Kyley Eisenman, Jessica Glew, Nicole Larson, Alyssa Manlow, Camille Newman, Amanda Meteague, Brianna de Palezieux, Ricarda Schelenberg and Jessica Stacy.

Barrett preps at Chico Senior High in California and her events are Free, Fly and Back. She clocks a 24.2 in the 50 Free, 52.6 in the 100 Free and 1:54.8 in the 200 Free. She also swims the 100 Fly (57.4) and 100 Back (57.5). "Maura is a great racer who comes from a program, Chico Aqua Jets, where swimmers always get better in college," Wales added.

Eisenman hails from Upper Arlington High in Columbus, Ohio, posting top times of 58.2 and 2:09.5 in the 100 and 200 Back, while touching the wall at 2:07.4 and 4:35.7 in the 200 and 400 IM. She is an eight time All-American and three time Ohio State Champion. "Kyley has been part of a great winning tradition at Upper Arlington and has just scratched the surface of her potential," Wales said.

Glew attends Queenwood School for Girls in Mosman, Australia. She is a freestyle swimmer sporting times of 23.8, 51.4 and 1:51.3 in the 50, 100 and 200 Free. She was an Australian Olympic Trials Qualifier and New Zealand Commonwealth Trials Finalist. "Jessica brings a great enthusiasm and energy to the sport," Wales said, "and I can't wait for her to get on this pool deck. She will supply a huge boost for our spirits and become our anhor on relays."

Larson is a senior at Robert McQueen High in Reno, Nev., where she has been timed at 58.9 and 2:05.9 in the 100 and 200 Back. She has been apart of two All-American relay teams, was a sectional qualifier, and captured first at the state regionals. "I'm super excited about working with Nicole and seeing how fast she can swim over the next four years," Wales said.

Manlow, a senior at Heritage High in Vancouver, Wash., is a two-time high school All-American. She sports times of 24.2, 51.9, and 1:51.1 in the spring Free events. She was the 2005 Washington State 4A champion in the 100 Free and won the 2006 200 Free title as well. She is a Junior National/U.S. Open Qualifier. "Alyssa is going to be huge for us," Wales remarked. "She will play a major role in rebuilding this program."

Newman, an Arizona State 4A finalist in the 100 Fly and 500 Free, preps at Chaparral High in Scottsdale, Ariz. She has been clocked at 58.4 and 2:06.8 in the 100 and 200 Fly, respectively. "I really enjoyed the time I spent with Camille on her recruiting trip," Wales said. "She has the potential to make some big drops over the next few years."

Meteague, a product of St. Joseph's High in Toronto, Canada, placed ninth at the 2004 Olympic Trials. Her events are the Breast and IM. She has been timed at 2:03.8 and 4:22.6 in the 200 and 400 IM, while posting times of 1:05 and 2:17.1 in the 100 and 200 Breast. "Amanda has been great during this recruiting process," Wales exclaimed. "I feel she is really going to be the key to our success in the next couple of years."

de Palezieux, who was ranked as high as second in Canada in the Breast as a 16-year-old, was an Olympic Trilas Qualifier. Her best times are 1:03.8 and 2:18.7 in the 100 and 200 Breast. "Brianna comes from a program in Canada (N.K.B.), where I have recruited some great student-athletes from in the past," Wales said of the St. Joseph High (Ottawa, Canada) senior. "She is a rising star who continues to get better at every big meet and has a great shot at making the NCAAs as a freshman."

Schellenberg is the only European in the recruiting class. She preps at Sportgymnasium Leipzig in Germany. She competes in both the Free and Back events. She was fourth at the 2006 German Winter Nationals and was a European Schools Games Champion. "Ricarda has been wonderful to work with over the past few months," Wales said. "She just finished fourth at the German Nationals and is going to make a big impact for us at the national level. She is the rock this program will be built upon."

The final female signee is Stacy, a senior at Skyview High in Vancouver, Wash. She has been timed at 24.8, 54.3 and 1:57.7 in the sprint Free events. "Jessica is the consummate student-athlete who excels at any challenge put in front of her," Wales said of the 2006 4A Washington State Finalist. "I am really looking forward to her taking a leadership role in this program."

On the men's side, Daniel Worden was the lone signee. He is a prep at Crescent Valley High in Corvallis, Ore., where he has posted times of 1:55.9 (200 Free) and 4:09.8 (500 Free). His other event is the Fly where he sports times of 1:00.2 (100 Fly) and 2:09.2 (200 Fly). "I'm really excited about Daniel and his future in the sport," Wales said. "He is a hard worker who is just starting to discover his own potential."

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