WICHITA, Kan. - The Wichita State University women's track and field team has signed 17 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to join the program for the 2011-12 season.

"We are really excited about our women's recruiting class," Steve Rainbolt, director of Shocker track and field and cross country, said. "We signed 17 athletes and are confident this group will make a significant impact on Wichita State track and field. We are always excited about what the future holds when we sign a class of newcomers.

"Some notable athletes that come to Wichita State with significant credentials are Lauren Pickens, who won 12 state championships at the high school level for Peabody High School; Cara Detmer cleared 12 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault, which is one of the best jumps ever in the state of Kansas. Jalisa Brice triple-jumped over 40 feet and will certainly be an immediate-impact athlete. The list goes on from there. We're confident this group of ladies will be the next generation of Shocker track and field champions."

The Shocker women won both the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference women's indoor and outdoor track and field titles. The Wichita State women's cross country team won its sixth-straight MVC team crown in the fall of 2010.

To view a list of men's track and field signees, click here.

A closer look at the women's signees:

Lauren Pickens (Peabody, Kan./Peabody-Burns HS) - Pickens finished a stellar high school career in sprinting events by winning the Class 2A girls' 100-meters, 200 and the 400 at the KSHSAA 2011 State Track and Field Meet. She won a total of 12 career state titles. Her personal bests are 12.12 in the 100, 25.23 in the 200 and 56.58 in the 400.

Jalisa Brice (Gardner, Kan./Gardner-Edgerton HS) - One of the all-around best jumpers in the state of Kansas, Brice finished second in the Class 5A girls' triple jump at the Kansas state meet. She also finished fifth in the girls' long jump, second in the 4x400 relay and fourth in the 4x100 relay. Her personal bests are 17-10 (long jump) and 40-3 (triple jump).

Agnes Loyomo (Eldoret, Kenya/Nasakol Girls Secondary HS) - Loyomo will look to continue the Shockers' tradition of strong Kenyan distance runners. Her personal best in the 5,000 is 17:40.

Cara Detmer (Wichita, Kan./Bishop Carroll HS) - One of the best pole vaulters in the history of the state of Kansas, Detmer won the Class 5A pole vault state championship both her junior and senior years. Her personal best in the event is 12-6.

Kayla Deighan (Newmarket, Ontario, Canada/Sacred Heart Catholic HS) - Deighan is one of the best high school steeplechasers in Canada and should provide an immediate impact in the MVC. She finished third in the 2010 women's 1,500 steeplechase at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Track and Field Championships. Her personal bests are 4:45 (1500) and 5:05.33 (1500 steeplechase), 7:23 (2000 steeplechase) and 10:32 (3000).

Cassidy Downing (Topeka, Kan./Shawnee Heights HS) - Downing will run both hurdle events for the Shockers. She was a state finalist in the both 100-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles at the 2011 Kansas state meet. Downing was also part of the 2011 Class 5A state champion girls' 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay teams. Her personal bests are 14.8 (100 hurdles), 44.9 (300 hurdles) and 1:03.1 in the (400 hurdles).

Brooke Jackson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Butler CC) - Jackson will join the Shockers with ability to throw several different throwing implements at a high level. She was a national qualifier in the throwing events at Butler. Her personal bests are 49-8 (weight throw), 149-8 (discus) and 146-11 (hammer).

Meg Loontjer (Geneva, Neb./Fillmore Central HS) - Loontjer will add significant depth to one of the best event areas on the Wichita State track and field team. She won the girls' pole vault at the 2011 Class B Nebraska state meet with a personal best mark of 11-4.

Sadie Suenram (Salina, Kan./Salina Central HS) - One of the top all-around throwers in the state of Kansas, she won the Class 5A girls' discus at the 2011 state meet and finished second in the girls' shot put. Her personal bests are 40-4 (shot put), 138-0 (discus) and 111-0 (javelin).

Jill Kurtz (Chapman, Kan./Chapman HS) - Kurtz will make the transition into multi-events for the Shockers, as well as continue to be a strong hurdler. She placed second in Class 4A girls' 300 hurdles at the 2011 Kansas state meet, second in the long jump and third in the 100 hurdles. Her personal bests are 14.9 in the 100 hurdles, 44.34 in the 300 hurdles and 17-2 in the long jump.

Elida Bailon (El Dorado, Kan./Butler CC) - Bailon finished fourth in the women's 5,000 at the NJCAA indoor championships. She claimed fourth in the women's 10,000 and fifth in the women's 5,000 at the 2011 NJCAA outdoor championships. Her personal bests are 18:33 (5000) and 38:59 (10,000).

Amanda Gardner (Douglass, Kan./Douglass HS) - Gardner will complete a very talented class of incoming pole vaulters for WSU. She won the Class 3A girls' pole vault at the 2010 Kansas state meet and finished second in the event at the 2011 state meet. Her personal best is 11-0 in the pole vault.

Marissa Quillin (Wichita, Kan./Pittsburgh State University) - Quillin, a transfer, will have one year of eligibility to compete for the Shockers in distance events. She ran a personal best 4:49.05 in the 1,500 at the 2011 Kansas Relays to place fifth.

Olivia Albin (North Richland Hills, Texas/Birdville HS) - Albin will look to make an impact with the Shocker distance crew. Her personal bests are 2:20 (800), 5:18 (1600) and 11:38 (3200).

Kaitlyn McLeod (Raymore, Mo./Raymore Peculiar HS) - McLeod will add depth to the strong Wichita State women's distance group. Her personal bests are 5:20 (1600) and 11:40 (3200).

Danielle Burleson (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South HS) - Burleson will compete in jumps and multi-events for the Shockers. She also ran on the fifth-place 4x400 relay team in the 2011 Class 6A Kansas state meet. Her personal best in the high jump is 5-4.

Caitlin Bauer (Liberal, Kan./Liberal HS) - Bauer rounds out a strong group of incoming women throwers for WSU. She placed fourth in the Class 5A girls' shot put at the 2011 Kansas state meet and fifth in the girls' discus. Her personal bests are 39-2 (shot put), 128-7 (discus) and 113-1 (javelin).

"Both of these signing classes - men and women - have been interesting groups to recruit," Rainbolt said. "They have come from all different places around the world - high school, junior college, four-year college transfers and international athletes. This has been a diverse group of athletes for us to bring together and we're very excited to see how this group of athletes performs for Wichita State track and field."

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