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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech women’s track & field program and director of track & field and cross country Dave Cianelli announced the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2012-13 academic year on Monday. The signees include two distance runners, Kaila Blackburn and Shannon Morton, one sprinter, Shaquera Leach, and one thrower, Marija Vucenovic.

The signees are listed below alphabetically, along with comments from each event coach.

Kaila Blackburn
Distance
Richmond, Va. | Monacan High School

Blackburn recently completed her senior season of indoor track & field, where she won the district title in the 1600 and 3200 meters and was a state finalist in the 3200 at the VHSL Group AAA Indoor State Championship. During the 2011 cross country season, she was the Dominion District and Central Region runner-up. Blackburn holds personal bests of 2:58.00 in the 1000 meters, 4:58.56 in the 1600 meters and 10:56.74 in the 3200 meters.

“Kaila has really come on her senior year and you always like to see that,” said head cross country and distance coach Ben Thomas. “She’s going to be strong for us in cross country and on the track in the longer distances. With Kaila added to our cross country group, that will only increase our chances of winning an ACC title in cross.”

Shaquera Leach
Sprints
Ashburn, Va. | Briar Woods High School

Leach has earned all-state honors in each of her first three seasons on the track while competing for Briar Woods H.S. She garnered AAU Junior Olympic All-American honors with a sixth place finish in the 400 meters in 2011 after earning all-state honors at the VHSL Group AA Outdoor State Championship in the 100, 200 and 400 meters. She was also a member of Briar Woods’ state champion 4x400 meter relay in 2009 and the all-state 4x4 team in 2010. Leach holds personal bests of 12.13 in the 100 meters, 24.38 in the 200 meters and 55.06 in the 400 meters.

“I’m thrilled to have signed Shaq,” said sprints, hurdles & jumps coach Charles Foster. “With her versatility, she will be a positive contributor to our program. We expect her to shine as a freshman and continue shining all four years of college, which includes her track & field career. She has a large following in her hometown and I’m sure they will continue to follow her at Virginia Tech.”

Shannon Morton
Mid-Distance
Chesapeake, Va. | Indian River High School

Morton recently earned runner-up honors in the 1000 meters at the VHSL Group AAA Indoor State Championship and was also the Eastern Region champ in the 1000 meters in a personal best 2:52.05. During the 2011 outdoor season, Morton was sixth in the 800 meters at the VHSL Group AAA State Meet in a personal best 2:13.21. She was also an AAU Junior Olympic national qualifier in the 800 and 1500 meters. Morton has also notched personal bests of 1:16.73 in the 500 meters and 4:39.40 in the 1500 meters.

“I’m excited that Shannon has signed with the Hokies,” said Thomas. “She is one of the top middle distance runners in the state of Virginia and has already had some strong performances this year. When we get her training with our current group, I think our middle distance area will get a big boost.”

Marija Vucenovic
Javelin Throw
Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia | Medical School Draginja Niksic

Vucenovic is a javelin thrower who is the top-ranked female junior in the event in Serbia. She placed fourth in the javelin at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Bressanone, Italy in 2009 with a throw of 169-8 (51.73m) and was second at the Balkan Youth Championships the same year. Vucenovic also competed at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada in the javelin in 2010 and placed 13th. Last year, she threw a personal best 179-6 (54.73m) in the javelin at the European Junior Championships, where she finished fifth. She was also third in the javelin at the Balkan Senior Championships with a mark of 177-4 (54.05m) in 2011.

“Marija established herself as one of the top junior javelin throwers in Europe last year,” said associate head track & field and throws coach Greg Jack. “As she continues to improve, she will become one of the best signees we’ve ever had here at Virginia Tech on the women’s side. She will be a challenger for top honors at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain this summer.”

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