Stanford University Track and Field Recruiting Class - 2023
College Track and Field Recruiting
Stanford strengthened its track and field and cross-country programs by signing 15 to letters of intent, including reigning world under-20 women's discus champion Emma Sralla.
Stanford and J.J. Clark, the Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, signed seven individuals ranked among the top 50 in MileSplit's Class of 2023 Recruiting Rankings, including five women, the most in the nation. Among the signings for both the men and women are Irene Riggs, the recently crowned Nike Cross Nationals champion, and twins Lex and Leo Young, Nos. 4 and 5 on the MileSplit boys list. The class includes athletes who have represented four different countries in international competition, and that doesn't include the United States.
The class will include additional student-athletes who will be highlighted later in the academic year.
Women who signed National Letters of Intent are: Amy Bunnage (Melbourne, Australia/Haileybury Girls College), Amelia Everett (Newton, Mass./Newton South HS), Sage Hinton (Owings Mills, Md./Bullis School), Sophia Kennedy (Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor School), Abbey Moody (Picton, New Zealand/Rangi Ruru Girls' School), Cate Peters (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista HS), Irene Riggs (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown HS), Sky Schuller (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS), Madison Shults (Lafayette, Colo./Niwot HS), and Emma Sralla (Highland Village, Texas/Flower Mound Marcus HS),
Men who signed are: Dylan Davis (Seattle, Wash./Eastside Catholic HS), Will Floyd (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep), Fabian Gonzalez (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional HS), Leo Young (Camarillo, Calif./Newbury Park HS), and Lex Young (Camarillo, Calif./Newbury Park HS).
**Amy Bunnage (Melbourne, Australia/Haileybury Girls College)
Personal bests: 800 – 2:07.50; 1,500 – 4:14.62; 3,000 – 9:00.60.**
On December 15, Amy Bunnage set an Australian under-18 record in the 3,000 meters of 9:00.60, eclipsing a 23-year-old mark by nearly two seconds. Bunnage has won four national titles and is the reigning Aussie U20 champion in the 3,000 and in U18 cross country. She also captured U17 national titles in the 1,500 and 3,000 in 2021. Bunnage wore the national colors while placing third in the 1,500 at the U20 Oceania Invitational in 2021. Bunnage will be the eighth Aussie to represent Stanford track and field in an 11-year span -- school-record holders Steven Solomon (400), Mackenzie Little (javelin), and Ky Robinson (steeplechase, 5,000) among them.
**Dylan Davis (Seattle, Wash./Eastside Catholic HS)
Personal bests: 100 – 10.64; 200 – 21.74.**
Dylan Davis placed second in the 100 and third in the 200 in the 2022 Washington 3A state finals, after placing second at Sea-King District 2 Championships in the same events, trailing only fellow Stanford recruit Will Floyd. Davis' season bests of 10.64 and 21.74 ranked him No. 6 and No. 10 in the state. Davis still is new to track and field. He was a soccer player until moving to Washington for the 2020-21 school year. Because soccer and track were both spring sports in Washington, Davis chose track and has been getting faster ever since.
Amelia Everett (Newton, Mass./Newton South HS)
Personal bests: 800 – 2:06.19; 1,500 – 4:26.32; Mile – 4:49.31.
Amelia Everett is the reigning Massachusetts Gatorade Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year and No. 33 on MileSplit's national list of recruits among the class of 2023. Everett captured the 2022 Massachusetts All-State titles in the 800 and the mile. In national competitions, she was third in the 2022 Nike Outdoor Nationals in the 800 and anchored her sprint medley relay team to victory at the 2022 Nike Indoor Nationals. Everett has won six Massachusetts All-State championships – two in the outdoor mile, one in the indoor mile, one in the outdoor 800, and two in the outdoor 4x800 relay. Everett, who also helped Newton South to the state soccer semifinals, was second in the Massachusetts 1A cross country championships this fall with the second-best time among all divisions.
Will Floyd (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep)
Personal bests: 100 – 10.52; 200 – 21.01; 400 – 46.01.
Will Floyd anchored Canada to the bronze medal in the 4x400 relay at the 2022 World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, on August 6. Two days earlier, Floyd ran a lifetime best 46.01 to place fourth in the 400 final. Floyd, a three-star wide receiver in football with Division I offers, was a triple winner at the 2022 Washington 3A championships, in the 100, 200, and 400. His 200 time of 21.01 was a meet record. Floyd also won the Washington AAU 200 champion in 2022. His 100 and 200 times ranked second in the state of Washington and his best scholastic 400 was No. 3 in 2022.
Fabian Gonzalez (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional HS) **
Personal bests: Discus – 189-9 (57.83m); Shot put – 61-7 ¼ (18.77m).**
Fabian Gonzalez is among the top throwers in the country, finishing fourth in the discus at the 2021 Nike Outdoor Nationals and seventh in the shot put at the 2022 Nike Indoor Nationals. Gonzalez ranked third in the shot put (61-7 ¼, 18.77m) and fifth in the discus (189-9, 57.83m) in New Jersey last year. He won the New Jersey State Meet of Champions title in the discus in 2021 and was seventh in the discus and 10th in the shot last year. He is the reigning state Group 4 champion in both events.
Sage Hinton (Owings Mills, Md./Bullis School)
Personal bests: 400 – 54.50; 200 – 24.61.
Besides her many individual accomplishments, Sage Hinton won four national titles on relays in 2022 alone – the 4x100 and 4x400 at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals and the 4x200 and 4x400 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. Hinton was second in the 400 at the 2022 AAU Junior Olympics (54.65), fifth in the 200 at the 2021 adidas Indoor Nationals and sixth in the 400 at the 2022 New Balance Indoor Nationals. Her 400 best of 54.50 came in winning the Independent School League title. She went on to win the Maryland Private School 400 title in 2022 and placed third in the 200.
Sophia Kennedy (Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor School)
Personal bests: Two-mile -- 10:14.09; 1,600 -- 4:49.08; 3,000 – 9:40.79; 5,000 -- 17:10.3 (XC).
Sophia Kennedy recently placed seventh at the Nike Cross Nationals, a week after taking second at the Champs Sports Midwest Region Championships. Kennedy is a two-time qualifier for the Eastbay National Cross Country Championships, placing seventh in 2021. Sophia, the daughter of U.S. distance great Bob Kennedy, was fifth in the two-mile at the 2021 Brooks PR Invitational and eighth in 2022. Running for Park Tudor School in Indianapolis, Kennedy was second in the 3,200 at the 2022 Indiana state track finals and third in the state in cross country this fall.
Abbey Moody (Picton, New Zealand/Rangi Ruru Girls' School)
Personal bests: Javelin – 165-5 (50.42m); Discus – 140-0 (42.68m).
In her first international competition for New Zealand, Moody won the Oceania under-20 javelin championship in June with a personal best throw of 165-5 (50.42 meters). The distance was a national under-20 record. Moody had qualified by winning the New Zealand U20 javelin title and finished third in the discus.
Cate Peters (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista HS)
Personal bests: 800 – 2:06.89; 400 – 54.72; 200 – 24.64; 100 – 12.06.
Bay Area native Cate Peters was the only high school female in the country this year to run under 25 seconds in the 200, 55 in the 400 and 2:07 in the 800. Her best 800 of 2:06.89 broke the Mt. SAC Relays high school record and placed No. 4 in her class nationally. Peters, the nation's No. 44 recruit by MileSplit, won 2022 East Bay Athletic League championships in the 100, 200, 400, and 800 – a first in league history. Peters was seventh in the NSAF Outdoor Nationals and eighth in the Brooks PR Invitational in the 800, and won the Sacramento Meet of Champions and Stanford Invitational in the 400. A broken leg suffered while playing high school soccer changed her athletic trajectory to track. She also is a competitive sailor.
Irene Riggs (Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown HS)
Personal bests: Two-mile – 9:50.72; 3,000 – 9:14.72; 5,000 – 16:02.10 (XC); Mile – 4:48.95; 1,500 – 4:30.32.
Winning Nike Cross Nationals by 14 seconds is impressive enough, but Irene Riggs may have topped even that with her performance at the Nike Cross Southeast Regional, running 16:02.10 over 5 kilometers for the second-fastest time in high school cross country history. Riggs, listed as MileSplit's No. 6 female recruit, is a four-time West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year – two each in cross country and track – and a seven-time state champ. With a narrow second place at the Brooks PR Invitational in June, Riggs became the fifth-fastest high school two-miler ever, running 9:50.72. Only Mary Cain has run faster as a high school junior. Riggs not only won her third consecutive state individual cross country title, in a championship course record, she also led Morgantown to its fourth consecutive state championship. Riggs, 14th at the 2021 Eastbay national cross-country championships, finished the 2021-22 academic year by sweeping the distance events -- 800, 1,600, 3,200 – at the state 3A meet.
Sky Schuller (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS)
Personal bests: Heptathlon – 5,046; Pole vault – 14-0 (4.26m); High jump – 5-8 (1.72m); Long jump – 19-4 (5.89m); 100 hurdles – 14.30; 300 hurdles – 43.71.
Sky Schuller is the only high school female in history to both clear 14-0 in the pole vault and score 5,000 points in the heptathlon. In 2021, she shattered the AAU Junior Olympics pole vault record for 15-16 years-olds with a height of 13-11 ¼ (4.24m) and doubled as the meet's heptathlon champ. Schuller's 14-0 (4.26m) clearance in placing second at the Texas state 6A final placed her No. 6 on the 2022 national high school list. She also was sixth in the high jump. Schuller was among the national top-100 in four events in 2022, including No. 3 in the heptathlon. Schuller, fourth at the 2021 Nike Outdoor Nationals heptathlon with 5,046, figures to compete in the multis and pole vault for Stanford. Schuller, the Coppell High record holder in five events, is listed as the nation's No. 36 recruit by MileSplit.
Madison Shults (Lafayette, Colo./Niwot HS)
Personal bests: 800 – 2:08.21; 400 – 56.05; Mile – 4:46.26.
Madison Shults is the reigning Colorado state 4A champ in the 400 and 800. She also is the fifth from Niwot High to join the Stanford track program since Olympian Elise Cranny arrived in 2014. Shults has shown great range, being part of four state 4A championship cross country teams and Niwot's third-place team at the 2019 Nike Cross Nationals. She has great range, racing in everything from 200 meters to the national high school trail championships over 5.4 miles of rocky hilly terrain. Shults took fourth in the mile in 4:46.26 at the 2021 Nike Outdoor Nationals and is a repeat state 4A 800 champ.
Emma Sralla (Highland Village, Texas/Flower Mound Marcus HS)
Personal bests: Discus – 185-0 (56.38m); Shot put – 44-0 ½ (13.50m).
Emma Sralla is the reigning world under-20 champion, winning the title in August in Cali, Colombia. Competing for Sweden, Sralla threw 184-2 (56.15m) to win title by nearly two meters. With a Swedish mother and an American father, she has dual Swedish-American nationality. Sralla was born and raised in Texas but visited Sweden every year, competing for the Spårvägen club team. Her lifetime best of 185-0 (56.38m) won the Texas 6A District 5-6 championship and places her at No. 7 on the all-time national high school performers' list, just ahead of former Stanford star and reigning Olympic champion Valarie Allman. Her 56.38 throw also was the Swedish U20 record. Sralla won the 2022 Texas state discus title and was third in the shot put, and also captured the Nordic U20 discus crown. Sralla is listed at No. 12 on MileSplit's national recruiting list.
Leo Young (Camarillo, Calif./Newbury Park HS)
Personal bests: Mile – 4:00.77; 1,600 – 3:59.32; 3,200 – 8:39.57; Three-mile – 13:38.1 (XC); 5,000 – 14:05.1 (XC). Leo Young and twin brother Lex give Stanford two of the top recruits in the country. Lex is rated as MileSplit's No. 4 top recruit in the nation and Leo is No. 5. Leo Young was among the national top-10 at three track distances in 2022 – second in the 1,600 (3:59.32), third in the 3,200 (8:39.57), and 10th in the mile (4:00.77). The Youngs are part of the Newbury Park cross country team regarded as the best in the country, winning the 2022 Nike Cross Nationals. Leo was 11th in that race, second in the California Division II race, and second in the CIF-Southern Section Division II final, with the Panthers winning team titles along the way. At the 2021 Woodbridge Invite in Irvine, Leo clocked 13:38.1, the fastest three-mile high school cross country time in history. And at the 2021 RunningLane Cross Country Nationals, Leo was second in 14:05.1, the second-fastest cross-country 5K of all-time.
Lex Young (Camarillo, Calif./Newbury Park HS)
Personal bests: 5,000 – 13:43.95; 3,200 – 8:35.72; 3,000 – 7:57.06; Mile – 4:01.52; 1,600 – 3:59.99.
Lex Young's achievements are many. Among them, he won the recent California Division II cross country championship in a division-record time of 14:27.9 – the third-fastest time in history over Fresno's 5K Woodward Park course. Lex, who has teamed with twin Leo to win four state cross country team titles and this year's Nike Cross Nationals team crown, was rated as the No. 4 male recruit in the country by MileSplit. Lex's 13:43.95 in the 5,000 against pros at the Sound Running meet in May in San Juan Capistrano was a junior class record and made him the fifth-fastest high school runner in history over that distance. His 14:05.49 to finish third at the 2021 Garmin RunningLane Championships was the third-fastest time high school cross country time over 5K in history.