Radford University

RADFORD, Va. -- Austin Cuffee (Hampton, Va.), Kim Johnson (Bristol, Va.) and Kayla Christian (New Kent County, Va.) recently signed National Letters of Intent to join the Radford track and field teams for the 2009-10 season. 

Austin Cuffee
Hampton, Va. /Bethel
Sprints and Middle Distance
A 2008 High School All-American as a member of the 4x400, Sprint Medley and 4x200-meter relay teams (indoor and outdoor)…Placed fourth at the 2008 Caribbean Scholastic Invitational in Puerto Rico in the 400-meters and finished first as member of the 4x400-meter relay team…Set a new meet record at the 2008 Caribbean Scholastic Invitational as part of the 4x400-meter relay team…Finished with the seventh best 400-meter time in Virginia and the 81st best time in the nation.

Coach White on Cuffee
“We are extremely excited to have Austin coming in this year. He comes from one of the best high schools in the country for track and field. He was one of our top recruits from day one with this class. Austin brings a lot of big meet experience in here with him, which will serve him well as he makes the transition to the next level. We think Austin will come in here and continue to improve and compete at a VERY high level, not only within the Big South Conference, but on the regional and national level.”

Kim Johnson
Bristol, Va. /Virginia
Throws
2008 Single A State shot put runner-up…2009 Single A State shot put champion…Recorded the second-best mark in the state of Virginia in the shot put for all divisions along with ranking 97th nationally.

Coach White on Johnson
“Kim is another young lady that we are happy to have join us as part of a GREAT recruiting class we have signed for our women’s program this year. She is a young lady with a great personality, a very good work ethic and she will work hard in the weight room. We fully expect Kim to come in here and compete immediately for podium honors in the shot put.”

Kayla Christian
New Kent County, Va. /New Kent
Sprints and Jumps
Placed seventh in the 100-meters, sixth in the long jump and seventh in the triple jump at the 2009 Double A Outdoor Championships…Finished sixth in the 55-meters at the 2008 Double A Indoor Championship.

Coach White on Christian
“We really think that Kayla’s best years as a sprinter and jumper are coming. We are happy to have signed her and think that she has a tremendous amount of untapped potential. Kayla has a lot of room to get stronger and with that strength she will become an even more explosive athlete. We are very excited about Kayla’s future and what she brings to our female sprinting program. She is another young lady with a great personality who is spoken very highly of by the people at her school.”