PULLMAN, Wash. -- Wayne Phipps, WSU Director of Cross Country/Track & Field, announced the National Letters of Intent and Athletic Aid Agreement signings by 10 student-athletes to compete for Washington State University during the 2016-17 school year.
 
Freshmen distance runners joining the cross country and track teams include: RAndrew Cooper from Issaquah, Wash., Cameron Dean from Spokane, Wash., Marie Gaudin from Arlington, Wash., Melissa Hruska from Snoqualmie, Wash., Morgan Lash from Anchorage, Alaska, Elizabeth Perez-Bossut from Queens, New York, and Isaac Wadhwani from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Lovely Tukuafu, a freshman thrower from Bountiful, Utah, joins this recruiting class.
 
Also joining the team are transfers Grant Swinton, a sprinter/long jumper from Snellville, Ga., coming from Western Kentucky, and Marlow Schulz, a relays/middle distance runner from Whitefish, Mont., coming from St. John's University in New York.
 
Andrew Cooper, from Issaquah, Wash., brought the 2A state 3200m title to Liberty HS and was the runner-up at the state 1600m in 2016. He took fourth place at the 2015 state 2A Cross Country Championships after a 13th-place finish at the 2014 state meet. He placed 23rd at the 2015 Nike BorderClash 17 race.
 
"Andrew, who is an outstanding student, has progressed immensely over the last two years culminating with a state championship in the 3200m, Phipps said. "His rate of improvement will continue to be steep and he will be a significant member of our distance squad over the next few years."
 
Cameron Dean graduated from Mead High School in Spokane, earning five varsity letters in cross country and track and field. In the 2015 cross country season, he was a second-team All-Greater Spokane League selection with ninth place in the regional meet and 23rd in the state 4A championships. Dean finished 40th at the 2015 Footlocker West Regional Cross Country meet. On the track, the Mead Panthers won the GSL, District and Regional titles and finished seventh at state 4 A meet. His PR times are 4:24.53 in the 1600m and 9:33.17 in the 3200m. Dean graduated with a 3.95 GPA and plans to pursue a degree in biology at WSU.
 
"Cameron is an excellent student who has also seen remarkable improvement over the past two years," Phipps said. "He is ready for another break-through and will be a strong member of our team in the future."
 
Marie Gaudin, from Arlington, Wash., in 2015 cross country season, ran to 13th in the Wesco League championships, 23rd in the state 3A championships, and then placed 17th at the Nike Cross Regional meet. At the 2016 3A state track meet, placed fourth in the 3200m with a PR time of 11:01.98 and 10th in the 1600m. Her PR time in the 1600m is 5:00.80. She graduated with a 3.9 GPA and plans to major in biology at WSU.
 
"Marie moved up from being primarily an 800m runner during her junior year to the longer distances and had an outstanding senior year," Phipps said. "She is going to add depth to a young and developing cross country team, and will see immediate success on the track."
 
Melissa Hruska graduated from Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Wash. She earned five varsity letters in cross country and track and field. In 2015, the Wildcats won the league and district titles and placed third at the state 4A cross country championships where Hruska finished 19th. She placed 51st at the 2015 Nike BorderClash meet. On the track at the Wesco/Kingco Bi-District meet, she placed fifth in the 3200m with a PR time of 10:58.14, and eighth in the 1600m with a PR time of 5:05.67. At the 2016 state 4A track championships, Hruska finished eighth in the 3200m.
 
"Melissa also moved up in distance during her senior year and saw massive improvements in both of the 1600m and 3200m. Melissa will have an immediate impact in both cross country and track," Phipps said.
 
Morgan Lash graduated from South Anchorage High School this spring after earning 10 varsity letters in cross country, basketball, soccer and track and field. She was a member of the highly successful Cook Inlet Soccer Club and competed with the Northern Lights Swim Club. Lash won back-to-back regional cross country titles and had a trio of top ten finishes at the ASAA 4A Cross Country Championships. She was the 2016 state 4A champion in the 1600m and the runner-up in the 800m. At the 2016 Brian Young Invite, Lash was the runner-up in the 1600m with a PR time of 5:03.60. Lash graduated with a 3.9 GPA and is interested in majoring in exercise science at WSU.
 
"A trend among our distance women signees has been the bump up in distance and seeing immediate success; Morgan is no exception," Phipps said. "Her hard work and focus paid off late in the year and ended up setting a huge PR in the mile and doubled back with a sub 11 two-mile in her first ever two-mile race. Morgan will a strong contributor in both track and cross country in her first year."
 
Elizabeth Perez-Bossut from Benjamin Cardozo HS in Queens, New York, and in the 2014 Public School Athletic League (PSAL) City cross country championships finished third, and then finished 93rd in the New York State Federation Championships and 71st in the Footlocker Northeast Regional. Senior year, was the runner-up in the PSAL Queens XC Borough Championship, 10th in the PSAL City meet, and 139th in the NY State Federation XC Championships. She ran a 10:19.17 in the indoor 3000m at the 2015 Yale Interscholastic Track Classic.
 
"Elizabeth is a very talented distance runner who did not run outdoor track during her senior year. She has run the equivalent of a sub-11 two-mile indoors and she will provide depth to both our track and cross country teams," Phipps said.
 
Isaac Wadhwani from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, is the younger brother of Cougar sophomore Nathan Wadhwani and coached in high school by father Vid Wadhwani. As a senior at Terry Fox HS, Wadhwani place fifth in the 2014 B.C. High School Cross Country Championships after a sixth-place finish at the Sundodger Invitational and a 12th-place finish at the Stanford XC Invite. On the track, he placed fifth in the 3000m at the B.C. Championships with a PR time of 8:49.13. Wadhwani was a member of Team B.C. Junior Cross Country and Track and Field teams.
 
"Isaac is one of the top distance runners in British Columbia," Phipps said. "Isaac has run 3:59 1500m, 8:48 for 3000m, and 15:27 for 5km cross country. He also has experience over the 8km distance in cross country having run 25:04; thus, his transition to the collegiate distances will be quite smooth. Isaac will provide depth to our cross country team and looks to be a strong contributor in years to come."
 
Grant Swinton graduated from Shiloh High School in Snellville, Ga., in 2014. There he was a wide receiver on the football team and a sprinter and long jumper on the track team. He was the GSHA state 6A champion in the 400m and 1600m relay as a junior and runner-up in the 200m, 400m, and 1600m relay as a senior. Finished fifth in the 400m at the 2014 Brooks PR Invitational. At Western Kentucky, freshman year was on the 4x400m relay team that took fourth place at the Conference USA Indoor Championships and third place at the C-USA Outdoor Championships. That squad also ran the fourth-fastest time in school history of 3:05.95 at the 2015 Mt. SAC Relays. He also ran on the 4x100m relay that finished 11th at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Swinton's collegiate PR times are 21.43 in 200m and 48.11 in the 400m.
 
"Grant had an outstanding high school career while competing at Shiloh High School and for the Tachyon Track Club in Georgia," Phipps said. "He was a US Junior National Championship finalist in the 400m (47.30) and an AAU National runner-up in the 200m (21.29). At Western Kentucky, he was part of their 400m relay team that qualified for the 2015 NCAA Championship finals and part of their 1600m relay team that qualified for the 2015 NCAA Championship preliminary rounds. Grant will have an immediate impact on both our relay teams as well as being an NCAA qualifier in his individual events in his first year at WSU."
 
Marlow Schulz, a sprinter/middle distance runner from Whitefish, Mont., transferring after two years at St. John's University in New York. While at Whitefish High School, won four consecutive 100m dash titles and 11 state titles overall, ranging from up to 800m. At St. John's, freshman year was on the winning 4x400m relays at both the Big East Conference and IC4A/ECAC Indoor Championships and won the Big East Outdoor title as well but was the runner-up at the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor meet. As a sophomore, Schulz was a member of the 4x400m relay that won the Big East Outdoor title, and was the runner-up in the 4x800m relay. She placed sixth in the 800m run. Her PR times are 2:09.91 in the 800m, and 57.52 in the 400m.
 
"Marlow had an outstanding high school career: in her senior year she was the Montana state champion in the 100m (12.40), 200m (24.69), and 400m (55.06) while also running 2:13 for the 800m," Phipps said. "While at St. John's she was a Big East finalist indoors and outdoors and ran 2:09 for the 800m. She has amazing range and will be a key member of our traditionally strong 4 x 400m team. She has all of the ability to be an elite level 800m runner and an NCAA finalist in her first year at WSU."
 
Lovely Tukuafu graduated this spring from Bountiful High School in Bountiful, Utah. A highly-honored basketball and track student-athlete, Tukuafu led the girls' basketball team to state 4A championship this spring. She was a 4A All-Star Team selection and named to all-state second team and honorable mention teams. Her track accomplishments include winning the 2016 state 4A shot put title after previous third place and fifth place state finishes. Tukuafu graduated with honors, and received the Utah Scholars Medal, and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Scholarship.
 
"Lovely is the state champion in the shot put despite being a multi-sport athlete who just recently started to concentrate on track and field," Phipps said. "Lovely is a very explosive athlete and has all of the tools to be an NCAA qualifier in the shot put."
 
These student-athletes join previously announced recruits:
Brittany Aquino, distance, Spokane Valley, Wash.
Sam Brixey, hurdler, Boise, Idaho
Justin Janke, distance, Spokane. Wash.
Nick Johnson, hurdles/decathlon, Spokane, Wash.
Atina Kamasi, javelin/heptathlon, Novi Sad, Serbia
Kelsey Kehl, discus/javelin, Baldwin City, Kan.
Lauren Newman, long jump, Yakima, Wash.
Alexis Redfield, distance, Zillah, Wash.
Kennan Schrag, distance, Issaquah, Wash.
Desi Stinger, distance, Temecula, Calif.
Daniel Stokes, sprints, Diamond Bar, Calif.
Jordyn Tucker, sprints, Monrovia, Calif.