INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI Athletics Department and Head Women's Cross Country and Track Coach Antonio McDaniel announced the signing of five in-state student-athletes to join the Jaguars, beginning in the Fall 2013. All five will be true freshmen, beginning in the fall.

"Overall, this class is an even more of a mixture of distance and middle distance, since we're trying to develop our middle distance program," McDaniel said. "We've got some girls coming in that have some speed, which can equate to success in the middle distance events.

"Quite a few of these young ladies are still a little underdeveloped. As a program, we take pride in continuing their development and making them better runners when they get here. Plus, it's good to have a few in here that have made it to the state meet and have state meet experience. That transitions well to college where you're running against girls that also have that state meet experience under their belts."

Mandy Campbell (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge) was an All-Northern Lakes Conference honoree her senior season in cross country, running a personal best time of 19:40.13 in the 5K. On the track, she was part of Northridge's sectional-winning and state-qualifying 3,200m relay team her junior season. Heading into her senior track season, she owned personal best times of 1:04 in the 400, 2:24 in the 800, 5:39 in the 1,600 and 12:21 in the 3,200m. Campbell was one of two Division I signees for the Raiders and was the team's Mental Attitude Award winner in 2012. Campbell intends on majoring in Pre-Physical Therapy/Exercise Science.

"Mandy is still somewhat new to distance running as she was a soccer player. We seem to do a decent job with the soccer players turned runners as we have a few of those on the team," McDaniel said. "She has a lot of room to grow as a runner and we're excited to help her reach that potential."

Jennifer Emery (Fort Wayne, Ind./Leo) was an All-Northern Lakes Conference honoree her senior season in cross country, also earning Team MVP honors and qualifying for the IHSAA State Meet. She won the ACAC individual title in 2012 and later ran in the National Junior Olympic Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. in December 2012. She was the state's top finisher at that meet, placing sixth in the Young Division, representing Team Bird 2. She owns a personal best time of 18:47 in the 5K at the Jay County Invitational and was a two-time team captain. On the track, she's run personal best times of 5:48 in the 1,600m and 11:51 in the 3,200m distances.  

"Jennifer has recently developed into quite a runner. This past year, she was one of the most improved runners in the state and comes in with a very strong work ethic," McDaniel said. "She's a very smooth runner and has a lot of potential to be a successful Division I athlete."

Veronica Goduto (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) earned eight varsity letters in cross country and track at Brownsburg High School. As a sophomore, she qualified for the IHSAA State Track Championships in the 800m run and placed ninth in the state, running anchor for a 3200m relay team that finished at 9:27.74. Her junior year, she was a member of the 4x400m relay team that qualified for the state meet, placing 17th. In cross country, she placed 48th in the IHSAA State Meet as a sophomore, finishing the race in a time of 20:38.7. Her sophomore year she finished second in regionals in the 800m race, finishing in a personal record time of 2:17. She's helped the Bulldogs to advance to semi-state three times in her four seasons, including the 2009 county and sectional titles and state finals appearance. Her freshman season, she was named the cross country team's MVP, helping Brownsburg to county, sectional and regional titles. She earned the team's Sportsmanship Award as both a freshman and senior in cross country and sophomore year in track. She intends on majoring in Health/PE at IUPUI.

"Veronica's a very hard worker," McDaniel said. "In terms of speed, she'll be the fastest person we've had in the program. She ran the 400 and 200 in track and definitely just loves running. She's got the capability to be a very, very good college miler with her mixture of speed and strength. That's something we talked about with her and she looks forward to it."

Valeria Guzman (Ligonier, Ind./West Noble) was a four-year varsity letterwinner in cross country at West Noble High School, earning MVP honors her senior season. She helped West Noble to two straight state finals appearances, and earned the track team's Sprints Awards as a sophomore and junior. She was a two-time All-Area and three-time All-Conference performer and qualified for state in the 3,200m relay, 400m relay and 300 hurdles. Her best cross country time was 19:34, while she owned personal best times of 2:22 in the 800m entering this spring. Guzman intends on majoring in Nursing at IUPUI.

"Valeria is very versatile, running everything from the 4x100, 300 hurdles and 5K in cross for her high school," McDaniel said. "She's got a lot of speed, so I can see her running anywhere from the 800 to maybe even the steeple. Her versatility is definitely going to help us right away."

Savannah Turner (Jasonville, Ind./Shakamak) finished her career as one of the most accomplished runners in Shakamak High School history, becoming the first in the school's history to qualify for the IHSAA state track meet. Turner helped Shakamak to three regional appearances in her four seasons and was the 2012 Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference champion, running a time of 19:20 her senior season. Turner advanced to semistate her senior season after running 19:59 at the Bedford North Lawrence Regional to place eighth. As a junior, she qualified for the IHSAA State Meet in the 1,600m and ultimately placed 26th, running 5:33.06. She owns personal best times of 2:30 in the 800m, 5:23 in the 1,600 and 12:19 in the 3,200. Turner is an honor roll student and also played basketball for the Lady Lakers. Turner intends on majoring in Pre-Med at IUPUI.

"Savannah is actually a runner I observed while watching Julie (Riggins) last year. She's a competitor, coming out of a small school and small program," McDaniel said. "I've heard nothing but positive things about her, both in competition and in the classroom. She's another one that I think will take off within our workouts."

The Jaguars graduate the senior trio ot Rebecca Downs, Kaci Verkamp and Rachel Zajac, but are expected to return a young core headlined by to-be sophomores Leah Brooks and Julie Riggins. 

IUPUI Women's Cross Country/Track Signees (as of 4/3/2013)
Name	Ht.	Hometown	High School
Mandy Campbell	5-5	Middlebury, Ind.	Northridge
Jennifer Emery	5-2	Fort Wayne, Ind.	Leo
Veronica Goduto	5-3	Brownsburg, Ind.	Brownburg
Valeria Guzman	5-1	Ligonier, Ind.	West Noble
Savannah Turner	5-5	Jasonville, Ind.	Shakamak