Sports

Crose, Shields And Andrews Join Rio Track And Field


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To wrap up the month of May, the men’s track and field team at the University of Rio Grande picked up a trio of athletes. Clint Crose, Adrian Shields and Isaac Andrews signed on Thursday to join the RedStorm in 2014, according to RioRedStorm.com

Crose and Shields, both sprinters, hail from Northmor High School (Galion, Ohio) and Warren Local High School (Vincent, Ohio), respectively. Andrews comes from Nelsonville-York High School and throws shot put and discus.

Crose stands at 5-foot-11 and weighs 135 pounds. Shields is even smaller at 5-foot-7 and 125 pounds. Both take advantage of their small frames to sprint on the track. Andrews uses his massive 6-foot, 280-pound frame much differently, chucking weighted objects through the air.

In Crose’s junior season at Northmor he took first in the 200-meter dash and second in the 100-meter dash at the district championships. He also was a member of Northmor’s 4×100-meter and 4×200-meter relay teams that qualified for the regional championships last spring.

Crose also garnered attention from Heidelberg University and Muskingum University.

Shields lettered all four years at Warren Local. His time of 12.4 seconds was good enough for eighth in the 100-meter dash at the 2013 Southeastern Ohio Athletic League's championship. He also took part in his school’s 4×400-meter relay squad, which finished third at the championship.

Shields also drew interest from other schools. Trine University and North Greeneville University were also recruiting Shields for his talents.

This spring, Andrews qualified for the regional meet in both shot put and discus. The Nelsonville-York Buckeye was selected to the All-Tri-Valley Conference team as well as first team All-Ohio and All-Southeast District honors.

Andrews was also a football star for the Buckeyes. He played on the offensive and defensive lines and earned all-conference and all-district honors.

Like his soon-to-be teammates, other schools had their eyes on the big thrower. Ultimately Andrews chose to attend Rio Grande rather than Mount Union College or Heidelberg.

According to RedStorm men’s track and field coach Bob Willey, Andrews fills a large void for Rio and will make an immediate impact as he is its first thrower recruit.

Crose and Shields will also have opportunities to contribute early on in their careers. Rio Grande lost three runners, one of which a sprinter, to graduation, giving the new additions a good chance to compete next year.