FAMU’S Angel Signs Stellar Inaugural Class for 2011-12

Tallahassee, FL - Florida A&M Head Men’s Track and Field Coach Wayne Angel announced the signing of ten student-athletes to grant-aid today for the 2011-2012 season.

Coach W. Wayne Angel

“I am very pleased and excited about the potential and possibilities of these student athletes,” said second year coach Angel. "They are tough, talented and have a no-nonsense approach to work, which will be necessary in helping FAMU in re-establishing its presence in the MEAC.

“We have added depth and talent to our sprint and hurdles groups, our 4x100 and 4x400 relays will bring a lot of excitement to the hill and hopefully ignite a fire in the hearts and minds of our students and alumni to come out and support us,” Angel said.

Here are the 2011-12 signees:

Elias Chesire- Distance- (Eldoret, Kenya) distance star with times of 3:52, 8:17, 14:28 and 29.40 respectively in the 1500, 3k, 5k and 10k. Chesire and FAMU distance ace Shuaib Winters will look to be a formidable tandem in the MEAC.

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Florida A&M track and field team gets boost from Rattlers' football players

Brian Tyms wanted to be a better basketball player in high school, so he ran track at Fort Lauderdale's Dillard High School. Hundreds of miles away, Jeremy Tillman figured that being on the Brandon High School track team would improve his football game.

Both Tyms and Tillman are now wide receivers on the Florida A&M football team, and not surprisingly, they're on the Rattlers' track and field team as well. Obviously, they want the cardiovascular advantage that running and jumping gives them, but their reason for being on the team runs a little deeper.

They're there because of pride and a desire to help the Rattlers to at least a top-five finish at this weekend's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships. Tillman's specialty is the sprints, and Tyms competes in the high jump.



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Florida A&M's Leon Hunt has his eyes set on the 2012 Olympics

Leon Hunt has his eyes set on the 2012 Olympics. But before he punches his ticket for London, the St. Croix, Virgin Islands native wants to be the best college long jumper in the country.

He set a personal best last weekend at the Niswonger Invitational track meet at East Tennessee University when he leaped 7.75 meters (25 feet, 4 inches). The Florida A&M University senior won the event and is nationally ranked in the top 15 of all NCAA indoor long jump athletes.

"The rankings are updated almost every week, so you never know what's going to happen," Hunt said Monday after a workout in Tallahassee, Fla. "But I've been pretty happy with what I've done so far this indoor season."

According to USVI track and field team coach Wallace Williams, Hunt's leap last weekend set a territory record for the indoor long jump. Hunt set the previous record in 2009 and also holds the outdoor long jump record.

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CLICK LINK FOR INFO -- February 17-19, 2011 MEAC Track and Field Championships in Landover, Maryland.

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FAMU Coach Wayne Angel

Florida A&M men's track coach Wayne Angel made a bold statement Thursday afternoon about long jumper Leon Hunt. "I think the sky is the limit for him" Angel said. Specifically, Angel was referring to Hunt becoming the Rattlers' first track and field All-American since 2005, winning a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and possibly qualifying for next year's Olympics.

That's lofty, but Hunt gave the first-year FAMU coach reason last weekend to be that optimistic. Hunt jumped 25.5 feet last weekend at the Blue Raider Invitational in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The jump landed Hunt in the NCAA's national top 15 rankings at No. 11. It was his career best and now Hunt is aiming to clear another foot, which will put him within range of achieving 26 feet and joining the national elites.

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FAMU narrows choice on baseball coach

The Tallahassee Democrat has confirmed that Florida A&M University has hired former University of Illinois head men's track and field coach Wayne Angel, as the Rattlers next men's track coach. Angel's bio can be read at: Player Bio: Wayne Angel - FIGHTINGILLINI.COM // THE OFFICIAL HOME ...

Florida A&M could make its next athletic department personnel hire out of the state of Mississippi.

On Tuesday, when FAMU signed former University of Mississippi associate athletic director Derek Horne to run its athletic department, President James Ammons said he would interview his final choice for the vacant head baseball coach on Wednesday. Ammons didn't name the finalist, and while it wasn't immediately confirmed that Ammons conducted the interview, sources have said Jackson State's baseball coach Omar Johnson visited the campus Wednesday.

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From the Beep...

Dang! FAMU's President Ammons is knocking the ball out to I-10 with the hiring of new athletic director Derek Horne, former Illinois world-class track and field coach Wayne Angel, and now an attempt to hire the highly successful Jackson State University baseball coach, Omar Johnson.

The 411 on Johnson.... He's a Winner... a Miami (Florida) native who is the first JSU baseball coach to reach the 100-win plateau(106-62) within his first three seasons. He has coached the German national team in the 2009 Baseball World Cup and 2010 European Championship (when they won the Bronze Medal for the first time in 35 years). Johnson also coached current major leaguer Josh Willingham of the Florida Marlins. He is a University of North Alabama graduate.

These personnel moves are a major step in Dr. Ammons changing the status quo culture of the FAMU athletic department. Now, if the Rattlers men's basketball problem can be addressed, please.... Yes, I like these hires! Go Rattlers! (beepbeep)

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