| Dec. 6, 2005
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 UTSA Women’s Track & Field inks three during fall signing period
SAN ANTONIO - The UTSA women’s track and field program announced Wednesday the signing of Haylee Allen (Buffalo Gap, Texas/Jim Ned HS), Faith Barlow (San Antonio, Texas/Holmes HS) and Dane Mecke (Spring Branch, Texas/Smithson Valley HS) to National Letters of Intent during the fall signing period. The trio will join the Roadrunners on campus for the 2006-07 season.
“We are very excited about adding these three student-athletes,” head coach James Blackwood said. “All three have great potential and will certainly strengthen our team when they arrive. Faith and Dana are two of the best distance runners we have ever signed and Haylee is a great athlete who is good in a lot of different events.”
Allen, the younger sister of current Roadrunner multi-eventer Ashley Allen, is a standout performer in the 300-meter hurdles and 800-meter run for Tuscola Jim Ned High School near Abilene. On the track last spring, she helped Jim Ned win the District 3-2A title with a victory in the 800m and runner-up finishes in the 300m hurdles and the long and triple jumps. Allen also won the Region I-2A title in the 800m (2:21.61) and was the runner-up in the 300m hurdles (46.90). She was third in both the 800m (2:21.65) and 300m hurdles (46.36) at the state meet. As a junior, Allen was the regional runner-up in the 800m and 300m hurdles, the state runner-up in the 300m hurdles (46.17) and the Class 2A’s third-place finisher in the 800m (2:20.48). In cross country, Allen finished third at the 2002 state meet as a freshman, leading Jim Ned to a third-place team finish, 33rd in 2003, helping the Indians win the team title, and 33rd in 2004.
Barlow, the daughter of former UTSA cross country and track standout Steve Barlow (1982-86), has been one of the top prep female runners in the San Antonio area for the past three years. A four-time state qualifier and two-time regional champion in cross country for Holmes High School, she finished 11th at the 2004 Class 5A state meet with a time of 11:30.45 over 3,200 meters, 20th in 2003, 22nd in 2002 and 73rd at this year’s state meet. She finished 37th in the prestigious Foot Locker South Regional Cross Country Championships on Nov. 26, clocking an 18:25 over 5,000 meters. Last spring on the track, she set a District 27-5A meet record in the 800m of 2:18.20 and won the district crown in the 1,600m in 5:18.22. She also won Region IV-5A titles in the 800m (2:19.64) and 1,600m (5:12.60) and advanced to the state meet where she finished sixth in the 1,600m (5:08.25) and seventh in the 800m (2:18.31). As a junior, Barlow set District 28-5A meet records in the 800m (2:19.00) and 1,600m (5:13.53), won the regional 1,600m crown and finished sixth at the state meet. She owns personal bests of 2:16 in the 800m, 5:03 in the mile and 10:23 in the 3,000m.
Mecke is a three-sport standout at Smithson Valley. In cross country, she won the 2005 UIL Region IV-5A individual title over Barlow, crossing in 12:07 at UTSA. A three-time state qualifier in cross country, she finished 12th at the 2004 Class 5A state meet in 11:34.85, 36th in 2003 and 58th at this year’s state meet. On the track last spring, Mecke was the District 26-5A champion in the 1,600m (5:17.90), the Region IV-5A runner-up (5:15.02) and the eighth-place finisher at the state meet (5:28.84). As a junior, Mecke swept district titles, was the regional runner-up in both the 1,600m and 3,200m and placed sixth in the 3,200m and seventh in the 1,600m at the state championships. She owns top times of 5:07 in the mile and 11:34 in the two-mile. Also a standout on the volleyball court, Mecke earned all-state honors at libero and helped lead the Rangers to the regional quarterfinal round of the playoffs this fall as Smithson Valley ousted Corpus Christi Carroll on the same day — Nov. 5 — that Mecke won the cross country regional crown.
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