Feb. 5, 2009

Art Venegas and the men's track and field team have signed four premier high school student-athletes to National Letters-of-Intent. Joining the Bruins in the fall are Maxwell Dyce (Moorpark HS), Matt Kosecki (Humble HS/TX), DJ Lloyd (Vista Murrieta HS) and Zachary Torres (Crescenta Valley HS).

Kosecki (6-2/280 lbs) is one of the top three returning discus throwers in the country with a 2008 prep best of 202-3 (No. 8 in the U.S.). He earned Track & Field News All-American accolades and was the Texas Relays discus champion last season. He also has thrown 197-0 in the javelin during his sophomore season.

"Matt has incredible turnover in the middle of the throw and is a real student of the event," noted Venegas. "He comes from one of the most competitive states in the throws events and has worked hard to get to where he is today. He will be specializing in the discus, but could try his hand at hammer and javelin. Matt bonded extremely well with our student-athletes and brings leadership and excitement to the program."

Dyce is one of the premier sprinters in the state and ranks as the No. 3 returning 100m runner heading into the 2009 season. He has prep bests of 10.53 in the 100m and 21.65 in the 200m. Dyce also long jumps, with a wind-aided best of 23-0, but will focus solely on the sprinting events during his senior campaign.

"Max is strictly a track guy unlike many of the sprinters in the state who also play football," said Venegas. "He has good leverage and coordination and will be a great addition to our relays. I anticipate great results from him in the open sprint events."

Torres was a standout cross country performer during the 2008 season. He was the CA State runner-up last season and placed 15th at FootLocker Nationals, earning All-American accolades.

"What excites us about Zack's future, is that he has been achieving his success while playing baseball full-time. We feel that once he specializes in long distance running, he will excel," said Venegas.

Lloyd is the top returning long jumper in California with a best of 23-11.50. Track & Field News has also named Lloyd as one of the top returning jumpers in the nation heading into the 2009 season. He is also a multi-sport star, participating in track, basketball and football.

In addition to these four signees, the Bruins will also get an added bonus to the team with football's signing of Randall Carroll (Cathedral HS) and Damien Thigpen (Stonewall Jackson HS/Manassas, VA).

Carroll is the No. 1 sprinter in California with bests of 10.43 in the 100m and 20.91 in the 200m. He was the CA State champion in both events last season. Thigpen is a two-time state champion in the 300m hurdles (37.04).

"We're excited by the cooperation between football and track in landing these two great athletes," said Venegas. "Randall is the best pure sprinter we've had come into UCLA since Ato Boldon. He is a hardworking, serious young man and anticipate great things from him in both sports. Damien is a pleasant last minute surprise. We have known about his track exploits for the past few years and look forward to him joining our program."