17 November 2005

MSU Adds Wallace State CC Quintet to Track Signees
Coachman, Davis, Hubbard, Jones and O’Neal to continue careers as Bulldogs

MSU signees from left: Golden Coachman, Bruce David, Delandus O'Neal, Ezra Jones and Jamil Hubbard with Wallace State CC head Coach Stan Narewski.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State University associate head track and field coach Steve Dudley has announced the signing of Wallace State (Hanceville, Ala.) Community College’s Golden Coachman, Bruce Davis, Jamil Hubbard, Ezra Jones and Delandus O’Neal to national-letters-of-intent. Davis and Jones will arrive on campus in January 2006, while Coachman, Hubbard and O’Neal will begin competing during the 2006-07 school year.

   “I don’t think we’ve ever had five guys sign with the same school,” said Wallace State CC head coach Stan Narewski. “I feel real good about sending them over to Starkville. I’ve know Al (Schmidt) and Steve for years. They’ve always been gentlemen and have treated us like family. It’s like having one of your children leave home to go stay with another relative. I’ve seen athletes coached by those men just get better. These guys are very talented and focused.”

BRUCE DAVIS

   Davis, a native of Phenix City, Ala., was a member of the 2005 National Junior College Athletic Association national championship 4x400-meter relay squad. The squad ran 3 minutes, 7.01 seconds to capture the title. Last season, Davis finished third in the 400-meter dash at both the indoor and outdoor national meets. He is a three-time all-American in the 400 and 4x4.

   “Gaining Bruce has given us added strength and depth in the long sprints,” Dudley said. “He will help fill some big shoes lost last year. He is one of the premier 400-meter runners coming out of the junior college ranks, and we are very happy to add him to our team."

   As a prep at Central High School, Davis finished as state runner-up in the 4x800-meter relay as a junior and in the 400 as a senior. He was also an all-State selection in the decathlon. As a cross country athlete, he finished third at the regional meet his junior season.

   His personal record is 46.4 in the 400-meter dash. Davis participated at the 2000 and 2003 Junior Olympics.

   The son of Patricia Davis intends to major in education at State.

EZRA JONES

   Jones comes to MSU from WSCC, where he was a member of the 4x400-meter relay NJCAA national championship team from a year ago. As a freshman, Jones ran on the second-place indoor 4x4 squad and the fourth-place 4x4 outdoor team at the national championships. He has been named an all-American on two occasions.

   "Ezra was part of the national junior college champion 4 x 400-meter relay team,” Dudley said. “It is always exciting for our program to add someone that knows how to win, and he will bring this experience to our younger guys here at Mississippi State."

   A native of Wildwood, Fla., Jones ran at Wildwood High School for head coach Khalil Tucker. In his final season, Jones captured the state championship in the 400-meter dash, running a personal record 47.5. He
was an all-District and all-State selection and named Florida’s Track Athlete of the Year his senior season. He participated in the 2003 Junior Olympics.

   Jones plans to major in sports medicine and is the son of Avon Hambrick.

GOLDEN COACHMAN

   Coachman hails from Birmingham, Ala., where he prepped at Huffman High School. At Wallace State in 2003, he garnered all-America honors in the indoor 800-meter run with a fifth-place finish at the national
championship. He also ran the 4x800-meter relay, which finished fourth at that same meet. During the outdoor season, Coachman finished fifth at nationals to earn all-America status in the 800. His personal record in the 800 is 1:51.90. Coachman did not compete during the 2004-05 season due to active military duty in Iraq.

   "I wished we could sign 25 athletes per year with the backbone and discipline Golden will bring to our team,” Dudley said. “He has not only been a junior college All-American; he has also been to Iraq to fight for our country.”

   At Huffman, Coachman won a state championship as a senior in the 4x400-meter relay. He finished second in the 800-meter run. For his efforts, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the team and his senior season was named Birmingham’s City Track Star.

   In 2002, he took second in the 800-meter run at the AAU Junior Nationals. He finished fourth in the event in 2001. He placed fifth in the 1500-meter run in 2002.

   The son of Colleen Minniefield, Coachman plans to major in biological sciences/pre-medicine studies.

JAMIL HUBBARD

   Hubbard placed third at NJCAA nationals in the 200-meter dash and was a member of the national title 4x400-meter relay last season. His personal records are 20.7 in the 200 and 47.2 in the 400.

   "We are very fortunate to gain Jamil to our team,” Dudley said. “We needed some additional help in the short sprints and the addition of the third-place 200-meter runner at the NJCAA national championships
will do this nicely."

   A native of Atlanta, Ga., Hubbard ran for Alex Jacobbs at Salem High School. He won the state title in the 400 as a senior and finished runner-up the three seasons prior. Hubbard is a four-time regional champion in the 200- and 400-meter dashes. He was also a regional champion in the 4x4 on three occasions and in the long jump once. Hubbard won the county title in the 200 and 400 all four years of school. For his efforts, he was a four-time all-District and all-State selection. Off the track, He was a state meet qualifier in wrestling.

   In 2002, Hubbard won the 400-meter dash title at Junior Olympics. He finished third in the 200 in 2002. He represented Team USA as a member of the 2002 World Junior Team.

   Hubbard is the son of Sandra and Victor Adams. He plans to pursue a degree in criminal justice.

DELANDUS O’NEAL

   O’Neal earned all-America honorable mention honors in 2005 for finishing fourth at the national championship in the 400-meter hurdles, running a personal record 52.6.

   "The addition of Delandus not only brings a talented 400-meter hurdler but a very energetic student-athlete to our program,” Dudley noted. “It has been quite sometime since Mississippi State has had a 400 hurdler
of his talent."

   O’Neal ran for Craig Musselwhite at Carrollton (Ga.) High School. During his sophomore and junior seasons, he was a part of team state championship. As a freshman and junior, he won the state title in the
300-meter hurdles. He was also named all-Area. O’Neal also competed in football, where he was an all-Area selection as a junior and senior and picked up a preseason all-State nod as a senior.

   O’Neal is the 2000 Junior Olympics national champion in the triple jump and 200-meter hurdles. He won the 400-meter hurdles title in 2001.

   O’Neal will attend MSU to receive a business degree. He is the son of Jackie O’Neal.

-- www.MStateAthletics.com –

Contact: Cassie Chance, Mississippi State University (662.325.5852 or 662.312.2939)

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  Kristen Holmes
  Director, Communications and Marketing
  Wallace State Community College
  P.O. Box 2000
  Hanceville, AL 35077
  256/352-8118
  E-mail: Kristen.Holmes@WallaceState.edu