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BOULDER — The University of Colorado track and field program is pleased to announce the signing of nine more prep athletes who have committed to compete and continued their education with the Buffaloes for the 2013-14 season.

The talented group has combined for 11 state championships. Four of those signees are from Colorado, while two are from California, two are from Montana and one is from Utah. All but one of the newest additions will be competing in the middle and long distances while the other is a sprinter.

Biographies for each of the signees are below:

Olympic hopefuls Emma Coburn (left) and Shalaya Kipp (right) 

Heather Bates, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Pine Creek)

Bates won the 2011 and ’12 Colorado State 4A 3,200-meter run and was the runner-up those same years in the 1,600. Bates also won the 2012 Colorado State 5A Cross Country Championship by more than 30 seconds and was named The Denver Post and The Gazette Cross Country Runner of the Year. She raced at Nike Cross Nationals and took 12th overall after placing third at the Nike Southwest Regional. Bates was named all-state in track and cross country in 2012 and was awarded the 2012 Colorado Running Hall of Fame High School Long Distance Achievement Award. She also had two other big accomplishments in 2011 as she won the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships and took second in the AAU National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships.

Erin Clark, Eugene, Colo. (South Eugene)

Clark recorded a sixth-place finish at the 2012 Oregon State 6A Cross Country Championships and placed third at the 2011 state championship and eighth in 2010. Following her sixth-place finish as a senior, Clark placed eighth at the Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional and took 11th at the Foot Locker West Regional. Clark also competed at the Nike Cross Northwest Regional her junior and sophomore years, placing fourth and seventh, respectively. On the track she won the state 3,000-meter title as a sophomore in 2011. At the state meet during her junior year, she took second in the 3k and was third in the 1,500.

Austin Mitsch, Carmichael, Calif. (Jesuit)

Mitsch is the Delta River League and Jesuit High School 200-meter dash record holder (21.50). He is a six-time DRL Champion, four-time Sac Joaquin DI Section Champion and a two-time San Joaquin Masters Champion. Mitsch has competed at the California Interscholastic Federation Qualifying meet in the 100-meter dash (2011 and 2012) and the 4×100-meter relay (2010 and 2012). He was named the California All-State Track Second Team, as named by ESPN High School Magazine in April, 2012. Mitsch was also named the Sacramento River Cats 2012 Male Track Athlete of the Year. He enters his senior season as the team captain.

Melanie Nunn, Broomfield, Colo. (Legacy)

Nunn finished fifth overall at the 2012 Colorado State 5A Cross Country Championships, improving from a 12th-place finish as a junior. She went on to compete at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional Championships when she took 10th to earn a spot at the Foot Locker Nationals where she finished 35th overall. Nunn won the 5A Region 3 Championship in 2012 and the 5A Region 4 Championship in 2011. She is a finalist for the Boettcher Scholarship.

Mandy Ortiz, Edwards, Colo. (Battle Mountain)

Ortiz recorded a top-15 finish at the Colorado State 4A Cross Country Championships (15th overall) and placed sixth at the 4A Region 6 Championships as a senior. During her junior season, Ortiz won the 4A Region 5 Championships and placed 11th at state. She raced at the 2012 Colorado State 4A Track and Field Championships and placed seventh in the 3,200-meters and 12th in the 1,600.

Zach Perrin, Kalispell, Mont. (Flathead)

Perrin won three Montana State High School Championships, one on the cross country course and two on the track. He won the 2012 cross country championship after a runner-up finish his junior year. Perrin raced in the Foot Locker West Regional and took eighth overall before placing 10th at the Foot Locker Nationals in 2012. On the track, Perrin brought home a pair of state championships in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. He also ran the best time by a Montana high school runner in 2012 in the 3,200 at the Arcadia Invite (8:55). Perrin also earned a top-20 national cross country ranking in 2012.

Adam Peterman, Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate)

Peterman placed second to Perrin at the 2012 Montana State High School Cross Country Championship. After the state championship, he placed second at the Nike Cross National Northwest Regional before running to a 23rd-place finish at the Foot Locker West Regional. Peterman placed third at the state cross country championship his junior and sophomore seasons. At the state track and field championship, Peterman earned a pair of fourth-place finishes in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs as a junior. In 2011, he took fourth in the 3,200 and fifth in the 1,600. Peterman also earned a top-20 national cross country ranking in 2012.

Hagen Reedy, Clovis, Calif. (Buchanan)

Reedy was the 2012 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Cross Country Championship runner-up after winning the CIF Central Section Championship. She went on to place 20th at Nike Cross Nationals. Reedy also recorded a second-place finish at the 32nd Annual Woodbridge-Estancia-Costa Cross Country Classic with the fourth best time in course history (16:17 for three miles). In 2011, Reedy won the CIF Championship, the CIF Central Section and took seventh at Nike Cross Nationals. As a member of the track team, Reedy placed fifth at the CIF State finals of the 3,200-meters. She also earned a top-20 national cross country ranking in 2012.

Ben Saarel, Park City, Utah (Park City)

Saarel was named the 2012 Gatorade Utah Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year after winning the Utah State Class 3A Championships in 14:56.7, which was the second fastest time ever run on the course. In doing so he helped the Miners to a fourth-place team finish. Saarel placed second at the Nike Cross Nationals Southwest Regional championship before winning the Foot Locker West Regional. At the Foot Locker Championships, Saarel placed fourth in 15:13, just 14 seconds behind the winner. On the track he won three state championships in 2012 (800, 1,600 and 3,200). Saarel also earned a top-20 national cross country ranking in 2012. At the 2013 Simplot Games, he won the 3,200-meters and broke the meet record with his 9:00.62 performance.

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