GRAND FORKS, N.D. - University of North Dakota Head Track and Field Coach Kevin Galbraith announced today that D'Monte Farley, Cody Mach, Zach Olson and Parker Wharram have been signed to National Letters of Intent for the 2012-13 season.

"I'm real excited about this class for a lot reasons," said Galbraith. "This is our first chance as a staff to bring in a recruiting class, and these are all people who can come in and step up and compete at the Division I level and be competitive in the Big Sky (Conference). This is the kind of group that we need to move the program forward and be successful at the Division I level."

Farley is a native of Cottage Grove, Minn., and will be a 2012 graduate of Park High School. He was the 2011 Suburban East Conference champion in the 100-meters (11.12 seconds), 200-meters (22.3 seconds) and the long jump (22 feet, 2 inches). Farley placed second in both the 100-meters and the long-jump and finished fifth in the triple jump at the 2011 MSHSL Section 3AA Finals. At the 2011 state meet, Farley finished sixth in the 100-meters, 12th in the triple jump and 20th in the long jump. He also competed in football and wrestling.

Mach is a native of Faribault, Minn., and will be a 2012 graduate of Faribault High School. A 6-foot-5, 270-pound thrower, Mach was a 2011 All-Big 9 Conference performer in the discus, recording a personal best throw of 152 feet, 8 inches. He also earned all-conference honors in football, competed in wrestling and is an honors student.

Olson is a native of Owatonna, Minn., and will be a 2012 graduate of Owatonna High School. He earned All-Big 9 conference honors in the shot put in 2011 and was the True Team State Meet runner-up in the shot put. An all-conference football player, Olson turned down NCAA Division I and Division II football scholarship offers to throw at UND. He also competed in hockey at Owatonna High. Both of his parents are UND graduates.

Wharram is a native of Independence, Minn., and will be a 2012 graduate of Mound West Tonka High School. He was the 2011 Wright Conference champion in both the 1,600 and 3,200-meters and was the Section 2AA runner-up in both events. Wharram went on to place ninth in both events at the Minnesota state meet, establishing personal records in both. In cross country, Wharram was the individual runner-up at the Wright Conference Championship while also leading his team to a runner-up finish. He placed fourth at the Section 2AA Championship and 24th at the state meeting, earning as high as a No. 8 ranking in the Minnesota AA individual polls.

 

~ Go Sioux ~