Long Beach State University Athletics
New Sprinters and Hurdlers Bolster Track And Field
9/10/2020 10:12:00 AM | Track and Field
Two freshmen and a graduate transfer are coming to the Beach.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – A trio of new student-athletes will join LaTanya Sheffield's sprints and hurdles group as our introduction to the incoming track and field student-athletes continues.
"Competitive, experienced and tenacious are a few adjectives that describe our new additions to the men's and women's Beach Sprint Squad," said Sheffield. "Justin Watterson, Andres Woodruff and Kaitlyn Williams are excited to wear the black and gold this season for the Beach. With this group, we look to build on our record of champions, championships, and developing leaders at our great university."
Men's Commitments
Justin Watterson – Freshman; Las Vegas, Nev. (Coronado HS)
A highly touted recruit from Las Vegas, Justin Watterson was the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year, and earned High School All-America honors in his last full season of outdoor track. Watterson won the Nevada State Championship in the 300m hurdles as both a junior and a sophomore and owns the school record in both the 110m and 300m hurdles. Competing at the collegiate distance of 400m, he took fifth place at the USATF Junior Olympic National Championships, and enters college with bests of 54.41 in the 400m hurdles and 14.42 in the 110m hurdles. He also played two years of basketball at Coronado High School, and will be majoring in Psychology.
Andres Woodruff – Senior; Los Angeles, Calif. (UC Irvine)
A graduate transfer from UC Irvine, Andres Woodruff has shown he can compete with the best of the conference, taking two Top 5 finishes at the last Big West Championship in 2019. He ran a career-best 52.62 in the 400m hurdles at the 2019 Big West Championships, and also played fourth overall in the 4x400m relay with the Anteaters. He earned All-Big West honors in both relays as sophomore, and was a point scorer as a freshman in the 400m hurdles as well. After graduating with a degree in Public Health Policy, he'll be pursuing a Master's in Health Care Administration at the Beach.
Women's Commitments
Kaitlyn Williams – Fershman; Carson, Calif. (Carson HS)
Kaitlyn Williams comes to the Beach after a strong senior season, where she was a champion at the 2020 Winter State Championships. She won the 60m dash while placing as the runner-up in the 150m. In outdoor track and field, she won the 100m dash at the CIF LA City Section finals, and was the runner-up at the 2019 USATF Junior Olympic National Championships. She'll come the Beach with bests of 12.19 in the 100m and 25.08 in the 200m, with an intent to major in Kinesiology.
"Competitive, experienced and tenacious are a few adjectives that describe our new additions to the men's and women's Beach Sprint Squad," said Sheffield. "Justin Watterson, Andres Woodruff and Kaitlyn Williams are excited to wear the black and gold this season for the Beach. With this group, we look to build on our record of champions, championships, and developing leaders at our great university."
Men's Commitments
Justin Watterson – Freshman; Las Vegas, Nev. (Coronado HS)
A highly touted recruit from Las Vegas, Justin Watterson was the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year, and earned High School All-America honors in his last full season of outdoor track. Watterson won the Nevada State Championship in the 300m hurdles as both a junior and a sophomore and owns the school record in both the 110m and 300m hurdles. Competing at the collegiate distance of 400m, he took fifth place at the USATF Junior Olympic National Championships, and enters college with bests of 54.41 in the 400m hurdles and 14.42 in the 110m hurdles. He also played two years of basketball at Coronado High School, and will be majoring in Psychology.
Andres Woodruff – Senior; Los Angeles, Calif. (UC Irvine)
A graduate transfer from UC Irvine, Andres Woodruff has shown he can compete with the best of the conference, taking two Top 5 finishes at the last Big West Championship in 2019. He ran a career-best 52.62 in the 400m hurdles at the 2019 Big West Championships, and also played fourth overall in the 4x400m relay with the Anteaters. He earned All-Big West honors in both relays as sophomore, and was a point scorer as a freshman in the 400m hurdles as well. After graduating with a degree in Public Health Policy, he'll be pursuing a Master's in Health Care Administration at the Beach.
Women's Commitments
Kaitlyn Williams – Fershman; Carson, Calif. (Carson HS)
Kaitlyn Williams comes to the Beach after a strong senior season, where she was a champion at the 2020 Winter State Championships. She won the 60m dash while placing as the runner-up in the 150m. In outdoor track and field, she won the 100m dash at the CIF LA City Section finals, and was the runner-up at the 2019 USATF Junior Olympic National Championships. She'll come the Beach with bests of 12.19 in the 100m and 25.08 in the 200m, with an intent to major in Kinesiology.
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