SEATTLE – Already shaping up as one of the best groups in school history, Washington's 2019-20 recruiting class reached another level today as one of the most accomplished high school track athletes in the world, Australia's Carley Thomas, signed her National Letter of Intent with the Huskies. Thomas is the 2018 World Junior Championships Silver Medalist at 800-meters and on the 4x400-meter relay and owns an outstanding 800m personal-best of 2:01.13.
 
Thomas, from Sydney, Australia, has graduated from Castle Hill High School and is getting set to compete at the Australian National Championships this week. Last year, she captured the Australian U20 National Championship at 800-meters and went on to compete at the World Junior Championships in Finland. There, Thomas won her semifinal in 2:03.19 and moved on to the final, where she cut two more seconds off her personal-best to run 2:01.13 and win Silver.
 
She would add a second Silver Medal as the anchor to Australia's 4x400m relay, as she kicked down the Jamaican squad with a 51.4-second split to get Australia to second-place in 3:31.36.

"Carley Thomas is a world-class athlete and an incredible young woman, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome her to the University of Washington," says Director of Track & Field Maurica Powell. "She's intelligent, talented, driven, and fiercely competitive. Beyond this,Carley is uniquely level-headed, and she possesses maturity and perspective beyond her years. I am so very thankful and humbled that Carley and her wonderful parents, Christina and Bruce, have chosen to be part of our family here on Montlake."


 
Only two women in the NCAA over the past three seasons have posted faster times than Thomas' personal-best.
 
Thomas is the latest in a series of elite international recruits that have chosen to call Seattle home.

• Another 2018 World Junior Championships competitor, Norwegian heptathlete Ida Eikeng, transferred to Washington for the start of spring quarter and will redshirt, starting as a redshirt freshman in 2020.
• Melany Smart, another Australian junior champion, signed with Washington in February. The Perth native won the 2018 Australian U18 title at 3,000-meters.
• New Zealand native Samuel Tanner became UW's first ever recruit to run a sub-four-minute mile when he ran 3:58.41 last month, also becoming the first high schooler to go under four-minutes in New Zealand history.
• British decathlete Ollie Thorner will start his freshman year this fall. Thorner represented Great Britain in the 2018 European U18 Championships, finishing 12th in the decathlon.

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Washington Track & Field Recruiting Class of 2019-20


Sam Affolder – Distances – Loudoun Valley High School
1600m - 4:08.6  |  3200m - 8:59.8 | 2-Mile - 9:11.74

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Ida Eikeng – Multis – University of Kentucky
Heptathlon - 5,658

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Luke Houser – Distances – Woodinville High School
1600m - 4:10.2  |  3200m - 9:02.4

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Andrea Markezich – Distances – Bear Creek High School
1600m - 5:03.02  |  3200m - 10:57.92b

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Daniel Maton – Distances – Camas High School
800m - 1:50.7  |  1600m - 4:07.5  |  Mile - 4:08.1

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Marlena Preigh – Mid-Distances – Fairview High School
800m - 2:06.80  |  Mile - 4:54.03

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Makenna Schumacher – Distances – Jesuit High School
1500m - 4:32.38  |  3000m - 9:42.56

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Tanya Simora – Throws – Puyallup High School
Javelin - 154-6

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Melany Smart - Distances - St. Mary's Anglican Girls' School
1500m - 4:20.7 | Mile - 4:42.61 | 3000m - 9:12.71 | 5000m - 16:08.30

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Samuel Tanner – Distances – Bethlehem College
800m - 1:49.42  |  1500m - 3:43.01  |  Mile - 3:58.46

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Carley Thomas – Mid-Distances – Castle Hill High School
800m - 2:01.13  |  400m Relay Split - 51.4

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Ollie Thurner - Multis - Millfield School
Decathlon - 7,032

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Samuel Van Peursem – Throws – Cedar Park Christian
Shot Put - 62-3 3/4  |  Discus - 171-8

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Joe Waskom – Distances – Mt. Si High School
Mile - 4:09.8  |  2-Mile - 8:54.2