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BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech men’s track and field has announced the signing of six national letters of intent for the 2011-12 cross country and track and field seasons. Of the six, five are Virginia natives, including one from Blacksburg and two distance runners from traditional powerhouse Midlothian High School.

Here are the Hokies’ six signees, listed alphabetically.

Darren Barlow (Midlothian, Va. – Midlothian High School - Distance)

PRs = 5k XC – 15:30, Mile – 4:28

“Darren will be a solid addition to our cross country team this fall,” said Tech distance coach Ben Thomas. “He comes from a championship program at Midlothian and we expect him to contribute to championships here at Virginia Tech.“

This past cross country season, Barlow earned AAA All-State honors helping Midlothian to a Virginia State AAA cross country title and a Nike Southeast Regional Cross Country championship. He is a three-time all-district and all-region cross country runner and a USA Swimming Academic All-American.

He is the son of Scott and Angie Barlow and plans to major in engineering.

Brayden Burleigh (Midlothian, Va. – Midlothian High School - Distance)

PRs = 5k XC – 15:20, 800m – 1:56.10, 1,000m – 2:33.46, Mile – 4:15.59, 3,200m – 9:15.11

“Brayden is the latest in a long line of outstanding distance runners out of Midlothian High School,” said Thomas. “I believe he has the tools to be an outstanding runner at the collegiate level. There have been several outstanding current and former Hokie distance runners from Midlothian High School, and I look forward to working with Brayden.”

Burleigh has strong career accolades in both cross country and track, having earned nine Virginia AAA All-State selections between the two. As a freshman in 2007-08, he was a Foot Locker Southeast Regional freshman cross country champion and the Nike Indoor National Meet freshman mile champion in track. In 2009, he finished fourth at the Nike Cross Country Southeast Regional Championships.

He is the son of Bryan and Pamela Burleigh and is undecided on his major.

George Carter (Blacksburg, Va. – Blacksburg High School - Distance)

PRs = 500m – 1:07.1, 800m – 1:55.44, 1,000m – 2:30.89, Mile – 4:13.82, 3,200m – 9:17.84

“George has shown me great toughness during his career at Blacksburg High School,” said Thomas. “His ability to compete in multiple events with short rest will be a great asset to him at the collegiate level. He is coming from a very successful Blacksburg program, and he is used to winning. This is the type of student-athlete that we look for during the recruiting process. We are extremely happy to have George Carter join our program.”

In 2010, Carter helped lead Blacksburg High School to Virginia AA State Championship in cross country. This indoor season, he was a State AA Champion in the mile and placed third in the 1,000 meters, leading Blacksburg to a State AA Indoor team title. He was also a member of the 2010 state-champion 4x800-meter relay team. His personal best time in the mile this season of 4:13.82 ranked ninth nationally.

He is the son of Kevin and Anne Carter and is undecided on his major.

Danny McFadden (Newport News, Va. – Heritage High School - Sprints/Hurdles)

PRs = 55-meter hurdles – 7.21

“The Hokie nation is extremely excited about the addition of Danny McFadden to our program,” said Tech sprints, hurdles and jumps coach Charles Foster. “Danny’s talents will be a great contribution to compliment the sprint and hurdle corps we currently have in place. We think Danny will make an immediate impact with our program here at Virginia Tech.”

McFadden was the top-ranked hurdler in the nation this indoor season, posting a personal-best 7.21 in the 55-meter hurdles to win a Virginia State AAA Indoor title. It is the second-fastest time in the event in state meet history and puts McFadden fifth on the all-time US High School performance list. He also finished as a runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles at the 2011 New Balance Indoor National High School meet, earning All-America honors with a 7.76 finish.

He is the son of Daniel and Regina McFadden and plans to major in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise.

Walter Mitchell (Virginia Beach, Va. – Salem High School - Sprints)

PRs = 55-meter dash – 6.46, 200-meter dash – 21.57, 300-meter dash – 35.25, 400-meter dash – 49.21

“We welcome Walter Mitchell into our organization,” said Foster. “With the addition of his versatile talents, the Virginia Tech sprint group becomes more formidable than we have ever been.”
An honor roll student and team captain at Salem High School, Mitchell was selected as the Student-Athlete of the Year for his school in 2010. That season, he was a Virginia AAA State runner-up in the 200-meters. In 2007, he was an AAU Boys National Champion in the 400-meter dash and in 2009 was an AAU Intermediate Boys National Champion in the 200-meter dash.

He is the son of Walter and Awele Mitchell and plans on majoring in computer science.

Chris Uhle (Powell, Ohio – Olentangy Liberty High School - Pole Vault)

PRs = pole vault – 16-9 (5.11m), 800 meters – 1:54.67

“Chris is an excellent athlete,” said Tech pole vault coach Bob Phillips. “Even though his personal best is already close to 17 feet, he has the potential to jump much higher. I like the way he has pushed himself in different track events and even in cross country, where he was a team captain. He will be a great addition to our vault group.”

Uhle is the defending Ohio outdoor state champion in the pole vault and the state record-holder with his personal-best vault of 16-9 (5.11m), which ranked third in the nation last season. He also earned 2010 High School All-American honors, placing fourth at the New Balance National Championships. In the 2011 indoor season, Uhle showed his versatility, finishing second at the Ohio State Indoor Championships in the 800 meters.

He is the son of Robert and Peggy Uhle and is undecided on his major.

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