CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson track & field head coach Mark Elliott announced the signing of seven national letters of intent Tuesday for the incoming class of 2018-19. On the men’s side, Roje Stona (St. Catherine, Jamaica/St. Jago), Fabian Hewitt (St. Catherine, Jamaica/Wiley College) and Max Hardin(Wilmington, Del./Tatnall) will join the Tigers in the fall of 2018, while Andrea Foster (Georgetown, Guyana/Essex CC), Courtashia Felton (Hempstead, N.Y. /Hempstead HS), Anna Brewer (Fort Mill, S.C./Fort Mill HS) and Jessica Brewer (Fort Mill, S.C./Fort Mill HS) are the additions to the women’s program. Elliott announced the signings of several other incoming Tigers for the 2018-19 season this past spring and fall.
“We have signed some great NCAA-caliber athletes in the past, but I would say this is our best signing class across the board,” said Elliott.
Stona comes to Clemson as one of the world’s top junior discus throwers. In 2017, he ranked No. 1 (U20) in the world in the 1.75-kilogram discus throw. Stona also won the CARIFTA Games and ISSA Championships titles in 2017 and 2018 and set the CARIFTA Games meet record in 2017 with his personal best of 66.41m. Additionally, he was the runner up at this year’s Penn Relays. In the U20 2-kilogram discus ranks, Stona is No. 4 with a best mark of 57.97m, which would be good for No. 4 in the ACC this outdoor season.
“Signing an athlete like Roje is huge for us given his world ranking. He’ll be joining guys like Vashon [McCarthy] and Zico [Campbell] in the throws group, which is an area we wanted to start getting a lot of contribution from both at the conference and at the national level. I think Roje will help us do that.”
Hewitt is a sprinter from Wiley College, an NAIA school in Marshall, Texas. He achieved his personal bests in both the 100m (10.25) and 200m (20.72) dashes at the Tom Tellez Invitational this past spring. His PR in the 100m dash would be good for No. 4 on the ACC performance list this outdoor season, while his personal best in the 200m dash would rank sixth in the conference.
“With his times in the 100m and 200m, Fabian is the fastest sprinter we’ve signed since I’ve been here. We’re fortunate to sign someone that will to step in and make an impact right away. He’s a great addition to our sprints program.”
Foster won the women’s NJCAA outdoor 800m title at this year’s championship meet as member of the Essex CC track & field team. While at the junior college championship, Foster achieved her personal best, 2:09.78.
“Andrea is the junior college national champion in the 800m, which says a lot about her. We’re excited to have her in the middle distance group. She’ll be filling the shoes of some seniors we have in that group such as Fellan Ferguson. Again, we’re very excited to have Andrea join us in the fall.”
Felton hails from Hempstead, New York and specializes in long sprints and the 400m hurdles. In 2018, she achieved her personal best at the Section VIII County Championship in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:03.75.
“Courtashia is an incoming freshman from New York. I know her high school coach very well and he speaks very highly of her. She’s one of those people who – with our training program – will become a big contributor for us in the long hurdles and probably help us out in the 800m indoors.”
Twin sisters Anna and Jessica Brewer are from Fort Mill, South Carolina. Anna Brewer is long sprinter and 400m hurdler, who holds the Fort Mill High School program records in the 400m dash and 400m hurdles. Jessica Brewer is a pole vaulter with a background in gymnastics. Like her sister, Jessica Brewer owns the Fort Mill High School program record in her event. She cleared a height of 12-2, and won the South Carolina 5A state championship title.
“These are two of the top athletes in the state. In the pole vault, Jessica is definitely going to jump right in and make an impact for us. Anna is going to add depth to our 400m hurdles group. I think they’re both going be a presence at the conference level right away, so those are two big signings for us.”
Hardin will look to make an impact as a member of the Tigers’ cross country team and as a distance runner for the Tigers’ track & field program. Hardin comes from Tatnall School in Wilmington, Delaware.
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