HAMMOND, La. – A pair of local products were among five student-athletes added to the Southeastern Louisiana track and field program during the early signing period.

    Joining the program are throwers Peyton Ryan (Ponchatoula High School, Ponchatoula, Louisiana) and Cole Belkwell (St. Mary's Catholic High School, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada); distance runners Nicole Francois (St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Hammond, Louisiana) and Will Edwards (Cayman Prep High School, Cayman Islands); and multi-event athlete Brian Donna (Roxbury Community College, Roxbury, Massachusetts).

    Donna will join the Lions in January while Ryan, Belkwell, Francois and Edwards will be August 2018 enrollees.

    "We are very excited about these early additions," Southeastern head coach Corey Mistretta said. "We remain committed to improving our distance groups and are looking to add additional runners during the April period as well. As always the throws will be an area we try to sign the best possible throwers nationally and internationally and we believe we have touched on that area as well during this early period. And, we are extremely excited about the addition of Brian Donna and believe he will be a guy that challenges our school record (Cory Roberts, 7,451 points) in the decathlon.

    "This recruiting period has been very successful for us and we are excited about the commitments and additional signings that will happen in April."

    Mistretta said Ryan is a highly academic student-athlete who will be throwing the javelin for the Lions. In addition to being a member of the track and field team, he was the captain of the football team at Ponchatoula. 

    "We are excited about the huge potential Peyton will bring to our team as a full time javelin thrower," Mistretta said.

    Belkwell was the Canadian national champion in the discus in 2015 and '16 and captured the gold in the discus and shot and the silver in the hammer at the Canadian Legion National Track and Field Championships this past August.

    "Cole brings extensive experience in the shot, discus and hammer and is excited to be part of the successful throws program we have here at Southeastern," Mistretta said.

    Francois placed ninth at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Class 2A State Cross Country Championships earlier this week, helping St. Thomas to a second-place team finish. She was also eighth at the state meet in 2016.

    "We are extremely excited to sign someone from St. Thomas Aquinas," Mistretta said. "The Falcons have a very successful distance program under the tutelage of former Lion athlete and coach Miguel Becerra and Nicole was their top finisher at the state cross country championships this week.  Nicole is very excited to join the young lady Lions distance group and will help to add some depth in this area. We are very excited to be able to add another local athlete, joining Peyton Ryan, to our family.

    Mistretta said both he and Lions assistant coach Rocky Capello are quite familiar with Edwards and his family.

    "Will is one of the top distance runners in the Cayman Islands with Louisiana roots and is excited to join fellow countryman Tahj Lewis as a member of the Lion's distance group," Mistretta said. "Will's father (Bill) was a childhood classmate of mine at Ascension Catholic elementary and middle schools in Donaldsonville. Rocky is also a resident of Donaldsonville and is very familiar with the Edwards family. We are excited to have Will join the team. He is going to add some great depth to our young team."  

    Donna will be a multi-event athlete for the Lions as well as participating in the open javelin and open hurdle events. 

    "Brian is an exceptional athlete with great size who we believe will make an immediate impact for the Lions," Mistretta said. "He is excited about moving to a warmer climate where his training will benefit and is looking forward to having an outstanding spring season."

    Mistretta said there are a couple of areas he and his staff want to hit during the spring signing period.

    "Looking at the April signing period, we will be looking to add to our sprint group on the men's side as well as a couple of additional throwers," Mistretta said. "On the women's side we are looking to improve in the jumps and in the throws."

    Southeastern opens its indoor season at the LSU Purple Tiger in Baton Rouge on Jan. 5. The outdoor campaign gets underway on March 2 at the Tulane Early Bird Twilight in New Orleans.
 
2017 Southeastern Louisiana Track and Field Early Signees
Cole Belkwell, Thrower, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, St. Mary's Catholic HS
Brian Donna, Multi-Events, Roxbury, Mass., Roxbury Community College
Will Edwards, Distance, Cayman Islands, Cayman Prep HS
Nicole Francois, Distance, Hammond, La., St. Thomas Aquinas HS
Peyton Ryan, Javelin, Ponchatoula, La., Ponchatoula HS