NEWARK, DE -- University of Delaware men’s cross country and track and field head coach Jim Fischer (at right) has announced the signing of six high school standout athletes who will attend UD this fall and compete for the Blue Hens.

The groupd includes shot put and discus thrower Nick Alexander from Hackettstown, NJ; distance runner Pierce Conlon of Wilmington, DE; weight thrower Theo Lusardi of Hopatcong, NJ; sprinter and jumper Ross Shober of Reinholds, PA; weight thrower John Viotto of Dayton, NJ; and middle distance runner Corey Wall of Clarks Summit, PA.

“We are excited about this year’s recruiting class,” said Fischer, who will begin his 26th season at the helm of the Blue Hen cross country and track and field teams this fall. “We have signed six outstanding athletes who will help us continue to improve our competitiveness within the Colonial Athletic Association.”

Alexander, a graduate of West Morris Central High School, was a three-sport standout and served as captain of the football and track and field teams. He placed ninth in the shot put at the New Jersey state Meet of Champions in June with a toss of 54-2 1/2 after winning the Morris County title in that event with a school-record throw of 57-7 1/2. He was a three-time team Most Valuable Player, won conference and county titles in the shot put and discus, and was a New Jersey sectional champion in the discus with a throw of 157-0. A National Honor Society student, Alexander was also a member of the state champion football team as a defensive lineman.

Conlon was a standout runner at nearby Concord High School and will compete in cross country and track and field at Delaware. He earned first team All-State honors in cross country twice and was a second team selection once. He captured the Blue Hen Conference cross country title last fall and went on to place second in the state Division II race. He also placed fifth in the state cross country meet as a sophomore and ninth as a junior. In indoor track and field, he placed second in the 3,200 meter run and fourth in the 1,600 meters to lead Concord to the state team title this past season. Outdoors, he placed second in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meter races at the state Division II race last month. He also posted a third place finish in the 1,600 meters at the 2005 state outdoor meet and was fifth in that event at the 2006 state outdoor meet.

Lusardi, a standout from Pope John XXIII Regional High School in both track and field and as a tight end in football, won the New Jersey State Catholic indoor shot put title this past winter with a toss of 49-9 and placed 24th in the discus with a toss of 126-6 at the New Jersey Outdoor Meet of Champions in June. He led Pope John to its fourth straight conference title this spring in his first season on the team. He also was a standout sprinter with a personal best of 23.0 in the 200 meters and holds the school discus record.

Shober enjoyed an outstanding career in football and track and field at Garden Spot High School. Last fall he rushed for 1,197 yards and scored 17 touchdowns as a tailback to earn first team All-Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 honors and lead Garden Spot to the District 3 AAA playoffs in football. In track and field, he turned in two of the top times in the league with marks of 15.3 in the 110 meter hurdles and 10.7 in the 100 meters and competed in the state championships in the 100 meters. His time of 10.6 in the 100 meters in 2006 was the top time in the league.

Viotto, a graduate of South Brunswick, NJ, enjoyed an outstanding career throwing the shot put and discus and ranked among the state’s top throwers. He earned all-conference honors in the shot put three times and once in the discus during his career and posted career best throws of 53-10 in the shot put and 164-8 in the discus. He captured the state Group 4 indoor shot put title this past winter and placed seventh in the discus and 11th in the shot put in the New Jersey Meet of Champions in June.

Wall, who graduated from Abington Heights High School earlier this month, is an outstanding middle distance runner whose specialty is in the 800 meters. He broke the school 800 meter record that stood for 25 years earlier spring with a time of 1:55.10, a mark that placed him 10th at the Pennsylvania PIAA AAA state championship. In addition, he ranked among the top 150 runners in the country in the 800 meters.