Houston, Texas - University of Houston head track and field coach Leroy Burrell announced the signings of a state champion hurdler and pole vaulter, along with two state qualifying throwers for the 2001-2002 season.

Andrew Carruthers led San Antonio's Central Catholic High School to the Texas TAPPS Class 5A state championship after winning the 110-hurdles in 14.59 seconds, 300 hurdles in 39.32 seconds and finishing second in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 10 1/2 inches. He also had a fifth-place jump in the triple jump with a mark of 41 feet.

He is the TAPPS state record holder in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles. Carruthers is a three-time AAU national medallist, who was the 2000 TAPPS Class 5A 110-meter hurdles state champion and runner-up in the 300-meter hurdles.

He also won the High School Division I and set a division record in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2001 Texas Relays with a time of 14.08 seconds. Carruthers finished third in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2000 Texas Relays and won the event at the 2000 TAPPS Class 5A State Championships in a meet record time of 14.53 seconds.

Joining Carruthers as a state champion is TAPPS Class 5A pole vault champion Tom Rusteburg of St. Joseph High School in Brownsville. Rusteburg won the pole vault at the 2001 TAPPS meet with a vault of 16 feet, 1/4 of an inch after finishing fifth in the Boy's Section A at the Texas Relays with a mark of 15 feet, 6 inches.

Rusteburg competed at Rivera High School in Brownsville as a junior and finished seventh at the UIL Texas State Championships with a vault of 14 feet. He was the Region 4-5A champion with a mark of 14 feet, 6 inches.

Justin Crisp is a discus and shot put thrower from Industrial High School in Vanderbilt, Texas, who was the 2001 District 29-3A champion in the shot put and discus with a put of 55 feet, 8 inches and a throw of 154 feet, 2 inches. He finished fourth in the discus and sixth in the shot put at the Region 4-3A Championship with marks of 162 feet, 1 inch and 55 feet, 8 inches, respectively.

Crisp also earned all-district honors as a defensive end and tight end after leading Industrial High School to the District 26-3A championship and regional playoffs. He finished fifth in the shot put at the 2000 UIL Class 3A State Championship with a vault of 54 feet, 8 1/4 inches after winning the event at the 3-4A Region Championships.

Jeff Schwerdtman is also a discus throw and shot putter from Jackson High School in New Jersey. He finished third in the shot put and discus at the Shore Conference Outdoor championships. He is a four-time state qualifier who was the New Jersey state shot put champion in 2000 and had the state's second-best shot put during the 2001 indoor season with a career-best mark of 60 feet, 2 1/4 inches at the New Jersey Meet of Champions.

Schwerdtman finished third in the shot put at the Eastern States Indoor Championships with a mark of 57 feet, 2 3/4 inches and finished fifth in the shot put at the 2001 National Scholastic Indoor Track and Field Championships with a throw of 55 feet, 2 3/4 inches.

He was the 2000 Shore Conference outdoor champion in the discus with a throw of 159 feet, 9 inches. Schwerdtman is currently ranked third among New Jersey's top shot putters and has been a member of Jackson High School's Principal Honor Roll for four years.

These four signees join Ronnie Broadnax of Seguin High School, who finished second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.88 at the UIL Texas State Class 5A Championships.