Texan Lauren Vasquez Signs With Lady Bulldog Track Team
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State University head track and field coach Al Schmidt announced Wednesday the signing of Judson Senior High School's Lauren Vasquez to a national letter-of-intent to compete for the Lady Bulldogs beginning in 2004.
"Lauren is going to fill a need we have for a long sprinter," said Schmidt. "We are really excited about her joining the team."
A four letterwinner in both track and cross country, Lauren Vasquez notes personal best marks of 25.4 in the 200m, 56.5 in the 400m, 2:20 in the 800m, 1:38 in the 4x200m and 3:50 as a member of JHS's 4x400m relay team and 3:47 as a member of the AAU team.
"Signing with MSU was an easy decision for me," said Vasquez. "The team was very welcoming, and I felt right at home with them. I really appreciate the interest Coach Cunningham showed in me, and I hope to prove to him that he made the right decision. Hopefully, I can make an impact on the team these next few years."
In her senior season, she was named outstanding senior cross country runner and earned a regional qualifying time in cross country. She was also a member of JHS's district champion track team and the regional runner-up track team.
She qualified for the 2003 Texas State Championships in the 4x200m relay and the 4x400m relay. The 4x200m team took fourth, and the 4x400m team finished sixth. The Rockets track team won the 2003 District and Regional Championships.
In her first two seasons, she qualified for regionals in cross country and helped her track team win the district championships and the regional championships. Her 4x400m relay team qualified for the state championships in 2002 and 2001, and the 4x200m team qualified in 2002.
Off the track, she is a member of the National Honor Society, Socidad Honoria Hispanica, and was a three-year academic letterman. She is a Judson Scholar and ranked in the top 4 percent of her class.
She also serves her school as a three-year member of the student council, two of which she was a class representative. She was the safety and health committee chair her senior year and was a teacher with an Adult ESL tutoring class for two years.
Vasquez plans to pursue a degree in sociology at MSU.