Track and Field | 11/17/2016 5:01:00 PM

In the early signing period, the Texas State track and field/cross country teams made a big splash with its five signees. All of the signees rank top 10 in the state of Texas and three are ranked top 25 in the nation.Joining the Bobcats in the 2017-18 school year are Joe Austin III, Terrance Mullings, Lauren Purdom, Tina Sierra and Tyrell Valentine."This is a very talented fall class, who are also outstanding in the classroom," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country. "We are excited in welcoming our new Bobcats!"Mullings will arrive in San Marcos from Hillcrest High School in Dallas. The soon to be Bobcat finished fourth at the AAU Junior Olympics this past summer in the 400-meter dash. He posted a time of 47.34 that ranks 15th in the country. In the 200-meter dash, Mullings best time has been 21.78.Valentine ran the 24th fastest time in the nation of 47.64 in the 400m at the 2016 Great Southwest Classic that was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Missouri City, Texas native won his heat and placed fourth overall. He also runs on the 4x400m relay team at Fort Bend Marshall High School. Valentine has helped the relay squad run the 22nd fastest time in the country, 3:14.76, for the 2017 class.Austin is a distance runner from Conroe, Texas and attended Oak Ridge High School. He posted a personal best time of 15:18 in cross country on a 3-mile course that ranks 16th in the state. In 2016, Austin was a cross country state finalist.Purdom is a high jumper from Whitesboro High School in Whitesboro, Texas. During the 2016 indoor season, she posted the fifth highest clearance in the country at 5-4.25 (1.63m) at the Texas A&M High School Classic. Her personal best mark was at the UIL 3A Region II Championships this past spring when she cleared 5-7.0 (1.70m). Purdom would go on to win the bronze at the Texas state meet.Arriving from La Feria High School in La Feria, Texas is Sierra. She has the eighth fastest time in her class in Texas in the 3,200-meter run of 11:07.10 set at the RGVCA Meet of Champions in April. At the state meet back in May, she claimed fourth in the distance race. Sierra finished sixth at the UIL 4A State Cross Country Championships meet last week with a school record time.For the latest on Texas State track and field, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com and follow the team on Twitter at @TxStateTrack