University of Florida women’s track and field interim head coach Steve Lemke announced the signing of Keely Medeiros (Blumenau-SC, Brazil), Rebecca Lowe (Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia), Monica Lugo (Maitland, Fla.), and Ashlyn Bickwermert (Naples, Fla.) to National Letters of Intent on Friday to begin competing for the Gators in the 2007-08 school year.

“We are very excited about all four of these athletes, Keely, Rebecca, Monica, and Ashlyn, becoming Florida Gators,” Lemke said. “We feel that the addition of these athletes will make an immediate impact on our program, whether it is on the conference level or the NCAA level.”

Medeiros, a standout from Centro Technologico Da Ulbra High School, is the Brazilian under-23 record holder in the shot put. At the 2006 Trofeu Brasil de Atletismo, the tournament that serves as the Brazilian national championship, Medeiros finished third in the shot put with a toss of 15.48m/50-9.50. She competed in both the shot put and the discus at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships held in Beijing, China and advanced to the finals in the shot put, where she finished 11th. Medeiros also helped Brazil win the under-23 Championships at the Eighth South American Games by taking third in the shot put.

Lowe, a distance runner from Kincoppal-Rose Bay School of the Sacred Heart, holds several 2007 Australian under-20 top marks. Lowe holds under-20 rankings of 16th in the 1,500m (4:31.07), fifth in the 3,000m (9:44.23), fifth in the 3,000m steeplechase (10:53.10) and third in the 5,000m (17:04.99). In 2006, she ran the fifth-best Australian under-20 3,000m steeplechase as well with a time of 10:49.17.

Lugo, a middle distance runner from Bishop Moore Catholic High School, will add depth to the Gators’ group of middle distance runners. Lugo has consistently finished among the state of Florida’s best at the Class 2A State Championships in the 800m by taking eighth in 2005, sixth in 2006 and second in 2007. She has also helped Bishop Moore’s 4x800m relay to solid finishes at the state meet by running the anchor leg of the relay in 2006 that took third and the opening leg in 2007 en route to a second-place finish.

Bickwermert, a distance runner from Naples High School, was named the 2006 Naples Daily News Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year. She finished the Florida Class 2A Cross Country Championships in ninth with a time of 19:38. At the 2007 Class 3A Track and Field State Championships, Bickwermert took sixth in the 1,600m (5:16.93), seventh in the 3,200m (11:38.12) and ran on the Naples’ record-setting 4x800m relay team that finished third (9:28.38).

-UF-