IPFW men’s cross country head coach Mike Fruchey has announced the signing of three high school senior student-athletes Robert Peck (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider H.S.), Erik Buchan (Antwerp, Ohio/Antwerp H.S.), and Alexander Barton (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger H.S.) to a National Letter of Intent to compete for the Mastodons starting with the 2016 season.
Buchan was an Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) state qualifier in 2015 and a regional qualifier in 2013,2014, and 2015. He was named to the Green Meadows Conference second-team in 2013 and first-team in 2014 and 2015. He was a three-year varsity runner in cross country and a four-year varsity runner in track and field at Antwerp.
"I was happy that Erik decided to join our program," Fruchey said. "He had a great fall, qualifying for the Ohio Division III State Meet. I think that Erik could have a great impact on our team, both in scoring and depth. He was highly recommended by his high school coach at Antwerp High School."
Barton was named to the All-Summit Athletic Conference cross country team in 2015. He was an Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) regional qualifier in 2014 and 2015.
"Alex is a solid addition to our program and was a teammate of fall signee, Blake Malone, at Bishop Dwenger," Fruchey said. "They had a very good cross country team in the fall. I expect Alex to have a great work ethic and attitude."
He was four-year varsity runner in cross country and track and field. He was a four-year distinguished scholar at Bishop Dwenger.
"Robert was our final signee for the fall class," Fruchey said. "In addition to being a successful runner, he is an outstanding student. Our team takes pride in being an Academic All-American Team and Robert will add to that legacy. Robert was a leader on his high school team and I expect that he will bring that to our team."
"Our late signees will add tremendous depth to our team," Fruchey said. "All of them were successful as high school seniors and have potential to ultimately develop into scoring runners for us."
