Nov. 13, 2002

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State head gymnastics coach Ray Corn announced Wednesday the signing of three gymnasts to national letters of intent to compete for the Aggies in the 2004 season. The future Utah State student-athletes are Courtney Arno of Coppell, Texas, Gretchen Goerlitz of Neenah, Wis., and Alexandra Martin of Longmont, Colo.

"This is a great recruiting class," Corn said. "These three young women will help us get to a higher competitive level. They committed to USU not only for the quality of the gymnastics program, but also because of the university's academic excellence. We were able to sign three of the five blue-chip recruits we went after this year, and after we went head-to-head with Oklahoma, Arizona, Denver and Arizona State for these young women, we're very happy with their decisions to attend Utah State."

Arno, a senior at Coppell High, is a Level 10 gymnast. She first competed at Level 10 in 1997, when she won the state bar title. In 1999 and 2000, she competed at the National Elite level, taking sixth in the all-around at regionals and qualifying to nationals. For the last three years, she has competed at Level 10, winning the 2001 state beam champion and a national qualifier.

"I fell in love with Utah State," said Arno. "I cancelled my other recruiting visits because I just knew that USU is where I belong. The team, the coaches and the school made my decision easy."

The daughter of David and Leslie Arno, she is unsure of a major. She has a 3.4 grade point average.

Goerlitz, a senior at Neenah High, is a Level 10 gymnast at Oshkosh Gymnastics Center for Phyllis and Dale Hardt. In her seventh season as a Level 10 competitor, Goerlitz earned the 2001 state bars, beam and all-around title. She took second on vault. At regionals, she finished second on bars.

"I chose Utah State because of the high-level coaching, the mentality of the team and program and USU's reputation as an academic institution," said Goerlitz. "I'm really excited about the decision."

The daughter of Sharon Goerlitz, she is unsure of a major. She maintains a 3.9 GPA.

Martin is a Level 10 gymnast for Crystal Tonto at Windsor Gymnastics Academy in Longmont, Colo., and is a senior at Longmont High. She was the state all-around champion in 2000 and 2002, and took third at state in the all-around those same years. Martin also qualified for nationals in 2000 and 2002.

"I just really liked the school and the program," said Martin. "There was a good connection with the coaches and the girls on the team."

The daughter of Sheila and Michael Martin, she plans to major in business. Martin carries a 3.5 grade point average and would like to own and operate a spa one day.