July 8, 2002

Chicago, Ill. - University of Illinois at Chicago men's track and field coach Jim Knoedel announced that he has signed Matthew Schmidt (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) to a National Letter of Intent.

Schmidt, a hurdles specialist, placed seventh overall in the 110-meter high hurdles at the IHSA Class AA State Championship with a time of 14.94.

Knoedel expects Schmidt to make an immediate impact in the hurdle events and as a member of the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.

"Matt is a very good athlete," Knoedel said. "He should make an immediate impact in a lot of events."

Schmidt will provide depth for UIC in the hurdles and relay events in which they were lacking in 2002.

"We didn't score many points in those events last season," Knoedel said. "With Matt's potential, we should score a pretty good amount of points."