CLINTON, Iowa - After spending less than 24 hours on the Ashford University campus during his official visit, racewalking standout Matt Forgues (For-jez) of Boothbay, Maine, penned on the dotted line to commit to the Saints' surging track and field program.

Forgues, who will also be competing in cross country, is believed to be the first AU student-athlete from the state of Maine. He recently solidified his status as the first alternate for the World Racewalking Cup in May.

Racewalking is a specialization that has taken recent precedence in the Midwest Collegiate Conference as evidenced by Waldorf College's hiring of racewalking 2008 Olympic Trials runner-up Matt Boyles as cross country head coach and William Penn University's All-American Katie Burnett competing at the prestigious Millrose Games.

Ashford cross country Head Coach Tyson Graham, also a racewalking official, had targeted Forgues early in the recruiting period and recognized Maine as a hotbed for talent.

"I really figured I could get someone really, really good due to a number of factors because Matt was in the Northeast," Graham said. "He called quickly about his interest in racewalking and things came together. He's probably one of the most decorated athletes we've recruited here."

"Matt has the ability to put us on the map nationally," he added. "I feel the sport is starting to come back in our conference and Matt is a potential national champion and All-American. It will be nice for Alex (Jakobsen) to have someone to train with and our roster will continue to expand."

A nine-time high school All-American from Boothbay Region High School, Forgues comes into Ashford with an impressive list of credentials on the local, regional and national scales -- and he turns 18 this weekend.

Forgues has traveled to Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago and Russia, for international competition. Some of those overseas events had as many as 20,000 spectators in attendance.

Forgues won at the USA Outdoor Nationals as a sophomore in Columbus, Ohio, while placing third last year. He competed in the Millrose Games in New York City, taking sixth, and also finished 13th at America's Racewalk Championships in El Salvador.

Forgues took third in the Nike Indoor Championships as a junior and grabbed ninth at the Pan-Am Junior Track and Field Championships in Trinidad and Tobago. He was runner-up at the Nike Outdoor National Championships as a freshman and earned fourth at the indoor edition.

In addition to his accolades in racewalking, Forgues is a current three-year Maine state 1,600-meter run state champion in track. He also helped Boothbay to a team cross country state title.

Due to the amount of success, Forgues has set the bar high to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012 and eventually make the Olympic team for the 2016 Olympic Games. His older sister, Lauren, participated at the 2008 Olympic Trials.

"I was already 90 percent sure I wanted to come to Ashford before boarding a plane," Forgues said. "I hope I can help set a precedent here and help increase the popularity of the sport."

Forgues, the son of Michael and Linda Forgues, is aspiring to be a pre-med/biology major when he enrolls at Ashford this fall.