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Hitting the Mark
March 23, 2008
CLEMSON, S.C. - After winning the Atlantic Sun Indoor Conference Championship, the Kennesaw State men's track & field team had a record setting start to its outdoor season. Competing in the Clemson Relays, the Owls set eight school records and had two athletes make NCAA Regional qualifying marks. Sophomore Jerome McKinzie tied his personal-best in the high jump (6-10.75ft.) to take first place in the competition and set his second career NCAA mark. The A-Sun High Jump champion was able to secure his victory against a strong field of opponents with little difficulty, finishing ahead of second place competitor, Pat Nicholas of Wisconsin who cleared a height of 6-08.75. Thrower Joshua McNair also made a regional mark as he took first place in the discus with a distance of 169-10.5ft. McNair also had good performances in his other events as he set two school records, first in the hammer throw where he earned fifth place with a toss of 169-11.00ft. Following that he threw the shot put 51-11.0ft to surpass his old record by five inches and finishing second in the event. "This was a great meet for both Jerome and Josh," said head coach Don McGarey. "Their outstanding performances have proved that this program deserves to be in Division I and that we can compete on a national level." The Owls strong throwing core closely followed McNair's lead. Veteran Aymerick Kolokilagi made his return to competition as he finished in sixth place in the shot put (47-03.0ft) and ninth in the hammer (145-05.0ft.). Freshman Eric Gill also had a strong showing as he set a new personal record in the discus with a distance of 154-04.0ft, good for fifth-place finish. On the track, KSU bested previous times in the 4x200m, 4x800m, and 4x1500m relays. The team of Matteo DiCecco, Scott Burley, Piotr Witczak and Nathan Haskins had the best relay race of the meet as they turned in four minute split times to grab second place in the 4x1500m (16:21.27). The men's 4x400m relay team also had a good start to their outdoor season as they turned in a time of 3:19.11. Freshman Joshua James produced the best split time of the relay as he completed his 400m in 47 seconds. Finishing the race, anchor James Verdi was able to run down three opponents to earn the team fourth place. In the short distance races, senior Devin Jones finished third and broke the school record in the 110m hurdles as he completed the race in 14.50 seconds. Freshman Antonio Logan also set a school mark in the 100m dash (10.88), fast enough for a sixth-place finish. "This was a good start for our team," said sprint coach Devin West. "It was a small field but the competition was strong. Devin and Antonio responded well to the pressure and I expect them to continue to drop their times over the next few weeks." KSU's distance runners had a strong showing as freshman Alex Hay III took third place in his first 3k steeplechase with a time of 11:16. Later, Michael Johnson led the team in the 5k as he took third place (15:51.70) in the field of 17 competitors. He was closely followed by Haskins in fifth place (16:24.61) and Steven Murray in sixth place (16:38.19). "The guys put together a great race," said distance coach Jason Waters. "There was a strong head wind that slowed down the entire field, but our guys handled it well and were able to turn in some good times." The Owls will be back in action next week as they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to compete in the University of Alabama Relays. Clemson Relays 3k Steeplechase 110m Hurdles 100m Dash 4x100m Relay 4x1500m Distance Medley 4x400m 4x800m 4x200m Hammer Throw Shot Put Discus High Jump 5k |
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