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Owls Rule at Purple & Orange Classic
May 11, 2008
CLEMSON, S.C. - The Kennesaw State men's track & field team had another successful showing this weekend as they competed in the Purple and Orange Classic. In their final meet before the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, the Owls captured three first place victories, set two new KSU records and posted numerous personal best performances. Leading the Black & Gold on the track was 800m specialist Gianni Catalano. The freshman looked strong as he fought for the lead during the first section of the event. In the final 200m of the race he was sitting in third place behind O'Neil Williams of Benedict College and E.C. Gibbs of Georgia Tech. Catalano poured on the speed in the final straight away to take the victory with a time of 1:52.58, finishing just two-tenths of a second ahead of Williams. In the second section of the 800m, freshman Matteo DiCecco out paced his opponents to win the race and earn an eighth place finish overall (1:56.32). Teammate Michael Guntner followed in 11th place (1:57.80) and junior Matthew Auers finished in 15th place (2:03.20). The Owls also claimed victory in the 3k steeplechase as Scott Burley and Nathan Haskins took first and second place. Burley had a smooth race as he hurdled over the steeples and avoided Clemson's water pit to finish with a time of 9:31.21. Haskins closely followed as he crossed the finish line in 9:36.19, while freshman Alex Hay III took home fifth place with a time of 11:04.25. Rounding out KSU's three first place finishes was 5k runner Peikko Solla. Returning from injury, Solla commanded the field of 5k runners as he took the lead in the mid-point of the race and never let go. He crossed the finish line with a time of 16:06.20, while teammate Steven Murray completed the race in 16:27.27 for second place and Maxwell Ndungu earned fourth place with a time of 16:59.21. "This was a great meet for us," said head coach Don McGarey. "It's been two weeks since we last competed and our guys were able to pick up right where they left off. Gianni, Scott and Peikko all had solid performances and that gives the team a lot of confidence heading into the conference meet." In field events, sophomore Joshua McNair had an outstanding day as he smashed the school record in the hammer throw by 11 feet. McNair's mark of 180-09.0ft earned him third place in the event, while veteran Aymerick Kolokilagi took sixth place (155-07.0ft) and freshman Eric Gill earned ninth place (140-04.0ft). Also in throwing events, Casey Strickland set a KSU record in the Javelin throw as he captured sixth place with a toss of 176-09.0ft. Strickland's throw surpassed the old record by almost twenty feet. He later returned to the field to lead the Owls in the discus where he took third place with a toss of 162-10ft. "Our guys had an outstanding day," said field coach Mike Goss, "Josh and Casey put up some incredible numbers and that's really going to help out at conference next week." High Jumper Jerome McKinzie also had a successful meet as he finished in second place behind Matt Evans of Western Carolina. McKinzie posted his fifth NCAA Regional Qualifying mark of season with a height of 6-10.75ft. Evans just barely edged out the sophomore as he jumped 7-0.50ft. McKinzie later participated in the triple jump where he earned ninth place with a season high distance of 44-05.25ft. In hurdling events, senior Devin Jones turned in a solid performance in the 400m hurdles as he came in fifth place with a time of 15.48. Teammate Jeremy Easley finished in eighth place with 56.85. Earlier in the day, Easley posted a personal best time of 15.48 in the 110m hurdles to take home tenth place. "This was a confidence booster for Jeremy," said sprint coach Devin West. "He has come a long way this season and he has put in a lot hard work. If he can run like this next week he could score some critical points for us." The Owls will complete their season next week as they return to Clemson's Rock Norman Track Complex to participate in the A-Sun Outdoor Conference Championship. Clemson Purple and Orange Classic Hammer Throw 3k Steeplechase Javelin 1500m High Jump Shot Put 110m Hurdles 800m Dash 100m 200m Dash 400m Hurdles Discus 5k Triple Jump 4x400m Relay |
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