April 18, 2008

KENNESAW, Ga. - This weekend, the Kennesaw State men's track & field team will take a small group of athletes to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to compete in the LSU Alumni Gold Meet. The one day event, at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium, will feature some of the highest ranked teams in the nation, including Texas A&M, Auburn and the host Tigers.

"This is by far the biggest meet that we will go to all season," said head coach Don McGarey. "LSU has a proud tradition of having some of the best track athletes in the nation. Our guys have worked hard all year and they deserve a chance to compete at this level."

Leading the way for Owls will be sophomore Jerome McKinzie. The Atlantic Sun Indoor High Jump Champion will try to keep his unbeaten streak alive as he faces jumpers from Troy University and South Florida. McKinzie has posted a regional qualifying height of 6-10.75ft three times this season, to propelling him to win four high jump events. In such a strong field of competitors, the sophomore may have to push himself to the limit and break the seven foot mark if he looks to make it five victories.

In throwing events, sophomore Joshua McNair will try to chase down his personal records in the hammer throw, discus and shot put. The Hinesville, Ga. native has already set a regional qualifying mark in the discus (169-10.00) this season. At LSU he looks to gain another NCAA mark in the shot put and to improve on his hammer throw. Joining him will be veteran thrower Aymerick Kolokilagi and outstanding freshman Eric Gill. Kolokilagi will compete in all three throwing events alongside McNair, while Gill will focus his talents on the discus and hammer throw.

Competing in the 110 hurdles will be senior Devin Jones. This season, Jones has been breaking his personal records meet after meet. He now has a PR of 14.38, just eight-hundreds of a second off of his first regional qualifying mark.

"This is going to be a big meet for Devin," said sprint coach Devin West. "He has always wanted to go to LSU. If he is going to break 14.30 it's going to be here."

In mid-distance events, Atlantic Sun Indoor Mile Champion Scott Burley will run in the 1500m race. Originally a long distance runner, Burley has established himself as the Owls premiere mid-distance racer this season. He will run in field of 23 opponents including runners from LSU and Southern Mississippi. Meanwhile, sophomore Nathan Haskins will race in the 3k steeplechase against a small field of only five opponents.

Finishing up the meet for the Owls will be the all freshman 4x400m relay team of Gianni Catalano, Antonio Logan, Joshua James and James Verdi. The quartet will try to set a new KSU record as they race against collegiate and professional teams including LSU, Texas A&M and Team Canada.

The Owls will also send a squad of athletes to the University of Georgia to take part in the Bulldog Limited. KSU will compete in the long jump, 100m dash and the 5k, which will feature the return of distance specialist Peikko Solla. Solla is returning from an injury that has kept him from so far in the outdoor campaign. This weekend he will test his mettle in the 5k alongside teammates Steven Murray, Maxwell Ndungu and Michael Johnson.

The LSU Alumni Gold Meet will begin on Saturday at 10 a.m. central time and continue all-day, while the UGA Bulldog Limited will begin at 9 a.m. eastern time and conclude at roughly 5 p.m.