By: by Scott Lipsky
KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State men’s track and field is excited to get back into action this weekend in Johnson City, Tenn. at the Niswonger Invitational, hosted by East Tennessee State.
It has been seven weeks since they competed in their lone meet of the season thus far, the Appalachian State Invitational, and while they were able to use the holiday season to improve in all of their areas, a repeat of the squad’s performance on December 5 wouldn’t be too much cause for concern.
Indeed, the Owls had a productive trip to Boone, North Carolina, as members of the Black Gold, freshmen and upperclassmen alike, won three events and shattered four school records. Owls head coach Don McGarey was pleased with how many of his athletes competed, and is hoping for a similar outcome this weekend.
"Overall I hope we pick up from where we left off at Appalachian State. It's been over a month and one half since that meet and we are all ready to get back in the field of competition," McGarey, the only head coach in the program’s history, said. "Our student athletes came back from the break in great shape, so I expect to see excellent performances. This will be a debut meet for some of our distance runners as they will hit the track for the first time this year. We should see them finishing in the top spots if they run this weekend like they have in practice."
Andrew Greeson was the only Owl to run the 3000 meter event at Appalachian State, and there was no 5000 meter event, the meet coming so quickly after the conclusion of the cross country season. Cross country anchors Nathan Haskins, Nabil Hamid, and Michael Johnson join Steven Murray in the 5000 meters this weekend, while Jaakko Nieminen will run in the 3000 meter event. Seniors Josh McNair and Jerome McKinzie are expected to be among the top performers for the Owls in the field events, having won the Shot Put and High Jump events in their season debuts, respectively.
The meet, which will be held at the site of the Atlantic Sun Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, will be a good barometer for the Owls regarding how they may fare at the Conference meet, which be held on February 26-27. Other than competing at the same site, the Black and Gold will also get to compete against A-Sun rivals East Tennessee State, Lipscomb, and USC-Upstate, who will be among the approximately 70 teams that will be at the Niswonger.
Event List
60 Meters
|
|
Benton,Travis
|
|
Logan,Antonio
|
|
Martinez,Jemir
|
|
Minton,Frank
|
|
Graham,Brian
|
|
200 Meters
|
|
Kasson,Ethan
|
|
Logan,Antonio
|
|
Verdi,James
|
|
Martinez,Jemir
|
|
|
|
Benton,Travis
|
|
|
|
Minton,Frank
|
|
|
|
400 Meters
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James,Joshua
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Verdi,James
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kasson,Ethan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grant,Tremaine
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tansey,David
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Easley,Jeremy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Henley,Damarcus
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
800 Meters
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grass,Daniel
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Guntner,Michael
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Witczak,Piotr
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Catalano,Gianni
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3000 Meters
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nieminen,Jaakko
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5000 Meters
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Haskins,Nathan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hamid,Nabil
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Murray,Steven
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Johnson,Michael
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
60 Meter High Hurdles
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grant,Tremaine
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James,Joshua
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Graham,Brian
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Easley,Jeremy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Henley,Damarcus
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 x 400 Meter Relay
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Squad A
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grant,Kasson,James,Verdi
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Squad B
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Benton,Tansey,Martinez,Easley,Minton
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Squad C
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Catalano,Grass,Guntner,Graham
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
High Jump
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
McKinzie,Jerome
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blythe,Will
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zeman,Cameron
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pole Vault
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chamblee,Aaron
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reed,Adam
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bridges,Jake
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long Jump
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bridges,Jake
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Riberdy,Tyler
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Triple Jump
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Moukeka,Chris
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Riberdy,Tyler
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shot Put
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
McNair,Joshua
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reynolds,Casey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Graham,Brian
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weight Throw
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
McNair,Joshua
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reynolds,Casey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|