By: by Scott Lipsky
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - With only more meet to go before the A-Sun Championships in two weeks, the Kennesaw State Owls men’s track and field team were sharp as could be on Friday night, winning four events and breaking two school records at the Gene Anderson UNC Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Black and Gold spread the wealth, with two wins coming in running events and two coming in field events. The running events were won by sophomore Daniel Grass, who took the 800 Meter Run title with a time of 1:55.34, and a team of Grass and freshmen Travis Benton, Tremaine Grant, and Ethan Kasson in the 4x400 Meter Relay with a school record time of 3:19.60, breaking the mark of 3:21.17 set on January 31 at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational.
Senior Jerome McKinzie continued his dominance in the high jump, winning the event with a clearing leap of 2.13 meters. The three-time defending A-Sun indoor champion in the high jump has already earned a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships with a 2.20 meter jump on January 31.
Senior Josh McNair, who holds the indoor school records in both the weight throw and the shot put, didn’t surpass his program marks, but he did solidify his reputation as a force to be reckoned with, finishing third in the shot put and winning the weight throw event. Named the A-Sun Men’s Field Athlete of the Week on January 27, McNair had a throw of 16.65m (54-07.50) in the shot put and a 16.89m (55-5) toss in the weight throw.
Grant set a school record of his own on Friday evening in addition to being on the record-setting relay team. His 60 meter high hurdles time of 8.15 seconds placed him second in the race and broke Kendall Parks’ Owl mark of 8.25 seconds. Grant now already holds the indoor school records in the 60 meter high hurdles and the 55 meter high hurdles just four meets into his young career.
The distance mid-distance runners were also in full force on Friday evening, with freshman Nabil Hamid and junior Nathan Haskins placing third and fifth in the 3000 Meter Run, with times of 8:47.44 and 8:48.16, respectively. Junior Piotr Witczak and sophomore Jaakko Nieminen each performed well in their final pre-conference tune-up in the One Mile Run, finishing fourth and 10th with respective times of 4:17.21 and 4:23.26.
The next trip KSU will make will be to East Tennessee State on February 26, when they will try to avenge their second place finish in last year’s A-Sun Indoor Track and Field Championship and win their second conference crown in three years.
You can see the full results from the Gene Anderson UNC Invitational by clicking on the "Latest Meet Results" link on the right sidebar.
