By: by Scott Lipsky
Full Results I
A-Sun Championship homepage
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State men’s track and field accomplished what many thought couldn’t be done on Saturday, taking home the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Track and Field title and completing the vaunted “Triple Crown;” winning the conference’s cross country, indoor and outdoor track titles in the same year. Head Coach Don McGarey won the conference’s outdoor Coach of the Year award, the A-Sun announced at the end of the championship, which took place on the campus of the University of North Florida.
The Owls followed up a first day that had them leading by 15 points heading into Saturday with even more success, winning three events during the final day to bring the total on the weekend to five and tallying a total of 24 top-three performances during the two-day championship. When all was said and done, Kennesaw State closed with 269 points, comfortably topping defending champion East Tennessee State, who finished up with 228 points.
Aside from coach McGarey’s outdoor Coach of the Year award, his second such award in three years, last winning the accolade when the Owls won the outdoor title in 2008, thrower Josh McNair was named co-Most Outstanding Performer for the championship, sharing the award with fellow throws specialist Joe Frye of Belmont. McNair had won the Shot Put and was runner-up in the Hammer Throw on Friday before finishing in second place in the Discus on Saturday with a top throw of 47.46 meters.
Also joining in on the honors was freshman sprinter Travis Benton. The Redan, Ga. native posted runner-up performances in the 100 and 200 Meters, with respective times of 10.70 and 21.46 seconds on his way to being named the men's A-Sun Freshman of the Year.
Benton's teammates, sophomore Kendall Parks and freshman Tremaine Grant joined him in being successful in the short distance events, finishing second and third, respectively, in the 110 Meter Hurdles, with times of 14.03 and 14.04 seconds. Grant also finished fifth in the 400 Meter Hurdles with a 54.83 second performance, as he joined event runner-up Josh James (53.64) and sixth place finisher Brian Graham (54.89) as the three Owls to earn points in that event.
Fellow sprinter and freshman Adika Smith also performed well on Saturday, posting a third place finish in the 200 Meters with a time of 21.52 seconds to come in just behind Benton.
Jumper Jerome McKinzie continued to solidify his reputation as the premiere A-Sun athlete in the High Jump, winning the event for the third time in three tries, clearing a top height of 2.15 meters to set a conference championship record. McKinzie had the event won when he cleared 2.03 meters, but continued to compete and cleared 2.08 meters and then 2.15. His teammate, freshman Cameron Zeman, placed second in the event with a top clearance of 1.98 meters.
Sophomore Daniel Grass took charge in the middle distance events on Saturday, setting a new meet record in the 800 Meters with a time of 1:49.74. He was followed close behind by teammate Gianni Catalano, whose runner-up performance of 1:50.69 also broke the meet record, which he set at last year’s championship with a time of 1:52.18.
Grass was also the anchor for the Owls’ 4x400 Meter Relay team, coming around the track on the final leg to edge out Campbell’s squad, which was anchored by senior Harold Sims, who did a great job closing the gap heading into the final stretch before Grass turned on the jets and closed out the race to secure the victory. The race, which was the last event of the championship, was not the determining factor in the championship, as it was when the Owls won the indoor title in February, but the squad’s winning effort of 3:13.53 helped to put an exclamation point on what was an incredible weekend for them.
Winning the outdoor championship means even more to the squad because it was the last time they would run as an entire team for McGarey, who is stepping down at season’s end. McGarey, who built the program from scratch, leaves the helm of the Owls with four A-Sun men’s track and field titles, won in the short period of time since the program began competing in 2005. It is the second time in three years that he has led the men to the indoor and outdoor title in the same year, also accomplishing the feat in 2008. His Coach of the Year award was also his fourth overall between indoor and outdoor track, as he won those awards during the 2008 and 2010 indoor seasons.
The season will continue for several Owls, as those who qualify will compete in the NCAA East Regional in Greensboro, N.C., beginning on May 27. Final determination of those who have qualified will be determined this coming week.
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| Coach McGarey addresses the team after winning the A-Sun Championship |
Josh McNair discusses his weekend performance in the throws events |
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| Brian Graham reflects on his performance this weekend |
Dan Grass comments on winning the 800 Meters and anchoring the winning 4x400 Meter Relay team |
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| Jerome McKinzie discusses his championship performance on Saturday |
McKinzie clears 2.15 meters in the
High Jump |
