By: by Scott Lipsky
Full coverage at ncaasports.com
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EUGENE, Ore. – Kennesaw State star Jerome McKinzie will make history on Friday afternoon, when he competes in the high jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the campus of the University of Oregon at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
McKinzie, the Kennesaw State Men’s Athlete of the Year and three-time Atlantic Sun Conference outdoor champion in the high jump, became the first Owl in the program’s history to qualify for an NCAA Division I national final in outdoor track and field when he cleared a top height of 2.11 meters in the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Greensboro, N.C. on May 28. He also competed in the NCAA Indoor Championships in the High Jump back in March, finishing 17th.
This is the first season Kennesaw State Track and Field is eligible for NCAA Division I national championship competition after the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics successfully completed the NCAA’s mandatory, four-year, Division I re-classification period in the summer of 2009.
“It’s definitely a great honor to be making the trip out to Oregon to compete with the best jumpers in country,” said McKinzie. “I’m not going out there to just to say I was there, though. I definitely have aspirations of earning All-American honors, and who knows what’s possible after that.”
Jerome was one of 12 high jumpers to earn a ticket to Eugene by way of finishing in the top-12 among the 48 competitors in Greensboro. They join the top-12 finishers from the West Preliminary Round, which took place in Austin, Texas, for the final showdown on Friday.
Live video streaming of the competition will be available for the event via ncaasports.com.
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| Jerome McKinzie discusses his upcoming shot at a national championship in the high jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships |
