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DES MOINES, Iowa- Preparing to chalk his hands for the final time as an athlete on the Kennesaw State men’s track and field team, Josh McNair gets a chance at shot put glory at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa Friday at 6:30 p.m. McNair is the lone male representative to make it from the Atlantic Sun Conference.
“Josh has reached the pinnacle of his event,” assistant coach Duane Morris said. “A lot of throwers dream of going to Nationals but never make it there. He has made it a reality. He has put in a lot of hard work and hours in the weight room and at practice. We have worked a lot on technique and cleaned a lot of things up this year. I said earlier in the season that he would be at Nationals and that he had meters left in him to throw and I still feel like he hasn’t even scratched the surface.”
Competing at a state of the art facility on the campus of Drake University, McNair has some stiff competition to deal with on Friday. In order to qualify for Nationals, an athlete needed to finish in the top 12 at their respective region meets two weeks ago. Throwing alongside McNair are athletes from Purdue, Florida State, Georgia and Auburn to name a few.
A few weeks ago while competing at the East Region Prelims in Bloomington, Ind., McNair punched his ticket to Iowa. Throwing 17.85 meters or 58 feet 6.85 inches, he was able to squash the field and finish 11th to make it to Nationals. Last season, McNair also qualified for Regionals but came up short. This season however, he left no doubt that he deserved to be in the field of 24 for Nationals.
Having only competed during the outdoor season, McNair has had a storybook run to end his final season as an Owl. Breaking his already held shot put record three separate times throughout the season, his most recent helped him to qualify for this week’s competition.
Less than two months ago, McNair was standing atop the podium at the A-Sun Outdoor Conference Championships in three events, shot put, discus and hammer throw. He finished first in discus, second in shot put and third in hammer to earn him three All-Conference honors as well.
McNair will get his opportunity to become a national champion on Friday at 6:30 p.m. eastern time when he steps in the circle for the last time. He must finish top nine of the first round in order to qualify for finals.
-senior thrower Joshua McNair discusses what this final competition means for him and the Kennesaw State track and field program
"First and foremost I once again have to thank God for what he has been doing in my life. Being able to make it this far is what I have been working for all year but to do it from the first of four flights, and come out in the top 12 is really special to me. I was struggling all season long in competition and it all came together at the right time. This truly is a once in a life time opportunity for me to compete at such a high level and I couldn’t ask for a better way to finish my career. People have asked me what I am looking for when I get to the meet. I can only say that I'm going to do what I've been trained to do all season; I'm not going to change anything up. I'm just going to let my body do what it's primed to do. I'm always going to do my best, and what it is that day will determine how I finish. I really relish the opportunity to compete at the National Championships for Kennesaw State. This track and field program has not received the notoriety in the past it's deserved and I'm looking to help end that. Jerome McKenzie participated in these championships last year indoor as well as outdoor and he was the first step in the direction of where this track team is headed. I can only hope to compete at the level he did last year in the high jump. Our former as well as current coaching staff is some of the hardest workers I know, and they have produced results on a yearly basis. We have a national caliber track and field team and this weekend the entire country is going to find out."
