March 1, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - On the first day of the Atlantic Sun Indoor Conference Championship, the Kennesaw State men's track & field put together an outstanding performance as they scored key points in multiple events and crowned sophomore Joshua McNair shot put champion.

After the first day of competition KSU remains in striking distance of a conference title. The Owls scored a total of 34 points to tie with Eastern Tennessee State University for second place. Gardener-Webb occupies first place with 35 points, while Belmont is in fourth place with 25 points and Campbell trails in fifth place with 22 points.

The team received its biggest push of the day in the shot put as McNair earned ten points and first place. The sophomore produced as career throw and set a new KSU record as he heaved the shot 54-0.50ft. His teammate Casey Strickland tacked on an additional two points as he finished in fifth place with a distance of 48-06.75ft.

"I knew Josh had this throw in him," said field coach Mike Goss. "He has been training all year to get to this point. With one throw he broke his personal record by two feet and put us in contention for the title. He is a true leader on this team and no one on this field deserved an individual championship more than he did."

KSU also earned a big score in the three kilometer race as distance specialists Scott Burley and Peikko Solla took second and third place. Burley and Solla ran a completely tactical race as they came from behind to chew up their opponents. In the final lap of the race the two runners swung past ETSU's Kenneth Rotich. Burley completed the race with a time of 8:33.27 to set a new KSU record, while Solla finished with a time of 8:36.96. Teammate Adam Williams finished the race in 12th place to set a personal record of 9:08.01 and Alex Hay III finished with a time of 9:29.32.

"This is exactly what we needed" said distance coach Jason Waters. "These were points that we were not counting on. On paper ETSU was supposed to win this race, but our guys went out there and completely took over the field."

The distance group continued to shine at conference as the team of Piotr Witczak, James Verdi, Gianni Catalano and Nathan Haskins took home second place in the distance medley. The Owls ran an error proof race as they led each leg until the final stretch. With just 100 meters to go Belmont's runner pulled away from Haskins forcing KSU to settle for eight points.

The team also preformed well in its preliminary races as senior Devin Jones made it into the finals for 60 meter hurdles and freshman Antonio Logan broke into the finals for the 60 meter dash.

"The guys are looking great," said head coach Don McGarey. "We did not expect to be this far along on the first day. If we keep performing at this level the team stands a great chance of making history and bringing home KSU's first men's Division I title."

The Owls will return to the track on Saturday in hopes of bringing home their first A-Sun title.

A-Sun Indoor Championship
Individual Results

Shot Put
1. Joshua McNair 54-0.50ft
5. Casey Strickland 48-06.75ft
10. Eric Gill 39-6.0ft

3k
2. Scott Burley 8:33.27
3. Peikko Solla 8:36.96
13. Adam Williams 9:15.35
18. Alex Hay III 9:35.05

Distance Medley
2. KSU 10:21.44

60m Hurdles preliminaries
4. Devin Jones 8.30
9. Jeremy Easley 9.07

60 meter Dash
5. Antonio Logan 7.09

Heptathlon (current standings)
2. Casey Strickland 2875 points
7. Jason Fisher 2305 points