Feb. 3, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Competing in the Texas Roadhouse Invitational, the Kennesaw State women's indoor track team was facing its toughest competition of the season. KSU persevered thanks to the outstanding performance of its distance runners, including a first place finish by freshman Mackenzie Howe in the five kilometer race.

Howe won her first indoor 5k and set a new personal record as she crossed the finish line with a time of 17:53.35. Teammate Erin Sutton closely followed in third place (18:08.87) and sophomore Britany Reilly came in fifth place (18:25.20). The trio controlled the field through out most of the race as they worked together to form the lead group. In the final three laps Howe tore away from the pack and began to chase down breakout leader Kylee Schuler of Richmond University. By the final lap of the race Howe had passed Schuler and secured herself the victory.

"Mackenzie went fishing," said head coach Don McGarey. "Once she zeroed in on the leader she just kept reeling her in. I'm really proud of all our ladies, Erin had a good race and Britany set a personal record, but Mackenzie was just exceptional today. This is by far the best race that she has ever ran on a track."

In field events, freshman Jessica Lumpkin led the Owls as she took fourth place in the weight throw. She tossed the twenty pound weight for a distance of 44-01.5ft. Teammate Ana Ruiz took sixth place with a distance of 40-10.5ft.

The Owls mid-distance group also had a good showing as sophomore Caitlin German put together her best 800m dash of the season. German was running in one of the most competitive events of the day which included multiple sections. She crossed the finish line shoulder to shoulder with four other runners to set a new personal record of 2:24.85. In the one mile event, sophomore Soibhan Wolcott ran a tactical race as she turned in a time of 5:21.21 for 24th place.

"Our mid-distance team is getting where it needs to be for conference," said McGarey. "Soibhan is closing in on running 5:10 for the mile. Every week she is cutting her time because she runs the race exactly as we tell her to."

This weekend also featured KSU in their first multi-event competition of the season. Freshman Jill Arthur came in ninth place in the pentathlon with total of 2760 points. Arthur looked strong as she competed in the day long multi-event which included the 60m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, and 800m dash. A triple jump specialist, Arthur was in new territory this weekend. She plans to train hard in the coming weeks to improve her pentathlon score.

In the 200 meter dash KSU was led by junior Shantela Davis as she turned in a time of 26.38. Davis also competed in the 60 meter dash where posted a time of 8.10 seconds. Sophomore Lakeshia Stinson followed with a time of 8.25. She later returned to the track to post a time of 9.37 in the 60 meter hurdles.

The Owls will be back in action in two weeks as the travel to the Tiger Invitational hosted by Clemson University.

Results
Texas Roadhouse Invitational

Pentathlon
9. Jill Arthur 2760

5k
1. Mackenzie Howe 17:53.35
3. Erin Sutton 18:08.87
5. Britany Reilly 18:25.20

3k 26. Lorena Jaime 11:40.20
29. Katie Charles 12:19.77

Mile
24. Soibhan Wolcott 5:21.21

60m Hurdles
26. Lakeshia Stinson 9.37

800m Dash
29. Caitlin German 2:24.85
39. Kristen Gibson 2:29.50

60m Dash
47. Shantela Davis 8.10
60. Lakeshia Stinson 8.25

200m Dash
39. Shantela Davis 26.38
53. Lakeshia Stinson 27.25

Weight Throw
4. Jessica Lumpkin 44-01.5ft
6. Ana Ruiz 40-10.5ft