March 1, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Kennesaw State women's track & field team had a strong first day at Atlantic Sun Indoor Conference Championship. The Owls were led by their distance group as Mackenzie Howe and Erin Sutton took third and fourth place in the three kilometer run.

Facing some their strongest competition of the season Howe and Sutton put together a great race to earn the team a combined ten points. The two runners challenged for the lead throughout the contest and were able to pick off key opponents in the final lap. Howe crossed the finish line with a time of 10:16.92 and Sutton followed with a time of 10:20.37.

"This was a great race for Mackenzie and Erin," said distance coach Jason Waters. "The ladies put everything they had into this race and helped us earn some much needed points."

With a good finish in the three kilometer race the Owls currently occupy fifth place with a total score of 17 points. Jacksonville University is currently leading the meet with 52 points, while University of North Florida is in second place with 36 points, Gardner-Webb is in third place with 31 points and Belmont is in fourth place with 18 points.

The distance medley team of Caitlin German, Shantela Davis, Soibhan Wolcott and Kristen Gibson also contributed to the Owls score as they took third place in the competition. The team's smooth exchanges translated into a KSU record time of 12:25.82.

Thrower Ana Ruiz also earned points for the team as she finished in sixth place. The freshman tossed the shot for a distance of 38-04.0ft to set a personal record.

In the women's pentathlon freshman Jill Arthur took eighth place with a score of 2979 points. Her best performance of the day came in the long jump where she posted an impressive distance of 18-05.75ft.

"The ladies had a solid first day," said head coach Don McGarey. "A lot of our best events are on the second day of competition, so I expect for us to move up in the standings very quickly."

The Owls will return to the track on Saturday as they try to chase down a conference title.

A-Sun Indoor Championship
Individual Results

3k
3. Mackenzie Howe 10:16.92
4. Erin Sutton 10:20.37
8. Britany Reilly 10:43.31
18. Katie Charles 11:44.70

Shot Put
6. Ana Ruiz 38-4.00
10. Jessica Lumpkin 34-11.75

Distance Medley
3. KSU 12:25.82

Pentathlon
8. Jill Arthur 2979 points

60m Hurdles Preliminaries
11. Lakeshia Stinson 9.30

60m Dash Preliminaries
7. Lakeshia Stinson 8.26