By: by Scott Lipsky
BOONE, N.C. - Veterans and underclassmen alike shined on Saturday, as the Kennesaw State men’s track and field team had a promising start to their indoor season at the Appalachian State Invitational in Boone, N.C.
The Owls won a total of three events in the season-opener, which featured competition from 19 teams from all levels of the NCAA around the South. In addition, four athletes set school records for the Black and Gold, three of them by freshmen who were competing in the collegiate meets of their careers.
Senior Joshua McNair bested his own school record in the shot put, with a throw of 16.74 meters to win the event. He would be the only upperclassman to set a school record on Saturday for the Owls. Freshman Aaron Chamblee set a new record in the pole vault with a vault of 4.40 meters, while fellow newcomers Travis Benton and Tremaine Grant rewrote the 55 meter dash and 55 meter high hurdles records, respectively, with times of 6.43 seconds and 7.75 seconds.
Junior jumper Jerome McKinzie further solidified his reputation as one of the top high jumpers in the country, winning the Men’s High Jump event with a height of 2.11 meters. Senior Joshua McNair won the Shot Put with a throw of 16.74 meters, and the 4x400 Meter Relay was won by the Owls’ ‘A’ Team, which consisted of Josh James, Ethan Kasson, Tremaine Grant, and James Verdi.
“Our athletes came to the meet today with the mindset that they had a job to do, and they did it,” said head coach Don McGarey. “It’s hard to pick out just one or two people to praise, because I thought everyone competed really well, especially this early in the season. We saw East Tennesee State there, they have a really good squad, and we know we’ll have some tough battles when it comes time for the conference championship.”
Most encouraging, perhaps, was the fact that nine freshman had top-10 performances in their events, including Grant, who was the third leg of the winning 4x400 Relay team, to go along with his school record-setting performance in the 55 meters, which placed him seventh in the event. Benton, who placed sixth in the High Jump with his school-record jump, placed the highest in the event among KSU freshmen.
“Our freshmen really showed composure today,” McGarey said. “I told them before the meet not to panic, to just focus on the task at hand, and they definitely were very competitive.”
Four runners finished in the top-five in the running events, including Daniel Grass and Mike Guntner, who placed third and fourth in the 800 meter race. McGarey was pleased with their performance, and was looking for place more than time when it came to running, citing the unusually shaped track at the George Holmes Convocation Center.
“The track was more like an octagon as opposed to an oval, so that was a little different than what our runners are used to. I wanted to see how they would compare to some of the other runners out there instead of necessarily going for school records and such,” he said.
The Owls begin a long layoff, as they do not compete again until January 22nd at the Niswonger Invitational, which is hosted by East Tennessee State, who will also be hosting the Atlantic Sun Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 26th.
FINAL RESULTS- APPALACHIAN STATE INVITATIONAL- 12/5/09
Men’s Long Jump
T31. Kegan Thurman 6.00 m- Freshman
T33. Tyler Riberdy 5.98 m- Sophomore
37. Brian Graham 5.74 m- Sophomore
Men’s Triple Jump
11. Tyler Riberdy 13.45 m-Sophomore
Men’s High Jump
1. Jerome McKinzie- 2.11 m-Junior
6. Will Blythe- 1.93 m- Freshman
T7. Cameron Zeman- 1.93 m-Freshman
T9. Kegan Thurman- 1.88 m-Freshman
Men’s Pole Vault
T7. Aaron Chamblee- 4.40 m-Freshman
12. Adam Reed- 4.40 m-Junior
T20. Jake Bridges- 4.10 m-Freshman
Men’s Shot Put
1. Joshua McNair- 16.74 m-Senior
26. Casey Reynolds- 12.19 m-Freshman
Men’s Weight Throw
3. Josh McNair- 16.74 m-Senior
13. Casey Reynolds- 14.26 m-Freshman
Men’s 55 Meter Hurdles
7. Tremaine Grant- 7.75-Freshman
19. Jeremy Easley- 8.07-Senior
Men’s 55 Meter Dash
5. Travis Benton- 6.43-Freshman
T17. Jemir Martinez- 6.60-Sophomore
45. Kegan Thurman- 6.93-Freshman
Men’s 400 Meter Dash
4. James Verdi- 49.45-Junior
7. Ethan Kasson- 50.17-Freshman
24. Brian Graham- 52.26-Sophomore
Men’s 800 Meter Run
3. Daniel Grass- 1:58.53-Sophomore
4. Mike Guntner- 1:58.80-Junior
Men’s 200 Meter Dash
10. Travis Benton- 22.91-Freshman
Men’s 3000 Meter Run
9. Andrew Greeson 9:33.48-Sophomore
Men’s 4x400 Meter Relay
1. Kennesaw State ‘A’- 3:20.30 (Josh James, Ethan Kasson, Tremaine Grant, James Verdi)
6. Kennesaw State ‘B’- 3:24.94
