KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State men’s track and field is excited to get back into action this weekend in Johnson City, Tenn. at the Niswonger Invitational, hosted by East Tennessee State.

It has been seven weeks since they competed in their lone meet of the season thus far, the Appalachian State Invitational, and while they were able to use the holiday season to improve in all of their areas, a repeat of the squad’s performance on December 5 wouldn’t be too much cause for concern.

Indeed, the Owls had a productive trip to Boone, North Carolina, as members of the Black Gold, freshmen and upperclassmen alike, won three events and shattered four school records. Owls head coach Don McGarey was pleased with how many of his athletes competed, and is hoping for a similar outcome this weekend.

"Overall I hope we pick up from where we left off at Appalachian State. It's been over a month and one half since that meet and we are all ready to get back in the field of competition," McGarey, the only head coach in the program’s history, said. "Our student athletes came back from the break in great shape, so I expect to see excellent performances. This will be a debut meet for some of our distance runners as they will hit the track for the first time this year. We should see them finishing in the top spots if they run this weekend like they have in practice."

Andrew Greeson was the only Owl to run the 3000 meter event at Appalachian State, and there was no 5000 meter event, the meet coming so quickly after the conclusion of the cross country season. Cross country anchors Nathan Haskins, Nabil Hamid, and Michael Johnson join Steven Murray in the 5000 meters this weekend, while Jaakko Nieminen will run in the 3000 meter event. Seniors Josh McNair and Jerome McKinzie are expected to be among the top performers for the Owls in the field events, having won the Shot Put and High Jump events in their season debuts, respectively.

The meet, which will be held at the site of the Atlantic Sun Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, will be a good barometer for the Owls regarding how they may fare at the Conference meet, which be held on February 26-27. Other than competing at the same site, the Black and Gold will also get to compete against A-Sun rivals East Tennessee State, Lipscomb, and USC-Upstate, who will be among the approximately 70 teams that will be at the Niswonger.

Event List

60 Meters
Benton,Travis
Logan,Antonio
Martinez,Jemir
Minton,Frank
Graham,Brian

200 Meters
Kasson,Ethan
Logan,Antonio
Verdi,James

Martinez,Jemir
Benton,Travis
Minton,Frank

400 Meters
James,Joshua
Verdi,James
Kasson,Ethan
Grant,Tremaine
Tansey,David
Easley,Jeremy
Henley,Damarcus

800 Meters
Grass,Daniel
Guntner,Michael
Witczak,Piotr
Catalano,Gianni

3000 Meters
Nieminen,Jaakko

5000 Meters
Haskins,Nathan
Hamid,Nabil
Murray,Steven
Johnson,Michael

60 Meter High Hurdles
Grant,Tremaine
James,Joshua
Graham,Brian
Easley,Jeremy
Henley,Damarcus

4 x 400 Meter Relay
Squad A
Grant,Kasson,James,Verdi
Squad B
Benton,Tansey,Martinez,Easley,Minton
Squad C
Catalano,Grass,Guntner,Graham

High Jump
McKinzie,Jerome
Blythe,Will
Zeman,Cameron

Pole Vault
Chamblee,Aaron
Reed,Adam
Bridges,Jake

Long Jump
Bridges,Jake
Riberdy,Tyler

Triple Jump
Moukeka,Chris
Riberdy,Tyler

Shot Put
McNair,Joshua
Reynolds,Casey
Graham,Brian

Weight Throw
McNair,Joshua
Reynolds,Casey

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