By: by Scott Lipsky
Schedule of events
Performance List
CONWAY, S.C. – Kennesaw State men’s track and field kicks off their outdoor season this weekend when they compete in the Asics Coastal Carolina Invitational Friday and Saturday.
The event will be held on the campus of Coastal Carolina, and will give the men a chance to pick up where they left off in the indoor season, when they captured their second Atlantic Sun Conference indoor track and field title in three years. The men have one A-Sun outdoor title since joining the conference during the 2005-2006 academic year, when they took home the honors in 2008.
This week will feature only a portion of the Owls full roster, as they only took about half of the squad. One key piece that will be missing this weekend will be senior jumper Jerome McKinzie, who is competing this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. in the high jump.
Overall, the Owls should be favored this season to do well outdoors, as they won five individual events last season and return the athletes from four of them this season. Additionally, McKinzie, who won the outdoor title in the high jump in 2007 and 2008, will also be competing throughout the season.
Owls head coach Don McGarey is traveling with McKinzie to Fayetteville, leaving sprints and hurdles coach Devin West to play the lead role in the coaching department this week. After arriving Wednesday and taking the Owls through their first workout in Conway, which is just a few miles south of Myrtle Beach, West is confident that even though this is just the first meet of the season, big things can happen.
“So far this trip has gone very well. Coastal Carolina has provided us with an excellent opportunity to compete against some great teams this weekend,” said West, referring to the fact that around 40 teams from many different conferences and levels of collegiate track and field will be competing. “We’re looking forward to some great performances this week in our first outdoor event. Our student-athletes are a lot more comfortable running outdoors than they are indoors, so I’m excited to see what we can do.”
The meet will commence on Friday morning, when the Hammer Throw takes place at 10 a.m., and will feature Owl senior Josh McNair and his teammate, freshman Casey Reynolds.
