By: by Scott Lipsky
Gem of the Hill Heat Sheets
Florida Relays Heat Sheet
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls men’s track and field squad continues their outdoor schedule this weekend when they split up their team and travel to the Florida Relays in Gainesville, Fla., and the Gem of the Hills Invitational at Jacksonville State in Jacksonville, Ala.
Coming off a weekend at Western Carolina that featured four new school records, six event victories, and a total of 17 top-three finishes, head coach Don McGarey’s squad will try and take that momentum south, where teams from across the United States and the collegiate spectrum will compete for two days at the Percy Beard Track in Gainesville. The competition will range from junior colleges and club teams all the way up to schools in the SEC, Big East, and ACC.
Perhaps most advantageous for the Owls will be the opportunity they will have to face Atlantic Sun Conference rivals Lipscomb, North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast.
A limited number of Owls will be making the trip to Gainesville. One of them includes senior Jerome McKinzie, who is making his outdoor season debut after competing in the NCAA Indoor National Championships in the High Jump. McKinzie joins senior thrower Josh McNair as the only two field athletes making the trip to Florida.
Among the other athletes competing in Gainesville will be sophomores Kendall Parks and Jemir Martinez and freshmen Travis Benton and Frank Minton. The quartet set a school record last week in the 4x100 Relay, running the race in a time of 40.45 seconds on their way to victory. The time currently ranks 16th in the nation and eighth in the NCAA East Region.
Sprinter Josh James and middle distance runners Piotr Witczak and Gianni Catalano make up the rest of the group that will be competing in Florida.
The remainder of the team will travel to Jacksonville for the Gem of the Hills, which will be a one-day event, taking place on Saturday. Teams predominantly from Georgia and Alabama make up the field there, with local rival Georgia State expected to compete.
Heat sheets and performance lists will be posted as soon as they become available.
