By: by Emily Diekelmann
KENNESAW, Ga. - Performing well at the Atlantic Sun Outdoor Conference Championship, the Kennesaw State women’s track and field team has 11 athletes named to the All-Conference team. In order to be given the award, the athlete must finish in the top three of their respective event.
Fresh off their third place finish, the Owls had a solid showing with three first place individual victories and one school record broken. Having so many athletes winning the honor, head track and field coach Andy Eggerth is proud of their tremendous effort despite adversity.
"We had many athletes earn All-Conference recognition which is a testament to their ability level and the work that they’ve put in this year," Eggerth said. "These athletes have had to struggle through the adversity of not having a coach for 4-5 months, not having a place to train for an additional 2 months, and the earliest conference championship in the nation, resulting in even less time to prepare. None-the-less, I’m very proud of our athletes as they have overcome this adversity, largely without complaining, and simply took care of business earning their due recognition."
Earning the sole school record broken on the women’s side, Naomi Mack repeated her heptathlon success with a second straight first place finish. Mack finished first in three of the six events and also broke the facility record for points with 4,620.
Closing out her career with Kennesaw State, Mackenzie Howe racked up two more All-Conference honors for her 5,000 and 10,000 meter first place finishes. Her time of 35:07.59 gave her the new A-Sun record for the 10,000 meters.
Sophomore Suzee Mills joins Howe with two All-Conference nods for her field performances. First up for Mills was a third place finish in the discus with a top throw of 38.62 meters. She then followed that up with a first place victory in the javelin with a top distance of 38.42 meters.
The quartet of Brittany Robinson, Morgan Williams, Tai Dorsett and Victoria Jackson earned themselves conference honors for their third place finish in the 4x400 relay. Michelle Quimby and Teresa Smith went two and three in the pole vault to garner them an All-Conference award as well.
Still not finished with their season, the Owls continue to work towards a qualifying spot at the NCAA Prelims that are hosted in Bloomington, Ind. at the end of May. This weekend several members of the squad travel to Tallahassee, Fla. for the Florida State Twilight Meet.
All-Conference Award Winners
Cynthia Davis- 100 meter dash
Tai Dorsett- 4x400 relay
Mackenzie Howe- 5,000 and 10,000 meters
Victoria Jackson- 4x400 relay
Jessica Lumpkin- shot put
Naomi Mack- heptathlon
Suzee Mills- discus and javelin
Michelle Quimby- pole vault
Brittany Robinson- 4x400 relay
Teresa Smith- pole vault
Morgan Williams- 4x400 relay
