By: KSU Sports Information
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women’s track and field squad announced their team captains for the 2011-12 season on Monday as Suzee Mills, Naomi Mack and Victoria Jackson were elected.
“This season our captains are all very strong leaders,” Head Coach Andy Eggerth said. “They are all devoted student-athletes to performing well on and off the track and have all bought in to what we are selling here at Kennesaw. Their work ethic is outstanding and they embody everything that this program represents.”
Mills, a junior from Hoschton, Ga., is the reigning champion in the Atlantic Sun in the javelin throw recording a distance of 38.42 meters last season. The junior also finished second in 2010 in the discus throw with a distance of 45.85m as she looks to share her championship pedigree with the underclassman.
“It is our job as captains to be role models,” Mills said. “It is our responsibility to keep everyone in line and working together. As a team it is our goal to constantly move forward in our goals and as long as we are doing so I am happy.”
Mack, a senior from Douglasville, Ga., returns as the 2011 A-Sun heptathlon champion. Also the teams’ best hurdler, Mack posted her best 100 m hurdles at the Clemson Tiger Qualifier with a time of 14.79.
“As a leader you have to always put everything you have into your workouts so others will follow, Mack said. “For me, this only makes me work harder, because now I represent the women’s team and I don’t want to let them down.”
Jackson, a senior from College Park, Atl., comes back to captain the sprinters. Jackson, who holds the school record for the 60m indoor, has high expectations for this team.
“I have high hopes for this team this year,” Mack said. “This team gets stronger and closer to winning conference each year and this year we have the ability to be even better than we have in the past.”
The women’s squad returns seven All-Conference Award Winners including Cynthia Davis (100 meter dash), Tai Dorsett (4x400 relay) Jackson (4x400 relay), Mack (heptathlon) Mills (discus and javelin) Michelle Quimby (pole vault) and Brittany Robinson (4x400 relay). In search of an A-Sun Championship after their runner-up finish in 2010 and third place performance last season, the team is eager to get the 2011-12 campaign underway.
The Owls will have a new training facility this season with the implementation of a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility to be used by the team in spring 2012. The facility will include a standard 400-meter track with eight lanes and will be surfaced by Rekortan, an IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation) certified product on which many world records have been set. The surface will be 15mm thick and is one of the top track surfaces in the country.
“I am so excited to get a track to call our own,” Mills said. “The track will give our athletes a place to call our own and inspire others as they will gain a sense of pride. This will translate into athletes giving their best everyday that will translate into better outcomes.”
The women’s team opens the season Dec. 3 at the SIU Fast Start in Carbondale, Ill. For updates on the program, you can follow the team on Twitter @KSUTrackFieldXC.
