OXFORD, Ala. - Capitalizing on their experience from last year’s meet, the Owls repeated as the winners of the JSU Struts Season Opener, on the strength of Nathan Haskins, Piotr Witczak, and Nabil Hamid, who finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively, at the 5k event in Oxford, Alabama, hosted by Jacksonville State University.

Haskins, who was running for KSU for the first time since 2007 after redshirting last season, was excited to be back as a member of the team. He completed the course in 14:50 to lead the Owls.

“It was great being back in the black and gold, “ said Haskins, a junior. “It had been a solid year off, and I was glad to be able to compete again. I thought I did pretty well, and I think I’m pretty close to being where I need to be to be able to compete at a high level throughout the fall.”

Coach Sims was also proud of the way Haskins performed, and liked the way he approached the race.

“Nate stayed in contention the whole way, he really challenged the lead guy throughout. He had a very offensive-minded posture throughout the race, and that was a positive thing to see.”

Freshmen Nabil Hamid and Ryan Burruss had very strong collegiate debuts, with Hamid finishing in 4th place with a time of 14:54 and Burruss posting a 9th place finish, with a time of 15:10. The learning curve from high school to collegiate competition has proved to be relatively flat thus far, and Burruss was happy with the way he performed.

“I feel a lot more confident now that I’ve gotten that first meet under my belt,” Burruss, who ran for nearby Harrison High School in Kennesaw, said. “It didn’t feel too much different from running in high school. It was great to get out there with my teammates and see what collegiate competition is like.”

“We ran competitively today,” Sims said of his squad, who finished with a total score of 24 points. “I’m satisfied that we were able to compete in that manner. There are a few runners who aren’t exactly where they need to be yet, but they know who they are, and everyone’s working real hard to perform at as high a level as possible. This was definitely a good start.”

The season continues on Friday, when the Owls travel to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the UTC Opener, hosted by UT-Chattanooga. The men’s race will begin at 5:30pm.

Individual Results

2. Nathan Haskins 14:50

3. Piotr Witzack 14:52

4. Nabil Hamid 14:54

7. Jaako Nieminen 15:07

9. Ryan Burruss 15:10

13. Peikko Solla 15:20

16. Mike Johnson 15:33

17. Matt Auers 15:36

18. Scott Burley 15:37

28. Daniel Grass 16:11

33. Gianni Catalano 16:38

36. Alex Hay 16:49

38. Andrew Greeson 16:52

40. Mike Guntner 17:18

43. Robert Thornton 17:41

Team Results

1. Kennesaw State 23

2. West Georgia 65

3. Clayton State 73

4. Jacksonville State 83

5. North Georgia 130