By: KSU Sports Information
Live Stats I
Heat Sheets
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State men’s and women’s track and field teams will make a run for yet another title this 2012 season, as the squad travels to North Florida on Friday to compete in the Atlantic Sun Outdoor Championship.
The men will be looking to defend their title and hold off rival school East Tennessee State, as they just edged out the Bucs to win the A-Sun Indoor Championship in February by the narrowest margin in the history of the conference tournament. Winning by only five, the team made it two consecutive title victories over the Bucs as in 2011; the men ousted ETSU by 66 points to claim their second consecutive outdoor title.
Seniors Kendall Parks and Brian Graham will lead the Owls heading into the competition with a first (Parks) and second (Graham) place ranking in the 110-meter hurdles. Parks also embraces the number one spot for the 400-meter hurdles too, respectively, in his first time competing in the event during his college tenure.
The Black and Gold are also expected to be very competitive in the long jump, as Ramus Rooks and Anjoun Armlay top the rankings. Others predicted to rack up points include Ryan Burrus (No. 1) in the 3,000-meter Steeple, Reggie Lewis in the 200-meter (No.2) and 100-meter (No.7), Sadio Diallo in the 200-meter (No.3) and 100-meter (No.4), and Casey Reynolds in the hammer throw (No.2).
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Already breaking multiple school records during the outdoor season, senior Jaakko Nieminen will continue his quest for more All-Conference awards. Recently competing as an individual at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival, Nieminen broke the school record in the 5,000m, shattering the previous mark set in 2011 by 16 seconds with a time of 14.25.89.
On the women’s side, the squad is right on track to chase down Jacksonville for their first-ever outdoor title, as they recorded their closest finish to the Dolphins at the 2012 A-Sun Indoor Championship. Last year, the women finished third in outdoor behind the two Jacksonville schools, but with the addition of some talented freshman, which join a solid core group of athletes, the women are bound to make a title run.
Burning up the track will be junior Cynthia Davis and her teammate Kentrell White, as they pursue JU’s Courtney Walker who tops the rankings for the 100-meter and is positioned second in the 200. In the 800-meter, senior Brittany Robinson’s 2:10.31 performance at last week’s meet earned her a forth place slot, just three seconds shy of first.
Suzee Mills ranks first in both the javelin and hammer throw and third in discus, while Michelle Quimby (Field Athlete of the Year for Indoor) will look to take home another title in pole vault, setting the bar high against her two North Florida rivals. And Christie Leverette is two inches shy of top seed in the high jump with her personal best of the season of 5’5.
Action at the two-day event begins on Friday at Hodges Stadium with the decathlon at 9 a.m. and concludes Saturday evening with 4x400 relays. For updates about the Championship, you can follow the team on Twitter @KSUTrackFieldXC.
