By: by Hunter McKay
KENNESAW, Ga. -- The Kennesaw State track and field programs have added six talented signees to their 2017 class in the early signing period. Runners Chase Kennedy, Ben Patterson and Reagan Poteet join the Owls distance program this fall. Tyler Jones joins the men's jumps group, while Ja'Nya Bryant and Katie Hanegan join the women's sprints and pole vault groups, respectively.
"We are pleased to announce a very solid class of early signees," Director of Track and Field and Field and Cross Country
Andy Eggerth said. "We have gone out and found some talent that I believe will really develop.I love our early signing classes because they get it.They are coming for the right reasons."
Kennedy (Maysville, Ga./East Jackson HS), ranked by Milesplit as the top prep cross country runner in Georgia, will run cross country in the fall and the long distance track events in the spring. He was a member of the of the cross country team for four years and heads into his fourth year of track. He competed in 36 cross country meets in high school, winning three Class 3A State Championships and three Region 8-AAA Championships as an individual. He won all eight races he competed as a senior and helped lead his team to its first-ever state title. As a junior he had six wins in 11 events, closing out the season with a fourth-place finish at the Region 4 USATF Cross Country Championships. In track he has competed in mostly in the 800m and 1600m. He has finished second in the 1600m in the last two Georgia Olympics.
Coach Eggerth on Kennedy: "Chase is committed to our vision. He chose KSU over Wake Forest, a couple SEC schools, and several others and it's no surprise the top cross country guy in that state is going to be recruited heavy nationally. This has been our goal: to keep talent in-state. Bringing in Chase to complement
Logan Poteet next year already turns the corner for our men's team."
Poteet (Marietta, Ga./Kell HS), the daughter of head cross country coach
David Poteet, will run cross country in the fall and the long distance track events in the spring for the Owls. She ran her last three years at Kell after one year at West Forsyth. She opened her senior season with a second-place finish at the Bob Blastow Early Bird in 19:03.93. As a junior, she collected six top-10 finishes in eight meets including a sixth-place finish in the Region 6-AAAAAA Championships. As a sophomore, she competed in eight races and finished second in the Region 7-AAAAA Cross Country Championships. In track, Poteet competes in the 400m, 800m and 1600m. She won the Region-6 AAAAAA Championships in the 800m as a junior.
Coach Eggerth on Poteet: "Our women's cross country team is moving the right direction and Reagan will be a great addition to that."
Patterson (Marietta, Ga./Marietta HS) will run cross country in the fall and the long distance track events in the spring for the Owls. He has competed in four years of cross country and three years of track at Marietta. In cross country, he has had 12 top-10 finishes in 28 career races including a pair of wins at the Saucony XC Kickoff Classic. As a senior, he competed in seven events, finishing with six top-5 finishes including a second-place finish at the Class AAAAAAA Area Championships and a third place-place finish at the Class AAAAAAA State Championships. As a junior, he won the Saucony XC classic in 15:48.04 and collected two other top-5 finishes. In track he competes in the 1600m and 3200m. His best performance in the 1600 was 4:28:41 at the Jerry Arnold Georgia Challenge. He ran a career-best time of 9:21.67 at the 2016 Georgia Olympics.
Coach Eggerth on Patterson: "Ben adds another piece to the puzzle in stepping up our men's cross country program. I expect all five top performers next year to surpass this year's top performance which will drastically improve our distance program."
Jones (Decatur, Ga./Arabia Mountain HS) will be a jumper at KSU. He competed in the long jump 11 times as a junior and never finished worse than seventh. He won three long jump events, including the Class AAAA Sectional with a career-best jump of 6.88m (22'7). He competed at the USATF Galleria Game where he long jumped 6.86m (22'6.25) and at the New Balance Indoor Nationals where he finished fourth and earned first team All-American honors. Jones collected five wins in 11 triple jump events as a junior. He won the triple jump at the Class AAAAA Region 6 Championships with a leap of 13.87 (45'6) and the USATF Georgia Association Junior Olympic Championships. He won the silver medal at the Class AAAAA State Championships. He is strong academically having been on the honor roll since his sophomore year.
Coach Eggerth on Jones: "The jumps have always been one of the strengths, on a national level, for our program. Tyler will be a great addition to carry on the tradition of excellent jumping at Kennesaw State. He has solid high school marks, a great build, and the right attitude for success."
Bryant (Ludowici, Ga./Long County HS) will be a sprinter for the Owls and became first athlete in her high school's history to sign a track and field scholarship. She competes in the 100m, 200m, and 400m. As a junior in the 100m, she competed 10 times and collected two wins and had nine top-10 finishes. She won the 100m at the Liberty County Meet with her career-fastest time of 11.97. She finished second in the Class AA Sectionals in the 100m with a time of 12.30. She competed in the 2016 USATF Region 4 Junior Olympics in the 100m and 200m. In the 200m, she collected three wins in 12 meets with 11 top-10 finishes. Bryant grabbed a fourth-place finish in Class AA Championships in the 200m with a time of 25.32. She holds the school record in the 100m (11.97) and 200m (25.18).
Coach Eggerth on Bryant: "Ja'Nya is a pleasure. We first met at our track camp when her potential became evident. With junior marks of 11.97 and 25 low, we're looking forward to her surprising herself with big gains."
Hanegan (Bremen, Ga./Bremen HS) will pole vault for KSU under her current club coach and current KSU volunteer coach
Robbie Robertson. As a vaulter at Bremen, she has competed 32 times and has collected four wins and multiple top-10 finishes. Hanegan collected a pair of bronze medals in the pole vault at the Class AA State Championships as sophomore and junior. She won the 2016 Carrolton invitational after clearing 3.20m (10'6). She had her personal-best jump of 3.41m (11'2) at Vaultstock 2016, and she has competed in a pair of USATF Georgia Junior Olympic Championships.
Coach Eggerth on Hanegan: "Katie adds some much needed depth to our women's pole vault crew. She has worked with Coach Robbie in his club so it should be a smooth transition for her. There are points for the taking in the ASUN pole vault so we look forward to taking them."
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State cross country news, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlTrackFieldXC or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
