Date Posted: 3/1/2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – One year after finishing fifth at the Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship, Kennesaw State held off a late rally by ETSU to unseat the Buccaneers as Atlantic Sun Champions. The Owls emerged from a five-way battle for the title on the strength of earning a top two finish in 10 of the 17 events.

On Saturday, The Owls picked up individual championships from Joshua McNair in the weight throw, Gianni Catalano in the 800-meter run, Scott Burley in the mile and Jerome McKinzie in the high jump. McKinzie repeated as champion, setting an A-Sun Championship record with a jump of 2.04m.

ETSU entered the day tied with Kennesaw State in second, two points behind Gardner-Webb, but despite wins by Zachary Tillman in the 200-meter dash and Kenneth Rotich in the 5,000-meter run plus a win the 4x400-meter relay, the Buccaneers could not pull off a three-peat.

Gardner-Webb’s Elliott Haynie successfully overcame a 463-point deficit to defeat day one leader Perrish Goggins from USC Upstate to win the heptathlon with a meet-record 4,645 points. He secured the title in the pole vault with a vault of 17-04.5, earning 1,004 points, 442 more than the second-place finisher in the event. Haynie’s win, combined with his pole vault championship from Friday helped the Runnin’ Bulldogs finish third.

Campbell closed the meet in fourth place, a mere four points behind its North Carolina rivals. The Camels received outstanding performances from Harold Sims and Sam Tilly. Sims won the 400-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles en route to earning the male Track Performer of the Year award.

Tilly successfully defended his long jump title with a distance of 7.63m and after back-to-back runner-up finishes in the triple jump, he finally took home the gold medal, clearing 14.83m. Both jumps established Championship records.

Belmont finished fifth, one year after finishing in a tie for second, followed next by USC Upstate. In addition to his second-place showing in the heptathlon, Perrish Goggins tied for third in the high jump and finished fifth in the triple jump. His three finishes accounted for 15 of the Spartans’ 16 points. He joined fellow Spartan Emily Tangwar in earning Freshman of the Year honors.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Related Links:
 • A-Sun Men's Indoor Track Championships