Date Posted: 5/17/2008

CLEMSON, S.C. - Two months after winning their first Indoor Track and Field Championship, Kennesaw State won its first Outdoor Championship, improving on a fifth-placing showing just one year ago. The Owls won the championship, contested at Clemson's Rock Norman Track and Field Complex by 34.5 points, the closest margin in the men's event since 2001.

The Owls racked up points in the field events and the mid-distance with wins as Jerome McKinzie won the high jump (his second win in the event in as many years) and Joshua McNair led an Owls sweep of the medal stand in the discus, uncoiling a throw of 48.62m (159-06). The Owls' James Verdi won the 400-meter dash and Gianni Catalano took first in the 800-meter run. The duo made up the second and third legs in the 1,600-meter relay, another event won by the Owls. Scott Burley defended his title in the steeplechase, winning in 9:17.34, just shy of the A-Sun record he set last year.

McNair would earn Outstanding Field Performer by adding a second-place finish in the hammer throw and a third-placing showing in the shot put. He became the first Kennesaw State male athlete to earn a Championship Superlative award. His coach, Don McGarey, won the Coach of the Year award, like he did during the indoor season. The Owls' improvement from fifth to first marked the greatest turnaround by a champion in A-Sun men’s outdoor track and field history. Three teams had improved from third to first, most recently ETSU in 2007.

"We knew the events we would be strong in, and we knew where we’d be after the first day," McGarey said. "We had a couple of surprise runs and throws, and the guys just brought it."

Campbell placed second for the third time in the last five seasons. The Camels' Logan Brelsford shared the decathlon title with Gardner-Webb's Evan Brusich and his teammate, Kyle Lingafelt, made a major move up the standings in day two, ascending from eighth to finish in third place. Adoniss Jones won the Outstanding Freshman Performer after taking the 110-meter hurdles title and finishing fourth in the 400-meter hurdles. Harold Simms concluded his stellar career by being named the Outstanding Track Performer after scoring in four events, including a win the 400 hurdles and two third-place finishes, the 400-meter dash and the 110 hurdles.

Belmont, the first-day leader, concluded the championship in third place, the same spot it finished in 2007. Colin Magut, the Outstanding Track Performer in 2006 and 2007, added to his impressive resume with a win in the 1,500-meter run and a second-place finish in the 800. He also anchored the 1,600 relay to a third-place finish. Like in the 10,000-meter run, Jacob Buckman took second and John Brigham finished third.

Defending champion ETSU placed fourth while last year's runner-up, Gardner-Webb finished in fifth. Gardner-Webb's Evan Brusich shared the top spot on the medal stand for the decathlon with Brelsford. Brelsford led the freshman by 219 points entering the final event, the 1,500-meter run but Brusich completed the event second in a time of 4:33.1 while Brelsford placed sixth at 5:09.8 resulting in precisely the 219-point margin needed to create the tie.

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:
 • Men's Championship Coverage