KSU’s men’s and women’s track teams finished the indoor portion of their seasons with impressive performances at the Atlantic Sun Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Johnson City, TN., this past weekend.
The men’s team finished with its third Atlantic Sun Conference indoor title in five years, defeating the host team, East Tennessee State, by the slimmest margin in conference history, 177 to 172.
KSU’s women’s team finished in second place, despite a lead after the first day of competition, as Jacksonville took the title.
KSU junior Michelle Quimbly earned the Most Oustanding Field Performer of the meet, breaking a conference record in the pole vault.
“It feels great,” said Quimbly. “I was waiting for it. It’s been a long time coming.”
Another notable moment was KSU’s sweep of the weight throw in day one, as Suzee Mills, Gwinetta Jones, and Shannon Hooper finished 1-2-3, respectively.
For the men’s team, senior runner Brian Graham finished in first place in the heptathlon. He also placed behind teammate, Kendall Parks, in the 60 m hurdles. The duo finished with times of 8.24 and 8.05, respectively.
“You have to take one event at a time and you can’t think too far ahead or you psych yourself out,” said Graham. “So, we just have to live in the moment.”
Casey Reynolds finished second place in the weight throw (16.09 m), and Nabil Hamid, who has also starred as a cross country runner, placed second in the 5000 m with a time of 15:02:48.
KSU’s outstanding performances included a total of eight individual titles, 34 all conference honorees, and six conference records.
Track coach Andy Eggerth earned A-Sun Coach of the Year for the men’s efforts, and was named co-Coach of the Year
for the women’s indoor season.
“I can’t pick out a single individual, as this was a complete team effort and win,” said Eggerth, regarding the men’s team. Eggerth praised
the womens’s team, saying,
“They were setting records left and right and they made a lot
of noise around the conference this week. I think everyone realized this team is legit and here to compete.”
