Close-up shot of track running lanes. Photo Courtesy of Karen Arnold
Track and field saw continued contributions from its younger athletes Saturday at the Florida Relays at the Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Florida.
KSU picked up two event wins on the men’s side, led by freshmen Cameron Dean and Gage Voyles, as the Owls continued to build momentum in the outdoor season.
The performances reflect a growing impact from the program’s freshman class, which has played a significant role across multiple events this season. With several young athletes consistently placing and winning events, the Owls continue to show promising depth.
“Recruiting efforts have adjusted over the last year with our move to Conference USA,” Kennesaw State director and head coach Cale McDaniel said, “With our continued success, it has also allowed us to reach out to some very talented young people. Gage [Voyles] has done a great job, along with Cameron Dean, Natalie Harris, and Tickia Sutton.
“We have a fantastic recruiting class at the moment, and we will continue to see big contributions from young people in the years to come.”
Dean delivered one of the top performances of the meet, winning the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 15.53 meters (50’11.5”), tying with the 10th best mark in school history.
Voyles added another win to his strong freshman campaign, taking first in the high jump against SEC talent, clearing 2.12 meters (6’11.5”). Voyles and teammate Kenyatta Bennett both cleared the height, but Voyles secured the victory on fewer misses.
Chance Cross had a strong performance in his season debut in the 100m with a sixth place finish with a time of 10.23 seconds.
Simon Seid finished eighth in the pole vault with a mark of 5.00m (16’4.75”).
On the women’s side, Emma Sullivan competed in the 800m for the first time outdoors this season, clocking a time of 2:01.07, finishing second and ranking second in program history.
Kali Terza is set to compete in the Throw Town Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma, while the rest of the team are headed to the University of Georgia in Athens to compete in the Spec Towns Invitational on the weekend of April 9-11.
