JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State completed the triple crown by winning the 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship on Saturday from UNF’s Hodges Stadium. The Owls also won the men’s titles in cross country and indoor track and field in the 2009-10 academic year.  

The Owls held off a hard-charging ETSU to claim the conference crown. The Bucs’ Duronal Monal picked up the Outstanding Track Performer award after dominating the sprints. Joe Frye earned Outstanding Field Performer honors. Frye and Kennesaw State’s Joshua McNair shared the Most Valuable Performer award as both put together record-breaking performances in the throws. The coaches voted Don McGarey Coach of the Year for leading the Owls to the title.

Kennesaw State’s Jerome McKinzie set a meet record in the high jump with a leap of 2.15 meters. The mark supplants Campbell’s Eric Bergmann’s eight year conference standard. The mark by McKinzie ranks as the 27th-best leap in the nation this season and bested the field by 0.17 meters.

The Owls’ Daniel Grass took the conference title in the 800-meter run, winning the race in a meet record time of 1:49.74. Kennesaw State and ETSU entered the 800m tied in the team st anding but ETSU failed to score in the 800m, while the Owls collected 27 points.

The Bucs quickly closed the gap in the team standings with a strong showing in the men’s triple jump. ETSU’s Ryan Beaver claimed the conference crown with a mark of 14.80-meters with teammate Jason Johnson taking second with a leap of 14.37m. 

Campbell’s Rashad Campbell took the Camels from second to first in the final stretch of the 4x100-meters, as CU took the conference crown with a time of 40.79. The Camels slipped by Kennesaw State, who finished second with a time of 40.92

Duronal Monal cruised to the conference title in the 100-meter dash winning the event for a third straight year. His winning time of 10.43 seconds ranked as the fastest winning time since 1998. Monal continued the charge for ETSU later in the day claiming 200-meter title with a mark of 21.12. However the Owls took four of the top six positions in the 200m to hold a lead of 19 points after 18 events. 

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase Benjamin Ronoh raced to the Atlantic Sun conference title with a time of 9:32.05. Kennesaw State’s Ryan Burrus finished second in a time of 9:32.05. Lipscomb’s Ryan Chastain claimed the A-Sun title in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:54.53. The Bisons senior edged Verlle Wyatt of Campbell by less than half a second.  

In the 400-meter hurdles, Campbell’s Harold Sims claimed the top of the podium with a time of 53.00 to win the event for the fourth consecutive year. He joins former Camel Eric Bergemann as the only A-Sun athletes to win the same event four straight years. Bergemann won the high jump from 2000 through 2003.

ETSU’s Kenneth Rotich won the 5,000-meters with a time of 14:43.47. Kennesaw State picked up the next two spots as Nabil Hamid and Nathan Haskins claimed second (14:48.90) and third (14:59.84), respectively.

Kennesaw State took the top time in the 4x400-meter relay to close out the running events as David Tansey, James Verdi, Tremaine Grant and Daniel Grass combined for a time of 3:13.53. Campbell placed second with a time of 3:14.98.

Joe Frye of Belmont claimed his second gold medal of the championship, winning the discus throw on Saturday with a heave of 47.69-meters. The Bruins’ junior won the hammer throw Friday with a conference championship record toss.

In the decathlon, ETSU’s Jordan Briggs claimed the conference crown with a 6,237 point performance. Matt Fiedler of Belmont finished second with 6,173 points. Fiedler entered the final event of decathlon 122 points behind Briggs and the Belmont senior took second in the 1,500-meter run but it could not overcome Briggs.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.