2022-23 Men's Outdoor #ASUNTF Season In Review
2023 Championship | Top Performances
ATLANTA - With another season of ASUN Conference Men's Outdoor Track and Field in the books, we take a look back at the highlights and accomplishments from the eight league squads during the 2023 season. Ten ASUN athletes qualified to compete in Austin, Texas at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship. EKU's Hakim Abouzouhir (sixth) and Liberty's Kevin Nedrick (fifth) each earned First Team All-America honors in the 3,000m Steeplechase and Discus, respectively.
Lance Bingham, Head Coach of the Flames, won the ASUN Coach of the Year award after guiding his team to the program's fourth consecutive Championship title. After helping Kennesaw State earn a second-place finish as a team, Malik Hussie was named the Championship Most Valuable Performer and the Most Outstanding Track Performer after he won the 400-Meter title, was second in the 200-Meter and was a member of both of the Owls' silver medal-winning relay teams in the 4x100 and 4x400. KSU's Anthony Harrison was voted the Most Outstanding Field Performer after he secured a gold medal in the Discus Throw while also earning sixth in the Shot Put and seventh in the Hammer Throw. Bellarmine's Jackson Gordon garnered the Outdoor distinction for Most Outstanding Freshman after he earned a silver medal in 400-Meter at ASUN Championship with a time of 47.06.
KSU's Isaiah Rogers and Courtney Lawrence each earned Second Team All-America honors with Rogers finishing 11th in the Hammer Throw while Lawrence earned 15th in the Shot Put in Austin. The Owls also had three earn Honorable Mention honors starting with Rogers in Shot Put, followed by Kelvin Campbell (High Jump) and Anthony Harrison (Discus). The Colonels had three earn Honorable Mention All-America honors in Pedro Garcia-Palencia (3,000m Steeplechase) Ahmed Kadri (3,000m Steeplechase & 800m) and Joshua Moore (High Jump). North Florida's Aidan O'Gorman ended a great season with a top-20 finish in the 10,000m to earn All-America Honorable Mention.
ASUN Top 100 NCAA Performances
Nicholas Mabilo, Kennesaw State - 89th (100m)
Donald McClinton, Liberty - 56th (200m)
Ahmed Kadri, EKU - 55th (800m)
Robert Pedroza, North Florida - 76th (800m)
Robert Pedroza, North Florida - 59th (1,500m)
Mac Franks, North Florida - 70th (1,500m)
Hakim Abouzouhir, EKU - 84th (5,000m)
Hakim Abouzouhir, EKU - 51st (10,000m)
Aidan O'Gorman, North Florida - 89th (10,000m)
Prosper Ekporere, Liberty - 68th (110m Hurdles)
Rayan Holmes, Liberty - 23rd (400m Hurdles)
Mark Schittenhelm, Queens - 82nd (400m Hurdles)
Felix Lawrence, Liberty - 89th (400m Hurdles)
Hakim Abouzouhir, EKU - 11th (3,000m Steeplechase)
Pedro Garcia-Palencia, EKU - 19th (3,000m Steeplechase)
Ahmed Kadri, EKU - 48th (3,000m Steeplechase)
Mac Franks, North Florida - 54th (3,000m Steeplechase)
Austin Remick, Lipscomb - 59th (3,000m Steeplechase)
Keeton Thornsberry, EKU - 94th (3,000m Steeplechase)
Juan Cavazos II, Kennesaw State - 31st (High Jump)
Joshua Moore, Eastern Kentucky - 31st (High Jump)
Sultan Simms, Kennesaw State - 52nd (High Jump)
AJ Johnson, Kennesaw State - 57th (Pole Vault)
Simon Seid, Kennesaw State - 72nd (Pole Vault)
Kaelen Mitchell, Kennesaw State - 82nd (Long Jump)
Kelvin Campbell, Kennesaw State - 30th (Triple Jump)
Courtney Lawrence, Kennesaw State - 19th (Shot Put)
Tyler Blalock, Kennesaw State - 32nd (Shot Put)
Kevin Nedrick, Liberty - 38th (Shot Put)
Isaiah Rogers, Kennesaw State - 48th (Shot Put)
Kevin Nedrick, Liberty - 23rd (Discus)
Anthony Harrison, Kennesaw State - 25th (Discus)
Desmond Coleman, Liberty - 26th (Discus)
Isaiah Rogers, Kennesaw State - 8th (Hammer)
John Hicks, Liberty - 50th (Hammer)
Ethan Mylin, Liberty - 75th (Javelin)
Ben Chughart, Liberty - 77th (Javelin)
Bellarmine | @BUKnightsXCTF
- The Knights saw their third season competing as a Division I Indoor Track and Field program culminate with a seventh-place finish at the ASUN Championship with 33 points
- Jackson Gordon, the Most Outstanding Freshman, earned a silver medal in the 400m as he clocked a 47.06 and he helped Bellarmine earn fourth in the 4x400m Relay as he ran the anchor leg to finish in 3:15.04
- Alex Cole was the lone Knight to finish in the top six in field events as he finished sixth in Hammer Throw with a toss of 54.34m; Zander Hooten earned two top six finishes for BU in the 110m Hurdles (4th) and 400m Hurdles (6th)
Central Arkansas | @UCAXCTF
- The Bears earned a fifth-place team finish in the program's second season at the 2023 conference championship, collecting 50 points thanks to multiple podium finishes including a bronze finish in the final race (4x400 Relay)
- Central Arkansas' Wesley Suen took home two bronze medals for his efforts in the 100m and 200m, posting times of 10.62 and 21.05, respectively; TyJuan Huffman scored in the 200m (5th) while Tyrone Luckett scored for UCA in the 400m (6th)
- The 4x100 Relay quartet for UCA clocked the sixth-fastest time in ASUN Championship history en route to claiming the program's first event title in at championship in the 4x100; the Bears winning time was 40.30
EKU | @EKU_XCTF
- Hakim Abouzouhir led EKU to a podium sweep in the 3,000m Steeplechase, setting a new ASUN Championship record with his winning time of 8:37.06; Pedro Garcia-Palencia and Ahmed Kadri earned silver and bronze, respectively
- Joshua Moore earned silver in the High Jump for the Colonels after clearing 2.15m; Jan Badia also earned a silver medal for EKU in the 800m as he clocked a 1:50.17 while Jake Welch captured bronze in the 400m (47.71)
- As a team, EKU finished third with 81 total points at the 2023 ASUN Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship, the program's best team finish since joining the ASUN
Kennesaw State | @KSUTrackFieldXC
- The Owls captured eight event titles at the 2023 ASUN Championship (400m, Discus, Triple Jump, Shot Put, Long Jump, High Jump, Hammer Throw and Pole Vault); Kelvin Campbell and Anthony Harrison both set new ASUN Championship marks in the Triple Jump (15.88m) and Discus (59.25m), respectively
- Malik Hussie captured the lone running title for KSU winning the 400m with a time of 46.72 while earning silver in the 200m (20.83) and 4x400 Relay (3:11.79)
- Kaelen Mitchell and Justin Campbell earned a one-two finish in Long Jump with 7.41m and 7.18m leaps; Mitchell won KSU's seventh banner in the event
Liberty | @Liberty_XCTF
- The Flames set three championship records at the 2023 ASUN Championship in the 10,000m, 400m Hurdles and Javelin while claiming first in eight events (Decathlon, 4x400m, 110m Hurdles, 200m, 100m)
- Liberty posted the two best finishes in four events (100m, 110m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles and Javelin); In the 110 Hurdles, Felix Lawrence captured his second straight event title while Ethan Mylin became the second thrower in ASUN history to surpass the 65m mark and set a new Javelin record (65.59m)
- Tristan Merchant posted a record-winning time of 29:26.15 in the 10,000m to become the second-ever Flame to win the title; Rayan Holmes set the 400m Hurdles record in prelims at 50.27 before clocking a 51.03 in the finals
Lipscomb | @LipscombXCTF
- Lipscomb earned a sixth-place finish at the 2023 ASUN Outdoor Track and Field Championship with a total of 48 points
- Scott McKenzie was the lone Bison to earn a podium finish in Jacksonville as he finished third in the 5,000m, crossing in 14:21.58; his time sits in the top 10 at the championship, landing at No. 6
- Devon Ward (200m), Demontae Wilson (400m), Bill Comstock (800m), Ben Butcher (10,000m) each finished inside the top six earning points for the Bisons at the 2023 conference meet
North Florida | @OspreyXCTF
- Aidan O'Gorman etched his name into the ASUN Outdoor record book as he set a new 5,000m record, crossing the finish line in 14:16.51 to claim the top podium spot; O'Gorman also earned a second-place finish in the 10,000m
- Robert Pedroza became the fourth Osprey to claim the 800m title after clocking a 1:49.56; he is the first Ospreys to win since 2018 as he helped UNF finish fourth at the ASUN Championship with 74 points
- Mac Franks and Timothy Doyle finished first and second in the 1,500m, respectively; The Ospreys nearly had a podium sweep with Aiden Arnold finishing in fourth
Queens | @QueensTrack1
- The Royals competed in their first season of Indoor as a Division I Track & Field program; the team finished eighth at the conference championship earning a total of 23 points
- Mark Schittenhelm became the first Queens male athlete to earn a podium finish at the championship, earning a bronze medal in the 400m Hurdles as he finished in 52.18
- Martin Knauer also posted points for the Royals as he finished inside the top eight in both the Shot Put (5th; 17.43m) and Discus (6th; 45.33m); the 4x100 Relay team also finished sixth with a time of 43.50
ASUN Conference, Atlanta - the only DI conference headquartered in the ATL, our footprint's primary media, sports, business, transportation and cultural hub
The ASUN, a Division I conference member of the NCAA, boasts a membership of institutions that share visionary leadership, bold ambition and creative innovation. As a nimble adaptive conference, unafraid to blaze a national pathway for better service to our student-athletes, teams, and institutions, the ASUN has a proud history of firsts, national academic and athletic achievements and a conference culture that walks the walk with its four ASUN Beams. Students First! Rise. Connect. Impact. #ASUNBuilt by Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.), Bellarmine (Louisville, Ky.), Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky (Richmond, Ky.), FGCU (Fort Myers, Fla.), Jacksonville (Fla.), Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala.), Kennesaw State (Ga.), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), Queens (Charlotte, N.C.) and Stetson (DeLand, Fla.).
| Tristian Merchant, Liberty University |