Kennesaw State junior Nathan Haskins returns to competition on Friday night at the Stetson Hatter Invitational
DELAND, Fla. - Nathan Haskins competed for the first time since September 5 on Friday night, running in the Hatter Invitational at Sperling Sports Complex in DeLand, Florida, hosted by Stetson and site of the Atlantic Sun Cross Country Championships on October 31. He posted a time of 27:31 in the 8k race, in which he was the only Owl to compete.
"I'm a little down about my time today, but it was great to get back out there and compete," said Haskins, who finished second in the JSU Struts Season Opener before missing several weeks due to injury. "The pace I started out on was one that would've been fine if I were in top shape, but just coming back, it was a little too fast to sustain. I ran without any pain, though, which is a real positive."
This was the second time Haskins had the chance to preview the conference course, as the team practiced on it last week while they were in Florida for the Walt Disney World Cross Country Invitational. Stan Sims, head coach of the men's cross country team, was glad to have Haskins back out on the race course, even if his performance was less than he's ultimately capable of.
"His time wasn't exactly where we need it to be in a few weeks, but he'll get there," said Sims. "He needed to race, and now that we've cleared that hurdle, we can get him back into a position where he can be a real asset to our squad."
Haskins and the Owls will have one more crack at competition before the A-Sun Championship when they host the first annual KSU Owl Invitational on October 23 at Noonday Park in Kennesaw.