Kennesaw State University Athletics

OXFORD, Ala. – The Kennesaw State men’s cross country team begins their bid to repeat as Atlantic Sun Conference Champions Saturday at the Jacksonville State Struts Invitational in Oxford, Ala. Having won the meet the last two years, the squad is going for a three-peat in their season opener.

Featuring six teams from Georgia and Alabama, the Owls look to capitalize on their success on the familiar course, which has been lengthened to five kilometers from three miles in years past. Returnees Nathan Haskins, Piotr Witczak, and Nabil Hamid, who finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively in the meet last year, will be a big advantage for a team that has dominated the course the past two years.

Since the team was recently named the preseason No. 1 to win the A-Sun Championship, the expectation to repeat this season is high. Owls head coach Stan Sims sees the potential the first few meets have for training and perfecting the team before the crucial part of their schedule begins.

“Everything is a training run before October 30,” Sims said, referring to the date the Owls will try to defend their A-Sun title. “We want to forge a racing strategy for each runner using the regular season meets. This meet will give our new people a benchmark for the training to come.”

The group will look to veteran runner Haskins, a senior, to lead the team, but the supporting cast in fellow returning runners Witczak, Hamid, Jaakko Niemenen, Ryan Burruss, Andrew Greeson and Steve Murray will round out a solid lineup for this year’s squad. Preparing for the upcoming season most of the summer, Burruss understood the value of the training and outcome of the first meet.

“We have been training really hard this summer, and competing this weekend will be a great indicator of where we are now that fall has arrived,” Burruss said.

Adding four new freshmen to the roster in Dylan Swafford, Matthew Wieden, Cole Jackob and Zachary Tupper, the team hopes the new class can keep them in the hunt for a second straight conference crown. Looking forward to the start of the season, Weiden has been anxious to run for the Owls and is looking forward to the opportunity.

“I am very excited about our first meet because I have been waiting to run in college for awhile now,” Weiden said. “I feel like it is finally my time.”



Meet Quick Facts

Event Name: JSU Struts Season Opener

Host: Jacksonville State University

Location: Oxford, Ala.

Start Time: 9:30 A.M. CST

Distance: 5k

2009 Owl Finish, Score: 1st, 23 points

2009 Owl Top Finishers: Nathan Haskins, 2nd (14:50); Piotr Witzack, 3rd (14:52); Nabil Hamid, 4th (14:54)

Schools Participating (6): Jacksonville State (DI, Ohio Valley Conference), Georgia State (DI, Colonial Athletic Association), Kennesaw State (DI, A-Sun), Miles College (DII, SAIC), Stillman College (DII, SAIC), West Alabama (Gulf South Conference)