Final Heptathlon Results

Fayetteville, Ark. – When Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Andy Eggerth took over the Kennesaw State track and field teams one of his goals was to be competitive and score in the national championships.

After sending an athlete to the NCAA Indoor Championships three straight years, Eggerth's team accomplished his goal when Bilal Abdullah finished fourth in the heptathlon to give the Owls five team points at the NCAA Indoor Championships that concluded Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.

Abdullah also became the second individual in Division I program history to earn indoor All-American honors, joining Andre Dorsey, who was named an All-American in 2014.

The Owls, who captured their fourth Atlantic Sun Conference indoor championship earlier this month, set 20 school records and accomplished an undefeated regular season.

"I am really proud of our men's team this year," Eggerth said. "The group worked hard as a team. The guys supported each other in training and in competition; and a lot of this teamwork is what has resulted in the individual and team success this season. It really makes you feel good to see them help and support teammates who will beat them. We never want to get beat, but if it has to be anyone we want it to be our friends."

Adullah, who scored a school-record 5,941 points, opened day two by winning the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.87 seconds, tying his school record previously established at the Harvard Crimson Elite.  

"Bilal had the meet of his life with multiple NCAA Top 10 performances and four lifetime bests resulting in a school record in the overall heptathlon," Eggerth said. "To put in perspective how good his performance was, all three guys that beat him had top 10 all-time heptathlon scores. I knew Bilal had the ability but I am even surprised how he put it all together. One bad event can ruin your score but Bilal was so strong event after event."

The junior followed that up by vaulting a personal-best 4.55m (14'11) to finish 11th in the event. The vault was good enough to tie Hendrik Themes for the seventh-highest mark in school history. He closed out the day with a time 2:47.55 in the 1,000m.

Andre Dorsey struggled during day two while also competing in the heptathlon. He ran an 8.89 in the 60m hurdles to finish fourth. The senior vaulted 3.65m (11'11.75) in the pole vault. He ended his indoor career by running a 3:03.38 in the 1,000m and totaled 4,966 points to place 13th.

"This caps off an outstanding indoor career for Andre as the greatest all-time KSU and A-Sun (Conference) athlete being a four-time All-American and three-time A-Sun MVP," Eggerth said. "Andre has been an integral part of building our team to national recognition and he surely will be a KSU Hall-of-Famer."

"We have been ranked nationally before because those rankings are more team-oriented, whereas at the NCAA Championships it is strictly limited to those who finish top 8 at the championships," Eggerth said. "To have our highest ever team finish is very rewarding as it continues to rise above."

The Owls will now have 13 days to prepare for the outdoor season which begins on Friday (Mar.27) at the Yellow Jacket Invitational hosted by Georgia Tech.

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