Former Liberty County High School Panther track standout Josh McNair continues to make his mark at Kennesaw State University.
McNair will get a chance at a national championship when he competes at the NCAA Division I outdoor track and field championship in Des Moines, Iowa, in two weeks.
His distance of 58 feet, 6.75 inches in the shot put helped him finish in the top 11 and, for the third time this season, he broke a school record. In order to move to the finals, an athlete must finish in the top 12 in his or her event during the semifinals.
McNair becomes only the second Owl to make it to the championship meet.
“Josh extended his career by another two weeks by qualifying for the semifinals in Des Moines,” head track and field coach Andy Eggerth said.
“Josh has had a good couple of weeks leading up to regionals,” throwing coach Duane Morris said. “We knew he was going to have a good weekend but wasn’t sure how good. He knew what he had to do and he did it. I am not surprised since Josh puts in a lot of hours at practice on his own. I couldn’t have wanted something like this for a better person. He went from being 39th in the region to 11th, which just shows the hard work he put into it.”