By: By: Bill Morgal, Sports Information Director
was named the 2011 Men's Outdoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year on Thursday morning after voting was conducted by the league's coaches.
Kirkland qualified for the 2011 NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships in his specialty event, the long jump. During the regular season, Kirkland broke the school record with a mark of 25 feet 0 ¾ inches from the Paul Kaiser Classic at Seth Grove Stadium.
He went on to win the conference championship with another jump that satisfied the automatic qualifying standard for Division II, recording a victorious mark of 24 feet 10 ½ inches.
In addition to his prowess in the field, Kirkland was also dominant as a sprinter. He ran the third leg of the 4x100-meter relay team that won a conference championship, placed second individually in the 100 and achieved a NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 100 during the regular season with a college PR of 10.56 seconds.
