Florida Tech Panthers Sports Roundup

By  //  April 27, 2014

Record Setting Day for Track & Field

Saturday was another record setting day for the Florida Tech Panthers, as they competed at the North Florida Invitational. The Panthers set three new program records, and earned one victory at Hodges Stadium.  

Nick Dodson
Nick Dodson

“I was very proud of our athletes today,” said assistant coach Nick Dodson. “Our throwers did very well, and on the sprint side we really showed up. The athletes have been focused the last couple of weeks, and knew exactly what they needed to do today. They executed very well, and I was proud.”

Connor Ahlborn
Connor Ahlborn

On the women’s side, Connor Ahlborn once again set a new program record in the hammer throw. Ahlborn finished third in the event with a throw of 54.58 meters. Rhoni Gavagni finished fifth in the discus throw with a toss of 27.89 meters. Ellyn Willse placed 10th in the 1,500 meter race with a time of 5:09.59.

The men’s 4×100 meter relay team crushed the previous program record. The team of Twaine Gordon, Umut Oztekin, Kevin Jackman, and Terence Brookins finished second in the race with a record time of 41.48 seconds.

Rhoni Gavagni
Rhoni Gavagni

The previous record time was 42.01 seconds. Gordon continued to have a good day, as he finished fourth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.60 seconds. Justin McMaster finished fifth in the 1,500 meter race with a time of 4:02.12.

“The 4×100 meter relay team really made my day,” Dodson said. “They destroyed the previous record, and were very close to the provisional standard.”

Justin McMaster
Justin McMaster

Kevin Delgado picked up a victory in the men’s shot put. Delgado finished first with a toss of 14.92 meters. Christian Schiemann finished tied of third in the men’s pole vault. He set a program record mark of 4.55 meters. Phil Maloney finished fourth in the hammer throw with a toss of 45.06 meters.

The Panthers will wait and see if they receive invitations to race at the Seminole Twilight. The event is hosted by Florida State University, and takes place on Friday, May 9.

Men’s Golf Earns Bid to NCAA Regionals

The No. 16 Florida Tech Panthers received good news Friday evening, as they received a bid into the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional. The Panthers were ranked seventh in the final South Region Poll. The top-10 teams from the South and Southeast Regions will take part in the championship.

FLORIDA-TECH-GOLF-180The three-day tournament takes place May 5-7 at Savannah Quarters Country Club in Pooler, Ga., and is hosted by Armstrong Atlantic State.

Sunshine State Conference Champions Barry is the top seed from the South Region. The Bucs are looking to repeat after taking home the 2013 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship. Barry is followed in the South Region by Lynn, Nova Southeastern, Gulf South Conference Champions West Florida, North Alabama, Saint Leo, the Panthers, Rollins, Florida Southern, and Delta State.

Peach Belt Conference Champions South Carolina-Aiken is the top seed from the Southeast Region. Armstrong Atlantic State is the second seed followed by Columbus State, Flagler, Georgia College, Clayton State, Queens (N.C.), Conference Carolinas Champions Erskine, Limestone, and South Atlantic Conference Champions Carson-Newman.

The NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional begins at 7:30 a.m. ET on Monday, May 5. Live scoring will be available for the entire tournament.