men’s hammer throw finals had four Panthers finish in the top eight positions
Florida Tech track & field performed very well in the first day of the Peach Belt Conference Championships on Thursday. (Photo by Michael Wade)
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech track & field performed very well in the first day of the Peach Belt Conference Championships on Thursday.
FIT impressed in the men’s hammer throw finals as four Panthers finished in the top eight positions.
Austin Taft
Freshman Austin Taft placed second overall with a final throw of 49.80 meters, just behind the first place finisher’s toss of 49.80 meters.
Junior Phil Maloney ended with the fourth best attempt of 44.53 meters, while sophomores Nathan Knox (42.22 meters) and Garrett Keith (41.58 meters) placed sixth and eighth overall, respectively.
Rachel Tobin
In the women’s 100 meter dash preliminaries, freshman Rachel Tobin finished third overall with a time of 12.11.
Her run qualified her for the event final on Saturday.
Sophomores Kevin Jackman (10.89) and Gary Holmes (11.03) placed third and ninth, respectively, in the men’s 100 meter dash preliminary round. Both sprinters qualified for the final round on Saturday.
Terence Brookins
In the men’s 400 meter dash, sophomore Terence Brookins finished third with a time of 48.61. His run qualifies him for Saturday’s final.
Senior Justin McMaster placed sixth overall in the men’s 10,000 meter final, garnering three team points for his performance.
In the women’s 10,000 meter final, freshman Marina DeBiasi finished second overall with a time of 38:29.25.
Junior Novelle Novakowski is sitting at eighth overall in the heptathlon with a time of 18.28 in the 100 meter hurdles.
Pete Mazzone
“The first day of the championships went well as the hammer throwers started us off great with a 2-4-6-8 finish,” stated head coach Pete Mazzone.
“Two of our men qualified for the 100 meter dash final and one qualified for the 400 meter final. Justin got us points for his sixth place finish in the 10,000 meter run. Rachel cruised in her 100 meter heat to qualify for the finals. Marina did great in the women’s 10,000 meter, finishing second overall.”
“Ellyn (Willse) achieved a personal record in the 1500, while Novelle is performing well in the heptathlon. We get back at it tomorrow and looking for a big day from everyone,” said Mazzone.
The PBC Championships continue on Friday, beginning with the men’s discus competition at 3 p.m. ET.
The running events resume at 4:30 p.m. ET with the women’s 4×100 meter relay final.
