Hall of Fame Coach Peter Blount Among Most Versatile Track Athletes in UF History

Melbourne High School graduate among top athletes, coaches to come out of Brevard

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: In this edition of “Sit Down with Steve” from the Space Coast Daily–Friday Night Locker Room Mike Erdman Cadillac Studios, Steve Wilson talks with Peter Blount – one of the top athletes and coaches to come out of Brevard County who will be inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Peter Blount excelled at so many different levels, including as a competitor and coach, the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Committee had a difficult time selecting which category Blount should be inducted.

Blount is an athlete and coach and has one of the highest elite athlete testing scores in history.

He recorded an 806 on a six-item Elite Athlete Performance Test which includes the 30-meter dash, 60-meter dash, 100-meter dash, 16-pound weight toss, five consecutive hops, and vertical jump, which is given by the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.

To put that into perspective, consider that Willie Gault, a world-class sprinter and a wide receiver for the Los Angeles Raiders, scored 802 points, Herschel Walker and Edwin Moses, an Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles, tied with 761 points.

As a youth, Blount loved and played all sports, including baseball, basketball, football, and basically whatever was in season.

During his high school years as a Melbourne Bulldog, he shifted his focus in the fall from football to cross country and it was then he fell in love with running.

“The individual aspect of the sport is what won me over,” said Blount.

After graduating from Melbourne High School, he attended Texas A&M and ran track as a walk-on.

Family circumstances brought him back to Brevard County where he ran track for Frank Craig at Brevard Community College, which is now Eastern Florida State College.

At Brevard Community College Blount performed at a high level and won a full track scholarship to the University of Florida.

At UF, Blount was a track athlete that was initially considered a long-distance runner but his coaches recognized his explosive sprint ability and turned him into one of the most versatile track athletes in Gators’ history.

Blount competed in the 4 x 800, 4 x 100, 500-meters indoors and 400-meters outdoors in which he earned  All-Southeastern Conference honors.

While a student at the University of Florida in 1983, Blount received an invitation to compete on the U.S. Track and Field team and was among the first members of an American team to compete in Cuba since the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.

He has degrees in education and business.

Because he was such a versatile athlete with explosive power, he was also selected to be a member of the U. S. World Cup bobsled team that also included Herschel Walker and Edwin Moses.

That makes Blount one of only a select few that has competed on U.S. national teams in both summer and winter sports.

In addition to Blount’s involvement with the U.S. Track and Field team as a competitor, he also began his outstanding coaching career with the USA Youth National Track and Field Team.

He competed as a Professional Athlete with the Florida Clippers and NIKE from 1989-1994.

Blount’s coaching experience includes stints at Brevard Community College, Melbourne High School, the University of Central Florida Track Club, Oak Ridge High School, U.S. Junior National Team, Satellite High School and Dr. Phillips High School.

He led Satellite High School to a state championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007, as well as a state runner-up finish in 2008. Blount also coached the track and field team to a top 5 state finish.

He also coached Dr. Phillips High School to a State Runner-up finish in 2010, and both track teams to top 7 finishes.

Blount also has personally trained many high school and college All-Americans, Jamaican National Team members (Duane Evans and Shernette Hyatt) as well as professional athletes including NFL All-Pro Brandon Meriweather, among others.

His excellence in teaching and inspiring his young athletes earned him 2009 Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Association.

Blount was also selected for induction into the Florida Track and Field Hall of Fame and the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

THE 2021 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME Banquet and Induction Ceremony will take place at the Cocoa Beach Country Club on Friday, May 7, 2021.

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT the 2021 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME, call 321-323-4460 or 321-615-8111 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced an impressive array of outstanding individuals to be inducted into the 2020 Class of the Hall of Fame.

The 2020 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet and Sports Awards will be held Friday, May 8 at the Cocoa Beach Country Club.

The festivities include a meet and greet with the area’s sports royalty beginning at 6 p.m., and the dinner and induction proceeding will start at 6:45 p.m. and includes compelling video tributes of each of the inductees.

The 2020 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction event, and the 2020 High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards, are sponsored by Health First, Erdman Automotive, All Points, Clear Choice Health Care, Savings Safari, Friday Night Locker Room and Rock Paper Simple.

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame includes an impressive array of outstanding individuals to be inducted into the 2020 Class of the Hall of Fame.

Dozens of nominees were considered in four categories including professional sports, college sports, high school sports and amateur sports.

Special honorary recognition will also be bestowed upon individuals and teams that have made significant contributions to sports on the Space Coast.

Space Coast Daily created the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and has so far inducted more than 160 of Brevard County’s most outstanding athletes, coaches and sports personalities.

Serving on the committee are Space Coast Daily President & Publisher Tom Palermo, Vice President Giles Malone, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Jim Palermo, Managing Editor Zach Clark, the Friday Night Locker Room’s Steve Wilson and Orville Susong, former Health First COO Larry Garrison and Amateur Athletic Union Vice President Rusty Buchanan.

“The list of inductees for 2020 induction include athletes and coaches everybody knows – and some that may have been forgotten with the passing of time,” said Tom Palermo.

FOR INFORMATION about the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-615-8111.

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Tim Wakefield talks about his induction into the first class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2020

• PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Jamel Dean, Football; Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Wrestling; Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Football; Mark Lake, Skateboarding; Juwaan Taylor, Football

• COLLEGE CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Derek Hamm, Football; Paulette King, Basketball; Dylan Lewis, Soccer; Melanie Murphy, Softball

• PREP CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Lexy Denaburg, Volleyball; Apryl Bigham Nickson, Swimming; Andi Sellers, Soccer

• AMATEUR/RECREATION CATEGORY INDUCTEE: Peter Blount, Track & Field; Karina Villegas, Sled Hockey; Caylor Williams, Wrestling

• COACHING CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Sean Ballard, Wrestling; Doug Butler, Cross County and Track; Aubin Goporo, Basketball; Gerald Hodgin, Football; Bill Sinclair, Softball; Don Smith, Basketball

• SPORTS DEVELOPMENT INDUCTEE: Loren McClanahan

• LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT INDUCTEE: Clint Hurdle

• SPORTS OFFICIAL INDUCTEES: Ted Ruta

• SPORTS JOURNALISM INDUCTEES: Steve Vaughn

• SPORTS AMBASSADOR AWARD INDUCTEE: Congressman Bill Posey

• CHALLENGER AWARDS INDUCTEES: Brevard Special Olympics

• TEAM OF THE YEAR: 2019 Satellite High Cross Country

• LEGACY CHAMPIONS: TBA

• SPECIAL TRIBUTE: TBA

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS

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