WATCH: 2025 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Alli Penovich is World Champion Freediver, Spearfisherman

2025 AMATEUR/REC CATEGORY INDUCTEE

WATCH: Allie Penovich, a Cocoa Beach High School graduate, and former college triathlete, is now an International Free Diving Champion and International Underwater Spearfishing Association World Record Holder. She is now a 2025 inductee into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460. CLICK HERE to see the 2025 Class of the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

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BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA—A lifelong resident of Brevard County, Alli Penovich grew up in and around the water. Every available moment, she would spend time with her dad out on their boat surfing, fishing, diving, and just being around the ocean.

Penovich, a Cocoa Beach High School graduate and former college triathlete, is an International Free Diving Champion and International Underwater Spearfishing Association World Record Holder.

Freediving is the art and sport of diving underwater on one breath of air, unassisted by any artificial breathing apparatus as in scuba diving.

Athletes compete to dive the deepest underwater and hold their breath the longest. Freediving is also used as a means of diving for spearfishing or harvesting fish with elastic band-powered spearguns, Hawaiian slings, pole spears, or another method.

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In June 2019, wanting to share her passion for the ocean with others, she became an instructor for Freediving Instructors International, one of the most respected agencies in the U.S.

A few months later, she booked a one-way ticket to Bali, where she fell in love with competitive freediving. During her three months there, she entered and won her first competition, the Singapore Depth Championships. She placed third overall female in her second competition, posting a personal best depth of 233 feet.

“I felt oddly at peace with the depth, as I had the number in my head and it didn’t scare me, didn’t intimidate me. I wanted it and knew I could do it,” said Penovich of her 233-foot free dive.

Penovich learned spearfishing from her dad, a commercial fisherman and spearfisherman. She and her family vacationed in the Keys each year, which, according to Penovich, is “where I got really comfortable.”

Lobster diving and spearfishing were a way of life in Penovich’s formative years. The family would spend time in the Bahamas, bringing only veggies and rice, and eating whatever they caught.

Penovich started spearfishing at a young age and got her first world record at age 17. Between 2014 and 2019, she shot and received three more records.

The International Underwater Spearfishing Association (IUSA) was formed in 1950 to promote spearfishing and assist in scientific and competitive efforts. During its several decades of existence, the IUSA has seen diver’s skill and technology change from the Hawaiian slings of the Pinder Brothers to the high-tech equipment and super-powered spearguns of today’s freedivers.

“When I was about 12 years old, they put a spear in my hand, and I have loved it ever since,” said Penovich.

When asked to describe the sport of freediving, she said, “It is basically diving as deep as you can on one breath, it is very interesting, and I love it!”

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony is presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA—The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame selection committee announced that the 2025 induction ceremony will occur on Saturday, May 24, at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. This will be the first in-person induction since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony, presented by Tom and Suzie Wasdin, will be held on the evening of May 24. The Meet-and-Greet will begin at 6 p.m., and the dinner and program will start at 7 p.m.

Tom and Suzie Wasdin are longtime Brevard County entrepreneurs, community supporters, and philanthropists. Tom, an NCAA Final Four basketball coach and Brevard Sports Ambassador, was inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

The meet-and-greet will include an opportunity to talk with the area’s sports royalty. Dinner and the induction proceeding, which will include compelling video tributes to each inductee, will follow.

The Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards will be held Saturday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., also at Eastern Florida State College.

During the Breakfast of Champions, more than 40 awards will be presented to the best of the 2024-2025 male and female high school student-athletes in each sport. For sponsorship information, call 321-323-4460 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com.

Both the Breakfast of Champions and the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame events will be streamed live on Space Coast Daily TV.

Health First, Erdman Automotive, Eastern Florida State College, All Points, Clear Choice Health Care, Brevard Public Schools, Space Coast Office of Tourism, EDC of the Space Coast, 4Ever Young Merritt Island, and Savings Safari sponsor the 2025 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction event and the Brevard County High School Breakfast of Champions recognition awards.

To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.

INDUCTEES SELECTED IN FOUR CATEGORIES

Nominees are chosen in four categories: professional sports, college sports, high school sports, and amateur sports. Special honorary recognition is also bestowed upon individuals and groups that have made significant contributions to sports on the Space Coast.

SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025

■ PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Jamel Dean, Football; Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Wrestling; Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Football; Randy Pobst, Auto racing; Juwaan Taylor, Football

■ COLLEGE CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Paulette King, Basketball, Dylan Lewis, Soccer; Steve Freeman, Soccer; Bryan Cook, Baseball

■ PREP CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Lexy Denaburg, Volleyball; Andi Sellers, Soccer; Kaira Simmons, Track & Field; Jayvan Boggs, Football

■ AMATEUR/RECREATION CATEGORY INDUCTEE: Alli Penovich, Free Diving; Peter Blount, Track & Field; Caylor Williams, Wrestling

■ COACHING CATEGORY INDUCTEES: Doug Butler, Cross Country and Track; Gerald Hodgin, Football; Jim Oler, Basketball; Don Smith, Basketball

• SPORTS OFFICIAL INDUCTEES: Ted Ruta

• SPORTS JOURNALISM INDUCTEES: Steve Vaughn

• SPORTS DEVELOPMENT INDUCTEE: Loren McClanahan

■ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT INDUCTEES: Larry Garrison, Clint Hurdle

■ SPORTS AMBASSADOR AWARD INDUCTEE: Rusty Buchanan

■ CHALLENGER AWARD INDUCTEE: Joshua Dillon

■ TEAM OF THE YEAR: Cocoa Tigers Football

■ LEGACY CHAMPIONS: Merritt Island Baseball, 1999-2000

■ SPECIAL TRIBUTE: Tim Wakefield

Space Coast Daily created the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and has inducted over 200 of Brevard County’s most outstanding athletes, coaches, and sports personalities. Eastern Florida State’s Titan Fieldhouse on the Melbourne Campus hosts the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame. Portraits of the Hall of Famers are displayed on the wall in the building’s main hallway, which runs parallel to the gym and outside the athletic department offices.

To make a reservation for the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com or call 321-323-4460.

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

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