DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.- The men's track and field team placed fifth at the 2023 Peach Belt Conference Championships, held at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Track and Field Complex on April 20-21.
The Saints collected 76 points. Embry-Riddle scored 284.5 points to finish in first place, followed by Columbus State University in third with 204.5 points.
"I'm proud of our men," head coach of men's and women's cross country/ director of cross country and track and field
Brian Beil said. "We competed well in some very close distance events. In both the 5k and 10k the gap between the top-5 places was almost nothing. We were right there for the win in both events. I'm particularly proud of our seniors for what they've given to this program over the course of their careers. I'm proud of the 'team first' culture we have created, and it's all due to the leaders in this program.Our top freshmen have bright futures ahead of them, and I'm excited to take that journey with them. For them, like our young program, the sky is the limit! It was a fun two days of racing, and I'm already looking forward to next year's championship."
Will Stone led the Saints with two podium appearances during the meet. The freshman took first in the 800m with a time of 1:54.74 and second in the 1500m with a personal best time of 3:52.60. Stone was named the PBC Freshman Track Athlete of the Year.
Luke Larkin took second in the 800m with a time of 1:55.97, followed by
Brandon Knieja in fourth at 1:56.91.
In the 10,000m,
Joel Nesi took third with a new personal best time of 32:07.03. Nesi placed fourth in the 5000m with a time of 15:07.25. The Middleburg, Florida native was named to the PBC All-Sportsmanship Team.
Knieja posted a fourth-place personal best time of 3:55.10 in the 1500m.
Francisco Ramirez finished in seventh at 3:59.50, followed by
Matt Lyons in ninth at 4:01.77. Nesi (4:07.70) finished in 12
th.
In the 5000m, Ramirez crossed the finish line at 15:08.21 to secure fifth place.
Jon Eide followed in sixth at 15:08.65.
Logan Seifert (15:39.09) rounded out the Saints in 16
th place.
Eide took fifth in the 10,000m with a time of 32:07.22.
Christian Fernandez followed in ninth with a 32:41.98, while
Ethan Tank placed 13
th at 33:30.56. The three Saints all earned new personal best times.
In the 3000m steeplechase, Fernandez secured a new personal best time of 9:43.56 to take fourth place. Lyons had a sixth-place finish at 9:50.23.
Michael Hayeck finished with a time of 10:41.00 in 12
th place.
Chase McKee,
Hunter Smith,
Adrian Abercrombie and
Luke Scheid ran a combined time of 48.60 in the 4x100m relay to break the previous school record. The men placed 5
th.
Knieja, Stone,
Max Bowlin and Larkin placed fifth in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:31.18.
Logan Burch had a 12
th place finish in the 800m with a personal best time of 1:59.32.
Team Scores:
1. Embry-Riddle 284.5
2. Columbus State 204.5
3. Clayton State 113
4. Augusta 111
5. Flagler 76
6. USC Beaufort 20
Peach Belt Conference Honors:
Freshman Track Athlete of the Year: Will Stone, Flagler
Freshman Field Athlete of the Year: Antonio Caito, Columbus State
Track Athlete of the Year: Jailen Dalton, Columbus State
Field Athlete of the Year: Tereil Mitchum, Columbus State
Elite 16 Award Presented by Barnes & Noble College: Michael Kotey, Embry-Riddle
Coach of the Year: Mike Rosolino, Embry-Riddle
PBC All-Sportsmanship Team:
Churchill Ezeokonkwo, Augusta
Abijah Wilcox, Clayton State
Jackson Fulks, Columbus State
Tanner Rosolino, Embry-Riddle
Joel Nesi, Flagler
Jacob Mitchell, USC Beaufort
All-Conference Honors: (Top 3 finishers in each event)
800m
1.
Will Stone, Flagler 1:54.74
2.
Luke Larkin, Flagler 1:66.97
1,500m
2.
Will Stone, Flagler 3:52.60
10,000m
3.
Joel Nesi, Flagler 32:07.03
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