THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s track and field teams opened its home invitational with multiple strong marks on Friday. Tech set three ACC standard marks on the day.
The day began with Tahir Hines in the men’s hammer throw event, launching his first throw at 60.62m for his furthest opening attempt of the season. He continued with consistent attempts at 60.50m and 59.46m midway through the session. He saved his best for last as his final throw flew and landed at 62.63m.
His last effort elevated him into third place and secured the second longest hammer throw attempt in program history, second only to his own feat at the FSU Terry Long Relays back in March. Hines was the only thrower with no fouls; all six throws clearing 55.00m.
On the track, Kennedy Myers flew in the 100m hurdles, running across the line at 13.67 in the fastest heat to match her personal best and secure her first ACC standard mark of the season. The sophomore has now run under the 14.00 second mark in four of the six races this spring.
Lottie Chappell led the charge in the women’s 1500m, coming home at 4:21.31 to place fourth overall and land her second ACC standard in the event this season. Claire Shelton, Stella Chambless, and Sadie Honig finished behind. Honig secured her personal best at 4:28.48.
Matt Castronuovo secured his first event win of the season in the 3000m steeplechase at 8:58.35, his first win in the event since the Emory Qualifier last season. A trio of Jackets set personal bests in the men’s 1500m as Billy Carlton, John Jessup, and Wyatt Windham secured top-25 finishes.
Myers set her new personal best in the 100m at 11.95 for her first career mark under 12 seconds while senior Nathan Solomon crushed his personal best in the 5000m at 14:40.44 in his final career race at home to finish fourth with Kushan Patel placing seventh. Maddie Jones claimed fourth off her second consecutive sub-17:35 time in the women’s 5000m.
Georgia Tech will hold its senior day recognition at 11 a.m. tomorrow before the Jackets compete in a full slate of track and field events beginning at noon.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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