April 18, 2017
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s track and field head coach Alan Drosky added Pharist O’Neal and Samantha Folio to the incoming class of 2017. The pair joins six signees from the fall 2016 signing period.
“With the signing of Pharist and Samantha, we add to an outstanding group of women who signed in the fall. This incoming class will cover a lot of event areas and will compete at a very high level in college. While we have some great competitive opportunities coming up in our current outdoor season, we’re also very excited about the future of our team.”
Pharist O’Neal
Upper Marlboro, Md. – Charles H. Flowers HS
Pharist O’Neal joins the women’s track and field team as a sprinter. The Upper Marlboro, Md., native recorded a personal best in the 60m of 7.59 as a senior, a time that would have ranked in the top 20 in the ACC during the 2016-17 indoor season. She posted a time of 11.93 in the 100m during the outdoor season. She also notched a personal record of 24.79 in the 200m.
Coach Drosky says: “Pharist has great range as a sprinter, works hard to develop her talent, and has the desire to excel. We expect her to contribute significantly right away in both individual events and relays. She is running nice personal records early in her senior outdoor campaign and it’s going to be fun to watch her continue to progress.”
Samantha Folio
Melbourne, Fla. – Holy Trinity Academy
Folio comes to The Flats from Melbourne, Fla. to join both the women’s track and field and women’s cross country programs. She clocked a personal record of 5:12 in the 1600m at the Pepsi Florida Relays in March 2017. Folio posted a time of 11:15 in the 3200m. In cross country, she recorded a personal record in the 5k of 18:34.
Coach Drosky says: “Samantha is a great fit for our program. She brings a great attitude and work ethic, and she is having an impressive senior year. Right away she’ll add solid depth to our improving women’s distance squad and she’ll progress into a major contributor.”
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