DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For the fifth time in five seasons the Embry-Riddle men's track and field team celebrated winning a Peach Belt Conference title. The Eagles scored 284.5 points to retain the conference crown, which they've held since 2018. The Eagles picked up just two wins on Friday, but their depth was the difference as they had multiple scorers in nearly every event.
 
Columbus State was second with 204.5 points, while Clayton State (113 points), Augusta (111 points), Flagler (76 points) and USC-Beaufort (20 points) rounded out the field.
 
Friday's competition saw the Eagles take the top two spots in the triple jump. Freshman Antonio Caito recorded the fourth-best mark in program history of 14.83m, which also met the NCAA II provisional qualifying standard. Kobe Diggs was second with a leap of 14.19m.
 
On the track, Bartosz Kwiecinski (15:01.89) and Brendon Shea (15:02.73) combined for 14 points after placing second and third, respectively in the 5000m run.
 
The 4x100m relay provided a lot of entertainment for fans with a photo finish and eight points for the Blue & Gold. Embry-Riddle led at the final hand-off, but the fourth runner from Columbus State nipped Ajani McPherson at the line to win in 42.081, barely ahead of the Eagles' time of 42.084.
 
In the 400m hurdles, Colin McHugh ran a personal-best 55.83 to finish third overall.
 
The Eagles scored 13 points in the 3000m Steeplechase led by Brendon Shea who was second in 9:31.76. Ryan Musil was fifth with PR of 9:43.67 and Ethan Stout was the final Eagle scorer with a time of 10:11.39.
 
Following the meet, the PBC handed out a few special awards based on athletic and academic achievement. Caito totaled 14 points in the two-day meet to earn Freshman Field Athlete of the Year Honors, while Tanner Rosolino was named to the All-Sportsmanship team.
 
The PBC Elite 16 Award presented by Barnes & Noble College recognizes the student-athlete competing in the championship with the highest cumulative GPA. This year's winner was Michael Kotey who has a 4.0 GPA in Mechanical Engineering.
 
ERAU Head Coach Mike Rosolino was voted Coach of the Year for the third time in five seasons in the PBC.
The Eagles will have two more chances to qualify for nationals, beginning with the East Coast Relays in Jacksonville on April 28.