College of Business Has Huge Turnout At Homecoming 5k
(A portion of the College of Business faculty and staff after the run. From left to right: Delana Cooper, Dr. Deborah Carstens, Lyn Chilcote, Dr. Martha Sale, Liam, John Allen, Dean Ann Becker, Patti Macy)
By Carlo Mencarelli, Information Systems 2015
Downtown Melbourne: 244 runners, 5 kilometers, 1 university. The summer heat finally broke into a cool mid-70s just in time for the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business’s annual Homecoming 5k run. The race kicked off at 6:00 PM on October 24th and lasted about two hours over all. This year’s event was sponsored by Meg O’Malley’s in Downtown Melbourne. Additional sponsors were the Florida Tech Alumni Association, and the SGA. The proceeds from the race benefited the Florida Tech Cross Country teams.
Just before the race started the runners gathered at the start point. In the crowd of people were several wearing the crimson College of Business’s IDEAL sweatshirt showing the pride they take in supporting their college. Dr. Scott Benjamin was one of the earlier runners to finish enjoyed the run. “It was a good course. Very fun.” Other faculty of the CoB that took part in the event included: The College of Business Dean Dr. Ann Becker, Tim Muth, Dr. Deborah Carstens, Lyn Chilcote, Patti Macy, and Dr. Martha Sale among others.
It wasn’t just CoB employees that were out there running for a good cause, multiple undergraduates and graduate students of the CoB ran as well. Brock Bontrager, a senior pursing a B.A. in Accounting, enjoyed the run immensely. “I ran at a faster pace this run, it went really good.” Bontrager said after finishing with a time of 19:44, second place in his bracket. Another group of CoB students well represented were students focusing on receiving a MS in Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Students from all groups and disciplines came out to support Florida Tech. From ROTC to the Tennis team; business undergraduates to biological science graduate students; Even Florida Tech faculty and staff participated in the run. President Catanese could be seen running the track as well as other higher staff of the University.
The track was three laps around scenic Downtown Melbourne’s Main Street and the surrounding area. The run was facilitated by The Running Zone of Melbourne and used RFID trackers to keep time. The race was supported enormously by the surrounding community with many coming out to watch the run while others took part in it. Even children as young as 10 years old enjoyed themselves during the race.
The final standings for the race can be found at the Running Zone website. The top three are: Chris Cacciapaglia with a time of 15:52. Chris is a Biological Science graduate student at Florida Tech. Second place was awarded to Ahmad Naqi with a time of 17:15. And Ken Kandefer came in third with a time of 18:05
