Hesseltine Named SSAC Field Freshman of the Year

Temple Terrace, Fla. - Freshman Nathan Hesseltine received a number of honors from the Southern States Athletic Conference to end the 2022 track and field season.

Hesseltine had an explosive first year at Florida College and broke a number of records along the way.

In his first meet for the Falcons, he placed second in shot put with a mark of 12.20m, and third in the discus (37.56m) and hammer throw (22.27m).

At the University of Central Florida Knights Invite in March, Hesseltine recorded a personal record in the shot put with a mark of 13.03m, setting a school record.

He later continued the trend of setting records at the SSAC Championship by recording a discus throw of 39.33m which put him in first place, and hammer throw of 31.53m, placing second. He also placed second in the shot put with a mark of 12.57m.

Along with being named Field Freshman of the Year, Hesseltine was also named First-Team All-Conference for discus and Second-Team All-Conference for shot put and hammer throw.

"It is such an honor to receive the SSAC field freshman of the year award along with being the first track and field conference champion at Florida College. I would like to thank Coach Roth, Coach Jones, and my teammates for an amazing first season," said Hesseltine.

"We are thrilled that Nate was able to adapt so quickly to the heavier shot put and discus used in college, and to learn a new event like hammer throw in limited time. To place in the Top 3 and be All-Conference in all three events is a great accomplishment as a freshman," said head coach Trenton Roth.