*** Both men’s and women’s recaps included ***
Panther Women Place Third at Big South Outdoor Champs
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.—The High Point University women’s track and field team placed third at the Big South Outdoor Championships Friday (May 12) in North Charleston, S.C.
The Panthers finished with 120 points, behind Liberty (253) and Campbell (162), but ahead of Charleston Southern (102), Gardner-Webb (52), Winthrop (48), Radford (47) and UNC Asheville (33).
“I was very pleased with our women’s performance in some tough conditions,” HPU head coach Mike Esposito said.
Senior Cozette Collin defended her 1,500-meter title in a time of 4:35.44, while fellow senior Natalia Ocasio earned all-conference honors in third in 4:38.32.
“It was a normal tactical 1,500-meter race, which played right into Cozette’s hands,” Esposito said. “She closed in 64 (seconds) in repeat and Natalia ran a very good second half of the race to earn third.”
Collin also earned all-conference honors in the 800 meters, finishing second in 2:10.77. Sophomore Keaton Case placed fourth in 2:12.64.
Freshman Zoe Geis earned All-Big South honors by placing third in the 5,000 meters in 18:06.72.
In the triple jump, freshman Ariel Wilbekin placed fourth with a leap of 11.63m (38-2).
Completing a tough triple for the meet, junior Makenzi Holmes-DiGiovine placed fifth in the shot put with a 12.79m (41-11.5).
HPU Men Finishes Third at Big South Outdoor Champs
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.—The High Point University men’s track and field team finished third at the Big South Outdoor Championships Friday (May 12) in North Charleston, S.C.
The Panthers finished third with 105 points, behind Liberty (279) and Campbell (130), but ahead of Charleston Southern (92), Gardner-Webb (92), Winthrop (73) and UNC Asheville (41).
HPU picked up big points in the pole vault with freshman Carter Clasper finishing second after clearing a height of 4.55m (14-11), freshman Jordan McClung placing fifth (4.40m – 14-5.25) and freshman Zane Griffith sixth with a height of 4.25m (13-11.25).
In the javelin, senior Drew Francoeur placed third with a huge throw of 65.82m (215-11), which ranks 32nd in the NCAA East region. Freshman Josh Brown placed seventh with a throw of 51.70m (169-8).
Junior James House earned all-conference honors in the 100 meters, finishing third in 10.74, while fellow junior Sean Banda was fifth in 10.82. House finished sixth in the 200 meters in 22.41.
Sophomore Alejandro Juan Torres placed third in the 1,500 meters in 3:52.68, while senior Vinny Todaro was fifth in 3:53.98. Juan Torres also placed fifth in the 800 meters in 1:54.79.
In the discus, sophomore Britton Mann placed fourth with a throw of 44.89m (147-3).
Freshman Pablo Romero Gonzales finished fourth in the 110m hurdles in 15.13.
In the 5,000 meters, senior Paddy Grandinali crossed the line fifth in 15:19.47 and Todaro finished eighth in 15:51.64.
Freshman John Singleton finished fifth in the high jump after clearing the bar at a season-best height of 1.94m (6-4.5).
The 4x100m relay of Banda, freshman Sam Thomas, sophomore Brad Kanney and House placed fifth in 42.57.
The 4x400m relay of Romero Gonzales, sophomore Patrick Van Der Cruyssen, Thomas and Todaro placed sixth in 3:23.16.
“We are losing a tremendous senior class that have been responsible for numerous conference champions, school records and all-time top-5 performances,” HPU head coach Mike Esposito said. “I would like to thank all of the parents who traveled to the meet, we had outstanding support.”