WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Sophomore Evan Emery blazed to an HPU and facility record in the 100-meter dash and junior Jacob Smith set the HPU record in the 3,000-meter to highlight the High Point University men’s track & field team’s performance at the Wake Forest Open on Friday and Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
“That was a really impressive performance by Evan, just wow,” said HPU head coach Mike Esposito. “He got a decent start and punched his ticket to Florida for the NCAA preliminaries in June. Jacob is really coming on in the distance events, that was a really solid race for him in the 3K and he beat some quality runners. It’s funny we won the longest and shortest races on Saturday. Alex Fisher also ran a good opener in the hurdles.”
Emery ran a wind-aided 10.36 in the 100-meter dash preliminaries on Friday before his HPU-record 10.31 on Saturday. Emery set the old record of 10.64 last season and crushed that time with his performance on Saturday. The runner-up was Appalachian State’s Landon Powell, who finished in 10.64. The old Kentner Stadium record was 10.35 by Florida State’s Greg Bolden in 2006.
Smith won the 3,000-meter in 8:13.87, taking the race by nearly five seconds. He broke the High Point record of 8:14.03 set by Tamas Kovacs in 2007. Freshman Jeff LaCoste made his outdoor debut, placing seventh in 8:41.61 and freshmen Reece Ayers and Chris Colo placed 16th and 17th in the 3,000-meter.
Freshman Christian Spaulding placed ninth in the javelin on Friday, throwing it 59.06 meters (193-9) in his collegiate debut in that event. Sophomore Tristan Faure placed 38th in the javelin with a throw of 35.55 meters (116-08) and placed seventh in the B-section of the high jump, clearing 1.87 meters (6-1.5).
Senior Mike Ali was High Point’s top finisher in Friday’s finals, placing second in the 10,000-meter with a career-best time of 32:13.01. Sophomore John Yankello placed eighth in 33:10.50. Freshman Chris Muggler led four Panthers in the 400-meter, placing third in his heat and 32nd overall with a time of 49.82. Freshman Justin Doehr was High Point’s top finisher in the 200-meter on Saturday, placing 43rd in 22.73.
Senior Alex Fisher had a strong race in the 110-meter hurdles finals, winning his heat and placing seventh overall in 14.93. Sophomore Ryan Venable placed 12th in 15.29. Freshman Eric Plummer placed 19th in the long jump with a leap of 6.49 meters (21-3.5) on his first attempt.
High Point hosts its lone home meet next Saturday at Vert Stadium. The VertKlasse Meeting is named in honor of HPU alumnus and trustee Dick Vert, who was a member of the track & field team in the early 1960s. The feature events begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday.