HPU Track Athletes Compete at Canadian National Championship

Taylor Milne, Jevin Monds and Jacob Smith competed at the Canadian National Championship over the last week at the Foothills Athletic Park in Calgary. Milne and Monds ran the 1,500-meter while Smith competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Milne was the top finisher in the semifinals of the 1,500-meter on Thursday. He finished with a time of 3:46.71. On Friday, Milne finished second in the finals of the 1,500-meter in 3:50.07. Milne needed to run an Olympic A standard of 3:35.50 to qualify for London.

Milne, a 2005 High Point graduate, competed in the 1,500-meter for Canada in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Milne has a career best of 3:36.00 in the 1,500-meter, the equivalent of a 3:53 mile. Milne is still the HPU record holder in the 1,500-meter with a time of 3:43.99.

Smith competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday. The junior finished seventh in 9:22.90.

Smith placed 19th in the semifinals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2012 NCAA Championship in June. He was HPU’s first NCAA qualifier since 2004. Smith set a High Point record of 8:47.09 at the NCAA Preliminary on June 6 in Jacksonville, Fla., placing 12th to qualify for the NCAA Final. He won two events at both the Big South indoor and outdoor meets and set career bests in every event he ran this spring. Smith set an HPU record of 8:13.87 in the 3,000-meter and career bests of 3:46.65 in the 1,500-meter and 14:01.66 in the 5,000-meter.

Monds ran in the first round of the 1,500-meter qualifier on Wednesday. He finished the race in 4:14.39 and did not qualify for the semifinals. Monds graduated from High Point in 2012 and is part of three record-holding relay teams for the Panthers.