Miller Breaks HPU Pole Vault Record At JDL Kickoff

• Junior Austin Miller broke his own HPU school record after winning the pole vault title with a mark of 4.90m (16-1)
• Junior Dennis Crawford placed second in the 60m hurdles (8.34 seconds), while junior Will Narramore posted a third-place finish (13.78m, 45-2) in the triple jump.
• The full HPU men’s track & field team is back in action Jan. 18-19, 2015 at the JDL Winston-Salem State Open

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Junior Austin Miller broke his own High Point University school record in the pole vault to lead the Panthers at the JDL College Kickoff Classic Saturday at the JDL Fast Track.

Miller won the pole vault title in Winston-Salem Saturday with a mark of 4.90m (16-1), which broke his previous HPU indoor record mark of 4.85m (15-11) set at the Virginia Tech Invitational on Jan. 17, 2014.

In addition to Miller’s spectacular start to the indoor season, junior Dennis Crawford placed second in the 60m hurdles (8.34 seconds), while junior Will Narramore posted a third-place finish (13.78m, 45-02) in the triple jump.

“I love competition and it was great to have the team back in the arena in uniform,” associate head coach Eric Dudley said. “We had some good performances including Austin’s win and school record in the vault, as well as Dennis Crawford’s finish in the hurdles and Will Narramore’s showing in the triple jump.”

Highly-touted freshman pole vaulter Todd Uckermark also posted a strong showing in his HPU debut, finishing second in the vault with a mark of 4.60m (15-0), while freshman Matt Hollis was seventh with a vault of 3.70m (12-1).

In throws action, senior Christian Spaulding placed 12th in the weight throw with a mark of 12.68m (41-7) and junior Jim Wilson was 16th with a mark of 11.84m (38-10).

Wilson also was 17th (12.65m) in the shot put, while redshirt-senior Tristan Faure (10.62, 34-10) and sophomore Eric Purnell (10.62, 34-10) were 29th with identical throws.

Junior Adam Devito led HPU with a 12th-place finish in the long jump (1.89m, 6-2), while Narramore earned a solid sixth-place showing in the long jump. Narramore just missed his PR with a mark of 6.85m (22-6).

Purnell placed 10th in the long jump (6.50m, 21-4), and Faure was 16th (6.27m, 20-7). Sophomore Andrew Mahon earned a 16th-place finish in the triple jump (12.61m, 41-5).

In addition to Crawford’s finish in the 60m hurdles, sophomore PJ Lidonde was 24th in 8.83 seconds, while Purnell (29th, 9.30) and Hollis (31st, 9.88) rounded out the Panther pack.

Purnell also finished 30th (7.19 seconds) in the 60m dash, and Faure was 62nd (7.62) in his return to the Panthers after redshirting last season.

In the 300m run, Lidonde placed 37th in 38.53 seconds, while Crawford was 47th in 39.25 seconds.

“We certainly have some work to as we head into the holidays and prepare for the bulk of the indoor season,” Dudley said. “This was a very informative opportunity today and it was awesome to see our kids engage their competitive readiness and spirit.”

The Panthers return to action with a full squad at the JDL Winston-Salem State Open on Jan. 18-19, 2015 at the JDL Fast Track.