HPU Women’s Track & Field Throws PR Party On Day Two At VertKlasse

• Freshman Ashlynn Schiro finished fifth in the 100m hurdles while setting a new PR of 14.74
• Juniors Jill Marois, Alyssa Palenchar and senior Catelyn Griffin posted vaults of 3.65m (11-11.75) to finish in spots 5-7
• Junior Jamie Schnuck missed the HPU school record by less than .5 meters in the hammer throw while setting a PR of 47.08m (154-5)

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women’s track & field team set a number of personal bests while putting together a strong final day of competition Saturday at the annual VertKlasse Meeting.

The team’s high-level performance was highlighted by junior Christine Rickert’s school and meet record throw in the javelin on Friday (48.32m, 158-6).

“It’s always a privilege to compete in front of our friends and family at home. It was great to be able to set the record in front of so much support,” Rickert said. “This meet is unlike any other. Our coaches and everyone involved really do a phenomenal effort of putting this on for us. The energy from this meet – we carry it with us in our performances and that really helps us compete at a higher level.”

On Saturday, HPU put together top-10 efforts in a multitude of events. Three Panthers posted identical marks of 3.65m (11-11.75) to lead HPU in the pole vault. Juniors Alyssa Palenchar and Jill Marois cleared the bar on their first try to place fifth, while senior Catelyn Griffin cleared on her second attempt to finish seventh.

Junior Jamie Schnuck missed the HPU school record by less than .5 meters in the hammer throw while putting forth an excellent PR of 47.08m (154-5) Saturday. The throw placed Schnuck ninth in the highly competitive field.

In hurdles action, freshman Ashlynn Schiro set a new collegiate PR en route to a fifth-place finish in the 100m distance (14.74) while fellow freshman Haley Cianfarini placed 20th in a PR of 15.52 seconds. A pair of additional Panthers also posted PRs in the strong race for HPU, as freshman CeAnna Soper finished 24th in 15.83 and sophomore Erika Bridges was 36th in 16.72.

Freshman CeAnna Soper put together a strong second place finish in the 400m hurdles participation section with a time of 1:07.21. In the performance section, junior Lilla Lorand earned a fifth-place showing with a time of 1:04.48.

Sophomore Amanda Gregory set a new PR in the long jump while leading the Panthers with a seventh-place finish. The Wilmington, N.C., native posted a mark of 5.43m (17-9.75) while sophomore Alexis Fernandez was 23rd (5.12m, 16-9.75). Freshman Kela Seals placed 29th (5.01m, 16-5.25) and sophomore Alyn Carr was 34th with a mark of 4.95m (16-3). Junior Sara Katherine Kirkpatrick finished 45th (4.68m, 15-4.25). Fernandez also finished ninth in the triple jump with a mark of 11.20m (36-9).

Sophoore Natalia Ocasio finished 14th in the performance portion of the 800m run (2:17.31). In the participation section, sophomore Cozette Collin placed 14th in 2:25.12 while junior Katie Farina placed 23rd in 2:29.15. Junior Erika Peoples was 40th in 2:37.13. Freshman Emily De Lena finished 19th in the participation portion of the 100m dash (12.77) while freshman Mikaela Campbell was 23rd in 12.82.

Senior Emily Fischer placed 13th in the participation section of the 400m dash (1:01.16) and sophomore Jessica Wise was 23rd in 1:02.72. Wise won the fifth heat of the event. Kirkpatrick finished 44th in the 200m participation section in a time of 27.08 and Bridges was 52nd in 27.93.

“Our HPU coaching staff wants to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make the 2015 VertKlasse Meeting a rousing success,” associate head coach Eric Dudley said. “This event has a lot of moving parts and the efforts of our student-athletes and staff truly made it a weekend to remember for our program.”

The Panthers return to action April 10-11 at the Bill Carson Invitational in Greenville, S.C.

About The VertKlasse Meeting
This weekend’s event marks the seventh annual HPU VertKlasse Meeting. The VertKlasse Meeting is a European-style meet that features a small amount of high-level competitors, creating a fast-moving, exciting competition. The name “VertKlasse” is based on the Weltklasse Zürich meet (pronounced VELT-class ZUR-ick, German for World Class Zurich), a famed international meet held annually in Switzerland. The name “Vert” was added in honor of two of HPU’s greatest benefactors and alumni, Dick and Peg Vert, for whom Vert Stadium is named. Dick Vert was a member of the HPU cross country and track teams in the 1960s.