HPU’s Miller Breaks Vault Record At VertKlasse Saturday

• Junior vaulter Austin Miller broke his HPU school record and set a new VertKlasse Meeting record with a mark of 5.07m (16-7.5)
• Freshman James House set the top mark in the Big South so far this season in the 100m dash (10.53)
• Junior Jim Wilson finished seventh in the discus (46.70m, 153-02) and set a new PR in the hammer (39.86m, 130-9)

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University junior Austin Miller brought the VertKlasse Meeting crowd to its feet Saturday during a record-setting pole vault performance on the final day of action at the annual home meet.

Miller set a new school record and new meet record of 5.07m (16-7.5) to earn his eighth pole vault victory of 2014-15 and second of the outdoor campaign. Miller powered past his previous school record of 4.90m (16-0.75) and the previous meet record of 5.05m (16-6.75) set by Virginia Tech’s Joe Davis in 2009. The mark also puts Miller in the top-20 among NCAA East competitors. The top-48 at the end of the outdoor season advance to the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Fla.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself today because of the great conditions, strong tail wind and how warm it was,” Miller said. “It definitely meant a lot to break the record today during an opportunity to compete at home. With Chrissy [Rickert] and Christian [Spaulding] breaking their own school records and meet records Friday, that really pushed me to try and do the same today. Christian and Chrissy really jumpstarted our team. Seeing that type of performance early in the meet really sparks everybody else to try to compete at that caliber.”

In addition to Miller’s excellent performance, freshman Todd Uckermark placed sixth with a mark of 4.47m (14-8).

On the sprints circuit, freshman James House shattered his PR by more than 0.6 seconds in the 100m dash invitational with a time of 10.53. The time placed House third in the elite 100m race of the day and set the top mark in the Big South so far this season. Sophomore Andrew Kuras finished fifth in the participation section of the 100m dash with a PR of 11.05 seconds.

House also placed second in the participation section of the 200m dash in a PR of 21.80 seconds. Junior Andrew Kuras was eighth in 22.48 and sophomore Eric Purnell placed 18th in 22.77.

HPU’s 4x100m relay team placed third out of seven squads with a time of 42.34 seconds. The quartet included House, Kuras, Purnell and junior Nick Hula. Hula also finished 13th in the performance section of the 400m dash (51.27).

In throws action, junior Jim Wilson finished seventh in the discus with a season-best mark of 46.70m (153-02). The Nashville, Tenn., native also placed 17th in the hammer throw with a PR of 39.86m (130-9). The mark was more than two meters greater than his previous collegiate best.

Junior Paul O’Donoghue ran a season-best 1:53.84 in the performance section of the 800m run to place fourth behind three runners from Duke. O’Donoghue’s time is the second fastest in the Big South so far this season. Freshman James Quattlebaum was 17th (1:57.72) in the event.

In the participation section of the 800m run, sophomore Vinny Todaro placed seventh in a PR of 1:59:45 while freshman Ryan Udvadia finished 21st in 2:01.97. Fellow freshman Keegan Hanks placed 35th in 2:03.87 and sophomore Nick Williams was 40th in 2:05.09.

In jumps action, junior Will Narramore placed third in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 14.27m (46-10) while sophomore Adam DeVito was 11th in the high jump with a mark of 1.84m (6-0.50). Purnell finished 19th in the long jump with a mark of 6.23m (20-5.25) and Devito was 22nd with a jump of 6.11m (20-0.50).

Freshman Matt Hollis finished 39th in the participation portion of the 100m dash (12:19).

Redshirt-senior Tristan Faure now heads to Athens, Ga., to suit up for one of the top decathlons in the nation April 8-9 at the Spec Townes Multi Event. The rest of the Panthers return to action April 10-11 at the Bill Carson Invitational in Greenville, S.C.

“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.”

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.