HPU Women’s Track & Field Captures Three Event Titles At Campbell

• HPU finished second (142 points) at the scored meet, well in front of third-place Liberty (109)
• Junior Jamie Schnuck won the hammer throw with a strong mark of 47.70m (156-6)
• Junior Christine Rickert won her third javelin title of the season with a throw of 45.49m (149-3)

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The High Point University women’s track & field team won three events while surging to a second place finish Saturday at the Campbell Invitational.

Juniors Christine Rickert, Jamie Schnuck and Erika Peoples all won individual event crowns to power the Panthers to the strong finish.

The 30 points from victories helped HPU post 142 total points and finish second. Liberty was third (109) while host Campbell came in fourth (78). Coastal Carolina won the meet with 218 points.

Schnuck just missed out on setting the HPU school record for the second-straight week during her victory in the hammer throw. The Oconomowoc, Wis., native posted a throw of 47.70m (156-6) that was just 0.5 meters below her HPU record throw last weekend.

Shnuck also earned six points with a third-place finish in the shot put (11.17m, 36-7.75) while junior heptathlete Sara Katherine Kirkpatrick was fifth with a mark of 9.98m (32-9).

Rickert won her third javelin crown of the 2015 outdoor season Saturday with a throw of 45.49m (149-3). She continues to hold the top spot in the Big South with her school record throw of 48.32m (158-6) at the VertKlasse Meeting.

On the distance circuit, Peoples won her first career 3000m steeplechase event with a time of 12:31.00. The finish earned 10 points for HPU. Sophomore Cozette Collin posted a solid second-place finish in the 800m run in a collegiate PR of 2:14.83 to garner eight points for the Panthers.

In the 1500m run, Collin finished third in a time of 4:43.20 and freshman Kelly Hayes returned from injury to finish fourth in 4:52.08. Junior Sarah Bode was eighth in 5:08.60. Junior Katie Farina placed second in the 3000m run in a season best time of 10:36.59 and senior Lauren Blackwell was eighth in a time of 12:08.14.

The Panthers earned three top-4 finishes in the pole vault, led by junior Alyssa Palenchar who placed second with a mark of 3.65m (11-11.75). Junior Jill Marois cleared the 11-11.75 bar on her third attempt to finish third, while senior Catelyn Griffin tied for fourth with a vault of 3.50m (11-5.75).

In the final throws event of the day, Rickert placed third in the discus throw (33.70m, 110-7) and Schuck finished fourth with a mark of 33.09m (108-7).

In jumps action, sophomore Amanda Gregory finished fourth in the long jump (5.40m, 17-8.75) while fellow sophomore Alyn Carr placed sixth with a PR of 5.38m (17-8). The jump was almost 0.3m better than Carr’s previous PR. Freshman Kela Seals was 10th with a mark of 4.89m (16-0.50).

Gregory also finished eighth in the 100m dash in a PR of 12.77 seconds.

Freshman Ashlynn Schiro led HPU in the 400m hurdles with a third-place finish. The Okemos, Mich., native crossed the finish line in 1:05.55. Fellow Fab Four freshman CeAnna Soper was fourth in 1:06.15. High Point also earned a pair of top-6 finishes in the 100m hurdles, led by Schiro who finished fifth in 15.55. Fellow freshman Haley Cianfarini placed sixth in a PR of 15.60.

HPU’s 4x100m relay team of Cianfarini, junior Emily De Lena, Soper and freshman Mikaela Campbell finished second in a time of 50.90 to earn eight points for the Purple & White.

Senior Emily Fischer placed fifth in the 400m dash (59.88) and sophomore Jessica Wise was sixth in 1:01.80.

HPU returns to action April 24-25 at the Highlander Invitational in Radford, Va.