HPU Men’s Track Wraps Up Day One At Big South Championship

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s track & field team opened the 2015 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a number of solid finishes Thursday inside Vert Stadium.

The Panthers were led by junior Austin Miller, who scored eight points for HPU with a second-place finish in the pole vault. The Herndon, Va., native earned the finish with a vault of 4.86m (15-11.25). In addition, sophomore Isaiah Henderson picked up two points with a seventh-place showing (4.26m, 13-11.75).

After day one of competition, HPU sits in fourth place with 13 points. Liberty leads the event with 81 points, while Campbell sits in second with 31.

HPU is setting itself for a number of solid scoring opportunities on day two of competition. Sophomore Eric Purnell put together an excellent first day of action in the decathlon and currently holds third place through five events with 3434 points. Purnell won the 100m dash (10.90) and 400m dash (50.26) legs of the event while setting collegiate PRs in both races.

Redshirt-senior Tristan Faure sits in a solid fifth (3412) with many of his best events still to come on Friday. Faure’s best finish came in the long jump where he posted a season best mark of 6.70m (21-11.75).

Sophomore Chernet Sisay performed well in his first ever collegiate 10000m run Thursday, finishing sixth in the event in a time of 31:30.42. The solid finish earned the Brookline, Mass., native three points for the Panthers.

On the jumps circuit, sophomore Adam DeVito posted a new outdoor PR of 6.87m (22-6.5) en route to a ninth place finish in the high jump. Junior Will Narramore placed 12th with a mark of 6.80m (22-3.75).

Freshman James House advanced to Saturday’s 200m dash final by just missing his PR (21.86 seconds) en route to a fifth place prelims finish in the event. Junior Nick Hula ran a season best time of 55.68 seconds to finish eighth in the preliminaries of the 400m hurdles. He also qualified for Saturday’s final in that event.

The Panthers continue competition at the 2015 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships Friday inside Vert Stadium.