*** both men’s and women’s recaps included ***
HPU Women Win Fourth Big South Crown in Five Years
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — The High Point University women’s cross country team won its second straight Big South Championship and fourth crown in five years Friday (Oct. 26) at an extremely cold and rainy Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.
The Panthers won the championship with a total of 23 points, 22 ahead of second-place Campbell with 55. Charleston Southern was third with 91, followed by UNC Asheville (106), USC Upstate (160), Radford (181), Presbyterian (209), Winthrop (212), Hampton (245), Longwood (246) and Gardner-Webb (293).
“We executed our game plan almost exactly like we planned to do,” HPU head coach Remy Tamer said. “We talked a lot about running together as a pack, especially our runners two through seven. We are stronger together and when they move up together, it builds strength every kilometer. These ladies did exactly what they were asked to do and ran for each other, the team, the school and for their legacy and I’m glad to be their coach.”
High Point had all five of their scorers in the top eight and six earned all-conference accolades for finishing in the top 12. Sophomore Famke Heinst ran away with the individual crown for the second year in a row, finishing in a time of 17:53.8, over 25 seconds ahead of Campbell’s Shanley Koekemoer.
“Famke is a very special athlete,” Tamer said. “She is an even better leader and sets the tone for our team. She had an individualized race plan and executed it perfectly. I would say she even ran better today than two weeks ago when the weather was perfect.”
Freshman Lindsey Ickes finished third in 18:34.3, while junior Zoe Geis was right behind in fourth in 18:35.4. Senior Keaton Case was seventh in 18:44.3, while sophomore Julia Hellman rounded out the scoring five in eighth (18:46.7). Outside of the scoring five, sophomore Franzi Jakobs placed 12th in 18:57.8 to earn All-Big South honors, while sophomore Sydney Bagus was 15th in 19:23.0.
After the meet, Heinst was named the Big South Runner of the Meet and Tamer was named the conference coach of the year. Both earned the honor for the second year in a row. Case was honored as the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was selected to the Big South All-Academic Team.
Next up, the Panthers compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships in Rock Hill, S.C., on Nov. 9.
Panther Men Finish Third at Big South Championships
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — The High Point University men’s cross country team finished third at the Big South Championships Friday (Oct. 26) at an extremely rainy and cold Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.
The Panthers finished third with a total of 75 points, behind Campbell (27) and Charleston Southern (36), but ahead of UNC Asheville (114), USC Upstate (124), Radford (132), Presbyterian (215), Longwood (238), Winthrop (266), Hampton (289) and Gardner-Webb (318).
“I’m very pleased with the guys,” HPU head coach Mike Esposito said. “For where we are right now and where we’ve been, I’m extremely pleased with the result. They bought in and executed the plan, with Hocine being Hocine up front, which he did, and the other guys to group up and move through after about 4K in, which they did. I can’t say enough about how they closed the race today.”
Sophomore Hocine Bouchrark earned All-Big South honors with a third-place finish in 25:37.3. Just missing the all-conference spots, but earning Big South Freshman of the Year accolades was Spencer Smucker, who was 13th in 26:50.4.
Sophomore Siro Pina Cardona placed 17th in 27:20.8, while junior TJ Morales was 19th in 27:30.5. Rounding out the scoring five as Stephen Grey in 23rd in 27:56.8, just edging fellow sophomore Anthony Sasso, was 24th a second later.
After the meet, Pina Cardona was named to the Big South All-Academic Team.
Next up, the Panthers compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships in Rock Hill, S.C., on Nov. 9.
#GoHPU