HPU TRACK & FIELD: Panthers Finish Day One of VMI Keydet Invite

*** both men’s and women’s recaps included ***

Freshman Pair Qualify For Saturday Finals
LEXINGTON, Va. – High Point University track and field embarked on its third meet of the indoor season this Friday, opening day one of the VMI Keydet Invitational in Lexington.

Pablo Romero and Gabriel Stainback opened up the day’s events with a pair of qualifying times in the 60m hurdles, each finishing with a time of 8.70 to secure a trip to the semis. Meanwhile over in ‘the circle’, senior Britton Mann tossed a 13.82m in the weight throw for a top-20 finish.

“The competition was at about the level that we thought.” said Head Coach Mike Esposito. “I was really proud of our male sprinters, and how we performed in the pole vault, but I think that we are still just a little tentative, with it being so early in the season.”

Romero and Stainback went on to post respective times of 8.62 and 8.74 to come up just short of a finals appearance, but the big story would happen in the 60m dash, with freshmen Daniel Bogle and Paul Gore each preparing for a finals appearance on Saturday morning.

Finishing second in his heat, Bogle collected a time of 6.93 to gain a spot in the semis, eventually sprinting to a 6.91 for the second-fastest time of the day. Gore’s 7.00 was good enough to win his prelim heat, gaining his own space in the finals with a 7.01 in the semis.

Four athletes competing in the 500m broke the previous Corps Physical Training Facility record, with Romero and Bobby Dupell III running respective times of 1:07.09 and 1:07.11. Senior Patrick Van Der Cruyssen (2:40.21) and freshman Grant Gilbert (2:49.51) each participated in their first 1000m of the season, with Philip Sherwin wrapping up day one in the 5000m (17:14.66).

COMING UP NEXT
Day two of the weekend competition continues on Saturday, with the men’s first event of the day taking place at 10 a.m. in the one mile. 21 Panther men will be participating over 10 different events, finishing with the 4x400m relay at 3:40 p.m.

Top Performances
60m Dash
Final Qualifier: Daniel Bogle (6.93p/6.91s)
Final Qualifier: Paul Gore (7.00p/7.01s)

60m Hurdles
Semi Qualifier: Pablo Romero (8.70p/8.62s)
Semi Qualifier: Gabriel Stainback (8.70p/8.74s)


Panthers Finish Day One of VMI Keydet Invite
LEXINGTON, Va. – High Point University track and field embarked on its third meet of the indoor season this Friday, opening day one of the VMI Keydet Invitational in Lexington.

The Panthers’ day kicked off with the 60m hurdles, where freshman Nyile Facey finished third in her prelim heat at 9.30. Her pace was good enough to earn the HPU hurdler a semifinal spot where Facey collected a season-best 9.13. Fellow first-year Leah Bolden followed up her teammate with the Panthers’ top-time in the 60m dash. Bolden opened up her afternoon with a 7.74 prelim before going on to collect a 7.73 in the semi and become the first Panther woman to qualify for a Saturday final.

“The competition was at about the level that we thought.” said Head Coach Mike Esposito. “I was really proud of our male sprinters, and how we performed in the pole vault, but I think that we are still just a little tentative, with it being so early in the season.”

High Point presented another big day on the pole vault stage, with previous facility record-holder, Nathalie Elliott finishing second in the event (3.90m). The sophomore was followed close behind by fellow Panther Rachel Berndsen, whose PR of 3.60 secured her third-place finish. A trio of HPU women competed in the high jump with Charlotte Morrow and Lexi Crompton clearing a height of 1.55m apiece.

Back on the track, freshman Taylor Arthur competed in the first 500m of her collegiate career, crossing the finish line in 17th in a time of 1:20.15. Franzi Jakobs collected a team-best time of 2:57.81 to finish seventh in the 1000m, while Courtney Kerr placed seventh in the 5000m, running a time of 18:56.05.

Day one of the VMI Keydet Invitational ended with the women’s DMR, where the combination of Zoe Geis, Camryn Harper, Lindsey Ickes and Julia Hellman posted a fourth-place finish.

COMING UP NEXT
Day two of the weekend competition continues on Saturday, with the ladies’ first event of the day taking place at 10:30 a.m. in the one mile. 18 Panther women will be participating over eight different events, finishing with the 4x400m relay at 4:10 p.m.

Top Performances
60m Dash
Final Qualifier: Leah Bolden (7.73p/7.76s)

60m Hurdles
Semi Qualifier: Nyile Facey (9.30p/9.13s)

Pole Vault
2. Nathalie Elliott (3.90m)

1000m
7. Franzi Jakobs (2:57.81)

5000m
7. Courtney Kerr (18:56.05)