Sophomore Patrick Crawford and junior Dakota Peachee went 1-2 in the 1,500-meter to lead the High Point University men’s track & field team at the Johnson C. Smith Invitational on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. Senior Alex Fisher placed third in the 110-meter hurdles.
“We had some good performances on Saturday in preparation for the conference championship next week,” said HPU head coach Mike Esposito. “I was pleased with Patrick and Dakota in the 1,500 and Evan Emery had a decent performance in the 100-meter dash again. Chris Colo had a good debut in the steeplechase and Steven Scally was just off his season-best in the discus.”
Crawford won the 1,500-meter in 3:59.54 and Peachee was just behind in 4:02.08. Senior Neal Darmody placed seventh in 4:11.17 and junior Anthony Kilar placed 13th in 4:20.71. Freshman Chris Colo made his debut in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running a time of 9:53.21. Senior Mike Feroe placed 11th in the 800-meter in 2:00.08.
Emery was runner-up in the 100-meter dash behind post-collegiate sprinter Tazz Petty. Emery was fastest in the preliminary with a time of 10.45 with a tailwind. He finished second in the final with a time of 10.56 seconds. Freshman Justin Doehr placed 19th in the 200-meter in 22.96.
Fisher placed third in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.79 seconds into a headwind. It was just off his season-best 14.68. HPU had four runners in the 400-meter: freshman Chris Muggler led the group with a 16th-place finish in a time of 50.13. Freshmen Michael Colven and Evan Gingrich placed 26th and 29th, respectively, and senior Seth Harwood placed 34th.
In the field events, both Steven Scally and Max Coleman recorded fifth-place finishes. Scally placed fifth in the discus with a throw of 40.33 meters (132-4). Coleman cleared 1.83 meters (6-0) in the high jump and also took 14th in the long jump with a leap of 5.88 meters (19-3.5). Freshman Eric Plummer was just behind in the long jump with a distance of 5.77 meters (18-11.25).
Also in the discus, freshman Christian Spaulding placed 22nd and sophomore Tristan Faure placed 25th.
The meet was the Panthers’ final performance before the Big South Championship, which will be held April 19-21 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. High Point placed sixth in the conference championship last year.