Women’s DMR Sets School Record At Big South Track And Field Championship

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The High Point University women’s track & field Distance Medley Relay team set a new school record on the way to a second-place finish to lead the Panthers on the first day of the Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships in Blacksburg, Va., on Friday.

High Point ends the first day of the Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships in third place with 26.5 points. HPU trails Liberty, who leads with 62 points, and Coastal Carolina, who finished the day with 53 points.

“The DMR group did a great job,” said head coach Mike Esposito. “Our team surrounded the track and created a great atmosphere. It was a great way to end the first day. Our pole vaulters continue to make good progress and be a very strong part of our program.”

The Panther’s DMR team of sophomore Katie Farina, junior Emily Fischer, senior Audrey Malloy and freshman Natalia Ocasio posted HPU’s best result of the day, finishing second with a time of 12:04.42. The foursome set a new school record, beating the previous time of 12:07.18 by nearly three seconds. The previous record was set by Kandi Givner, Sumiyaa Hunter, Andrea Boyd and Jasmine Jones-Green.

Sophomores Jill Marois and Alyssa Palenchar matched the school record of 3.65 meters in the pole vault, finishing second and third respectively. The height was a new career-best for Marois who bested Palenchar on number of attempts. Sophomore Catelyn Griffin also scored for HPU, finishing seventh with a height of 3.50 meters.

Sophomore Julia Zautcke finished seventh in the 3,000 meters picking up two points in the team competition. Zautcke scored with a career-best time of 10:15.67.

Sophomore Sara Katherine Kirkpatrick finished eighth in the Pentathlon to earn a point towards the team score for HPU. Kirkpatrick’s best finishes came in the 800-meters, where she came in second with a career-best time of 2:22.36 and the high jump, where she finished in fifth with a career-best jump of 1.54 meters.

Senior Audrey Malloy qualified for the finals of the 800 meters, finishing second in the preliminary heats with a career-best time of 2:16.01.