HPU’s Schnuck tops own weight throw record at JDL

• Senior Jamie Schnuck broke her own school record in the weight throw (16.11m, 52-10.25)
• Junior Natalia Ocasio won the 800m run in a time of 2:17.40
• The Panthers return to action Jan. 22-23 at the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – For the second time in as many meets this indoor season, senior Jamie Schnuck broke the school record in the weight throw to lead the High Point University women’s track & field team.

Schnuck’s mark of 16.11m (52-10.25) eclipsed her previous school-record mark of 15.80m set at the JDL Kickoff Classic in December.

“Jamie had a very nice series of throws today,” associate head coach Scott Hall said. “She worked extremely hard over the break throwing outdoors in Wisconsin. She’s as tough as they come and is starting to become more consistent with her technique. The bigger throws are starting to happen regularly and we’re excited to see how she progresses this season.”

Her performance was one of many strong outings for the Panthers at the Wake Forest Invitational Saturday.

Junior Natalia Ocasio picked up where she left off from an All-Big South cross country season. The Mount Laurel, N.J., native won the 800m run title Saturday in a time of 2:17.40. It marked the fifth individual race victory of her track & field career.

“Today’s race was a great season opener for Natalia,” women’s distance coach Jenna Wrieden said. “I think she surprised herself a little bit. It’s a good sounding board for us to build from. We’ve been working on adding more of a speed component to her training which we saw come to life today. That will certainly pay off in the steeplechase during the outdoor season.”

On the jumps circuit, junior Amanda Gregory finished sixth in the long jump with a solid mark of 5.32m (17-5.5). Fellow junior Alyn Carr placed 13th (5.01m, 16-5.25) and freshman Arianna Coleman was 17th (4.88m, 16-0.25). Freshman Charlotte Morrow put together a solid debut for the Panthers in the high jump with a 12th-place finish (1.50m, 4-11).

Senior Sarah Bode set a new personal best in the one mile run en route to a seventh-place finish in the event. The Louisville, Ky., native put together a good time of 5:39.24.

In throws action, redshirt-sophomore Makenzi Holmes-DiGiovine placed 14th in the shot put with a throw of 11.48m (37-8).

Three Panthers competed in the preliminaries of the 60m hurdles. Sophomore Mikaela Campbell placed 11th in a time of 9.36 seconds, while fellow sophomore Ashlynn Schiro was 13th in 9.39 seconds. Sophomore Haley Cianfarini placed 19th in 9.71 seconds.

Senior Lilla Lorand represented HPU in the 600m run and placed 14th in a time of 1:43.66.

Freshman Emmy Geis made a strong HPU debut with a 20th-place showing in the 400m dash (1:02.50). Sophomore CeAnna Soper placed 30th (1:06.02) and freshman Cory Wilson was 31st (1:06.28).

Campbell placed 28th in the 60m dash prelims in a time of 8.04 seconds, while Carr was 33rd in 8.15. Gregory (8.33) finished 35th and senior Alyssa Palenchar was 41st (8.60).

In the 200m dash prelims, Coleman placed 35th (27.43), Schiro finished 40th (27.93), Cianfarini was 45th (29.03) and Wilson placed 46th (29.12).

HPU’s heptathletes return to JDL Jan. 17-18 for the JDL Combined Events. The remainder of the team is back in action Jan. 22-23 at the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.