Marois, Ocasio make history for HPU women’s track at Big South

• Jill Marois won the third Big South pole vault title of her career with a meet record of 4.22m (13-10)
• Natalia Ocasio became the first back-to-back women’s 3000m steeplechase champion in Big South history
• Senior Jamie Schnuck broke her school record in the hammer throw while placing fifth (54.86m, 180-0)

LYNCHBURG, Va. – High Point University senior vaulter Jill Marois and junior steepler Natalia Ocasio further etched their names into the conference record books Wednesday during outstanding performances on day two of the Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Marois and Ocasio each claimed individual event titles to grab 20 points for HPU and help keep the Panthers steady in second place through nine events. Liberty leads the meet (112.50 points) followed by High Point (73.5) and Coastal Carolina (51.0).

Marois has been building up to breakout vaults all season long and Wednesday’s performance was a put-it-all-together series that won’t soon be forgotten. The Boylston, Mass., native entered the meet with a PR of 4.06m, but she topped that height quickly and efficiently Wednesday.

Marois entered at 3.70m and cleared that height and the 3.85m bar on her first attempt. After battling with the 3.95m bar, she cleared that height on her third and final attempt, before topping 4.05m (13-3.5) on her first attempt to clinch the Big South victory.

From there, the senior cleared 4.15m (13-7.25) for the first time and did so on her second attempt. Then, Marois topped 4.22m (13-10) to set a new meet record and move into the top-15 in the NCAA East Region. The previous meet record (Liberty’s Andrea Wildrick) had stood since 2002. The mark also is the No. 2 all-time vault in Big South history.

The Big South title marked the third of her career and the second outdoor league title over her four seasons.

Marois’ effort was part of an impressive 19-point performance for HPU in the vault. Fellow senior Alyssa Palenchar capped her Big South career with yet another excellent performance, clearing 3.95m (12-11.5) on her first attempt to place second and grab eight points for the Panthers. Palenchar also had three good attempts at 4.05m. In addition, junior Madison Depner grabbed a point in eighth place with a vault of 3.25m (10-8).

“Alyssa got into a rhythm early and made a clutch bar at 3.95 to secure the lead,” assistant coach/vaults coach Scott Houston said. “Jill proceeded to make a clutch effort to stay in it, then caught her rhythm and keep going from there. Acquiring a meet record is very impressive – it’s been heading that way for awhile for Jill and its great to see these big marks come through. I was very pleased with our performance across the board in the vault today.”

Ocasio became the first back-to-back Big South women’s 3000m steeplechase champion in league history with a dominating performance in the event. Ocasio earned the victory by close to 12 seconds while crossing the finish line in 10:53.56. She led by two seconds after 1800 meters, but separated herself over the final 1200m in a strong final few laps for the Puerto Rican Pistol.

Senior Sarah Bode also picked up a pair of points for the Purple & White with a seventh-place showing in the steeplechase (11:33.07) while senior Erika Peoples was 13th (12:13.42).

In throws action, senior Jamie Schnuck once again broke her own school record in the hammer while grabbing four points with a fifth-place finish. After getting into the final with a mark of 53.05m (174-0), Schnuck topped her previous record by close to a meter with a throw of 54.86m (180-0) on her final attempt. Her throws partner, sophomore Makenzi Holmes-DiGiovine, also PR’d for the Panthers while placing eighth (48.31m, 158-6) and grabbing a point for HPU. Coupled with her discus title, Holmes-DiGiovine is up to 11 points earned this championship.

Junior Erika Bridges put together her best heptathlon series to date, notching 4383 points to finish seventh and pick up two points for High Point. Her previous top total was 4026. On day two, Bridges set a new collegiate best in the 800-meter (2:36.34) and finished second in the long jump (5.17m, 16-11.5). Sophomore CeAnna Soper was 11th (3947 points) and finished third in the javelin portion (34.68m, 113-9) while senior Sara Katherine Kirkpatrick was 12th (3740).

On the jumps circuit, freshman Charlotte Morrow registered a collegiate-best mark in the high jump (1.58m, 5-2.25) to pick up a half point for the Panthers. In addition, senior Erica Herrmann placed 11th after clearing the 1.58m bar on her third attempt. Herrmann had a number of excellent efforts at the 1.63m height (which would have been a career best), but just nudged the bar on each attempt.

In Wednesday qualifying action, freshman Keaton Case shaved four seconds off her PR to finish third in the 800m prelims and qualify for Thursday’s final. Junior Cozette Collin also qualified with a seventh-place showing (2:14.32). Freshman Janelle Rothacker was 13th (2:21.59).

In the 100m hurdles prelims, sophomore Ashlynn Schiro was 10th (15.07) while fellow sophomore Mikaela Campbell (15.10) placed 11th.

“I continue to be impressed with how our women have approached this meet,” head coach Mike Esposito said. “We’ve won four of the first nine scored events with very strong and in some cases national marks. I like the passion we’re competing with. We lost a little momentum early on, but really picked it up later in the day with victories from Jill and Natalia. Jamie once again broke her school record in a very competitive field. Keaton Case also ran extremely well and Cozette was very composed. I’m really pleased with how our staff has helped our student-athletes prepare and they are really putting it all together when it matters.”

The Panthers look to finish the Big South Championship strong during final day action Thursday in Lynchburg. Events begin at 12:40 p.m. with the 4x100m relay.