JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Senior javelin thrower Christine Rickert became the first High Point University women’s track & field student-athlete ever to advance to the NCAA Championship with a third-place finish in the East Preliminary Thursday in Jacksonville.
Rickert made history for the Panthers with an excellent mark of 51.03m (167-5), just five feet (one meter) off of her personal best throw. The third-place finish garnered the senior All-Region accolades and sends her to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Championships June 8-11. There, a total of 12 qualifying athletes from the East and West Regions will compete in a 24-participant slobberknocker for the NCAA title.
“This means a great deal for our program and Chrissy has been such an extraordinary ambassador and program builder for High Point University,” head coach Mike Esposito said. “Coach [Eric] Dudley recruited Chrissy and helped develop her and Coach Hall put the finishing touches on helping her get to his point. She has a legitimate shot to be a First Team All-American and we are excited to see her compete in Oregon.”
Rickert is the third HPU track & field student-athlete ever to advance to Eugene, joining Jacob Smith (2012/2014, 3000m steeplechase) and Dakota Peachee (2013, 3000m steeplechase).
“After warmups today, Chrissy’s focus was to move down the runway aggressively, staying off to the left while keeping her balance,” associate head coach/throws coach Scott Hall said. “She didn’t execute the technique we were looking for on the first throw, but on the second attempt she did a great job with that and earned her qualifying throw. As we move forward to Eugene, we need to hone down that technique and she will start to relax. This is a new adventure and she is ready for it. Hats off to Chrissy for making some technique improvements and advancing to the championship.”
In addition to Rickert, a pair of HPU men’s track & field student-athletes put forth excellent efforts Thursday. Senior pole vaulter Austin Miller cleared three bars in his NCAA preliminary competition and finished with a height of 5.15m (16-10.75). The mark placed him t-17th out of 48 competitors, which improved upon his 2015 placement by nine spots.
Miller cleared 4.85m (15-11) and 5.00m (15-4.75) on his first attempt, then got over the 5.15m (16-10.75) bar on his second effort. He had three excellent attempts at the 5.25m bar (17-2.75) to wrap up his collegiate career, just missing the NCAA final by five spots.
“What a senior performance from Austin,” assistant coach/vaults coach Scott Houston said. “He was very composed and focused throughout the long competition and put himself in a great position to qualify for Eugene. The bar just fell at 5.25m to finish up a great senior campaign.”
Miller ends his HPU career as the most decorated vaulter in program history. In four seasons, the Herndon, Va., native amassed four Big South vault title and two NCAA preliminary bids while posting both the indoor and outdoor school records.
In jumps action, senior Will Narramore made his NCAA preliminary debut and put forth a strong performance in the long jump while battling through some difficult circumstances. He opened his flight with a solid mark of 7.12m (23-4.5), then put together a big jump that registered as 7.51m. The rules official put up the red flag indicating a foot foul, but the mark was inadvertently entered into the results system. It then stood for the remainder of the first and second flights, putting him in the No. 1 position through 24 competitors. That led to confusion, where the HPU staff assumed it was a legal mark and advised Narramore as such.
The jump would’ve put Narramore t-10th and advanced him to Eugene, but the mark was eventually moved back to a foul. While the result was disappointing, the performance still showed the senior was ready for the ultimate spotlight.
“Will looked like he had competed here before and his effort was strong,” Hall said. “I did not think the 7.51m mark would hold up through the last two flights, so I had Will approach the third jump aggressively. It was an unfortunate situation, but Will is a resilient competitor and is excited for another opportunity Saturday in the triple jump. We’re excited to see him get out there again and try to advance to the next round.”
HPU returns to action with a quintet of competitors Friday in Jacksonville. Sophomore Makenzi Holmes-DiGiovine makes her NCAA preliminary debut at noon in the discus, while senior Christian Spaulding also goes off at noon with his fourth-career NCAA preliminary berth.
High Point’s women’s pole vault duo of Alyssa Palenchar and Jill Marois suits up at 5 p.m., while junior steepler Natalia Ocasio races under the lights at 8:50 p.m.