Cross Country: HPU Women Second, Men Eighth at VertCross Invitational

*** Both men’s and women’s recaps included ***

Heinst Wins, Panther Women Second at VertCross

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — The High Point University women’s cross country team placed as the runner-up as a team while sophomore Famke Heinst took home the individual title at the VertCross Invitational Friday afternoon (Oct. 12) at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.

The Panthers finished second with 53 points, behind only Appalachian State with 28 points. Campbell was third with 92 points, followed by UNCG (118) and Charleston Southern (146).

“Hats off to Mike Curcio and Appalachian State on a great performance,” HPU head coach Remy Tamer said. “We knew if we left a gap for them to take advantage of, we were probably going to get second place, and that’s exactly what happened. In the next training cycle leading up to the Big South Championship, it is not a physical gap we need to bridge, we need to learn to make better decisions in moments of duress and stress. If we can get that down, we will show up to the conference meet with a lot of gusto.”

Heinst led from the gun and won in a 5K time of 17:35.02. The gap between her and second-place was over 43 seconds as App State’s Phylissa Greenley crossed the line in 18:18.24.

Senior Keaton Case was second for the Panthers, finishing seventh in 18:31.65. Junior Zoe Geis was next in ninth in 18:40.82.

Sophomore Julia Hellman placed 18th in 18:58.31, while freshman Lindsay Ickes finished 20th in 19:08.94 to round out the scoring five.

This meet was HPU’s final tune-up before hosting the 2018 Big South Cross Country Championships on Oct. 26 on the same course in Kernersville. The men’s championship will be contested at 10:30 a.m., followed by the women’s championship at 11:30 a.m.


HPU Men Finish Eighth at VertCross Invitational

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — The High Point University men’s cross country finished eighth as it hosted the VertCross Invitational Friday afternoon (Oct. 12) at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.

The Panthers finished with 158 points to place eighth. East Tennessee State won the individual title with 36 points, while Coastal Carolina edged Appalachian State for second, 84-94.

“We always say we want to make marginal gains each time out and we made some today,” HPU head coach Mike Esposito said. “I’ve been riding them pretty good in practice and today was a bit of tipping point. Now it’s time to stay healthy, sharpen up a little bit, come out for the Big South Championships and represent well for High Point University.”

Sophomore Hocine Bouchrak placed seventh as the top HPU individual in an 8K time of 25:29.14. Freshman Spencer Smucker worked his way up throughout the race and finished 34th in 26:45.75. Junior TJ Morales was 43rd in 27:10.11.18

Sophomores Edward Hayfron and Siro Pina Cardona finished 56th and 57th to conclude the scoring five for the Panthers.

This meet was HPU’s final tune-up before hosting the 2018 Big South Cross Country Championships on Oct. 26 on the same course in Kernersville. The men’s championship will be contested at 10:30 a.m., followed by the women’s championship at 11:30 a.m.