HPU Men’s Track: Romero Reaps Big South Field Athlete of The Week Honors

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University track and field secures its third weekly honor of the indoor season this Wednesday, with junior multi-athlete Pablo Romero receiving Big South Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week recognition.

Big South Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
Pablo Romero | Combined/Multis | Junior | Madrid, Spain

• First career Big South Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week honor
• Set new school record with 5,222 points to win the Liberty Kickoff heptathlon
• Tied his PR in the pole vault, winning the section at 4.55m
• Came within a single centimeter of his personal best in both the long jump (6.61m) and the high jump (1.97m)
• Heptathlon score currently sits 17th in Division I track and field, and ranks fifth in the Big South all-time

Romero posted a new HPU heptathlon record this past weekend after collecting 5,222 points for a first-place finish at the Liberty Kickoff in Lynchburg. The junior started the two-day event running a personal record of 7.32 in the 60m dash, and coming up just a centimeter short of his long jump career-best at 6.61m. After tossing a 10.60m in the shot put, Romero finished his day with a 1.97m at the high jump, landing him third in the event and first on the heptathlon leaderboard going into day two.

He collected back-to-back event wins to open Saturday, tallying an 8.55 in the hurdles and tying a personal best in the pole vault (4.55m). With a hefty lead in the standings and less than 800 points short of new program record, the Spaniard needed just 2:50.00 in the 1000m in order to surpass the former record-setting performance he set at the 2018 Big South Championship. Romero responded with a final time 2:46.18 to further secure a heptathlon victory and set a new Panther-best at 5,222 points overall.

Romero’s performance is the second Panther record to get rewritten in 2019, with Nathalie Elliott clearing 4.12m in the pole vault earlier this year. Romero and Elliott’s record-setting tallies currently sit at 17th and 28th in Division I respectively, with the latter looking to improve his heptathlon point-total at the Camel City Invite, this weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C.