High Point Sweeps! HPU Men Win First Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point University Men’s Track & Field won its first-ever Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championship with 265 team points. HPU finished the championship with eight individual titles.
Coach Mike Esposito “I think what you saw was 15 months of just a lot of emotions. The thing that really saved me personally was my staff. They kept grinding and kept telling me look, it’s going to happen, we are going to get there, we have to keep working. We have to do a better job during COVID than anyone else did by keeping these kids engaged, motivated, keeping them excited, and keeping the target in mind. So I think what you saw this week was a culmination of all that. As you could see in the kids the emotions were just incredible. It is very satisfying and well worth the wait.”
Panther Performances
- Hocine Bouchrak was named the Big South’s most outstanding performer. His time of 8:49.11 in the steeplechase secured this honor as his time is currently the 32nd fastest in the nation.
- Chris Van Niekerk earned the honor of Big South Freshman of the year after a dominating week in several throwing events. Van Niekerk finished first in both the shot put and the discus. On Wednesday (May 12th) Van Niekerk finished in the Javelin with a personal-best mark of 59.93m and finished first in the discus with a mark of 55.42m.
- In a meet where freshman stepped up for the Panthers, the pole vault was no different. Adam Craig recorded a personal-best mark of 4.85m as which earned him the 2021 Big South Men’s Individual championship for pole vault.
- The field events played a big role for HPU in securing the men’s team title. Rob Greer set a personal best with a first-place mark of 61.59m. The Panthers went 1-3-4 in the javelin as Ryan Tenor finished fourth.
- Siro Pina Cardona finished first in the 800m with a time of 1:52.45. Cardona finished his final event of the week for himself by claiming the 800m individual title.
- Terris Burton II earned his first Big South individual title as he finished first in the 400m hurdles with a time of 52.88. Burton also finished third with a time of 15.23 in the 110 m hurdles.
- Esposito was named the 2021 Big South Outdoor Men’s Head Coach of the year. This is the first time Espo has earned this honor.
Final Scoreboard
1 High Point 265
2 Campbell 165
3 Charleston Southern 125
4 UNC-Asheville 95
5 USC Upstate 65
6 Gardner-Webb 53
7 Winthrop 34
HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point University women’s track & Field won its first-ever Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championship with 279.5 team points. HPU finished the championship with ten individual titles.
Coach Mike Esposito “I think what you saw was 15 months of just a lot of emotions. The thing that really saved me personally was my staff. They kept grinding and kept telling me look, it’s going to happen, we are going to get there, we have to keep working. We have to do a better job during COVID than anyone else did by keeping these kids engaged, motivated, keeping them excited, and keeping the target in mind. So I think what you saw this week was a culmination of all that. As you could see in the kids the emotions were just incredible. It is very satisfying and well worth the wait.”
Panther Performances
- Zoe Geis headlined the championship week for the Panther Women as she received the honor of the Big South’s most valuable athlete. She won both the 3000 Steeplechase and the 10,000 while also finishing second in the 5,000. The grad student’s performance helped power the Panthers to their first Big South Title.
- Sydney Horn has shown up in critical moments in her first year as a Panther and at the Big South Outdoor Championships, she again went big. The Freshman cleared a bar of 4.44m which is good enough for the fourth-best mark in the nation. Horn’s mark of 4.44 earned her the Big South Most Outstanding performance award after the meet on Wednesday.
- Lexi Crompton finished first in the High Jump with a mark of 1.59 wrapping up a big week for her as she podiumed twice with a second-place finish in the heptathlon as well. Crompton was named the Big South Co-Freshman of the Year.
- Letizia Jessica Marsico has had an outstanding freshman campaign and on the biggest day for the Purple & White, the freshman shined and rose to the occasion. Marsico finished first in the discus with a mark of 46.31m.
- Nyile Facey used her outstanding performance from the 100m hurdles in the prelims and used as big momentum in the final as she finished first in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.77.
- Famke Heinst added another historical milestone to her already legendary resume as she became the first runner to win the Big South 5000m Outdoor individual championship three times. She finished on Wednesday (May 12) night with a time of 16:38.76 setting a facility record.
- Camryn Harper set a facility record in the 800m with a time of 2:07.74, finishing first adding another to the Panthers individual title total.
- Esposito was named the 2021 Big South Outdoor Women’s Head Coach of the year. This is the second time Espo has earned this honor.
Final Scoreboard
1 High Point 279.5
2 Charleston Southern 137
3 Campbell 129
4 USC Upstate 76
5 UNC-Asheville 73
6 Radford 57.5
7 Gardner-Webb 49
8 Winthrop 14