Boone Results (PDF)

BOONE, N.C. - High Point University pole vaulters Austin Miller and Alyssa Palenchar made the most of their ascent to the mountains of Boone Saturday, taking their own personal bests to new heights at the Mountaineer Outdoor Open.

Miller upped his school record mark to 5.10m (16-8.75), while Palenchar cleared 4.00m (13-1.5) for the first time in her career. Palenchar hit the 4-meter height to win the women's pole vault in Boone, while Miller finished as the top overall collegiate finisher, just one spot behind HPU assitant coach Scott Houston (5.50m, 18-0.5). Houston is currently top-6 in the world with his mark of 5.65m in the event.

Miller is currently ranked 33rd in the NCAA East Region with his mark of 5.10m, while Palenchar is 43rd (4.00m). In addition to their performances Saturday, sophomore Todd Uckermark placed sixth on the men's side (4.60m, 15-1) and redshirt-junior Katie Benavente was 10th on the women's side (3.15m, 10-4).

"I was pleased with how the vault group competed this weekend," Houston said. "This was a good opportunity to compete and tune up as we head into crunch time before our conference meet. Katie and Todd had good attempts at season bests while Alyssa and Austin were composed for the collegiate victory and personal records. They both improved their regional qualifying marks and are showing good poise in implementing the technical changes we have been working on in practice."

Elsewhere this weekend, a crew of men's track & field student-athletes competed at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. Senior Christian Spaulding finished eighth in the javelin throw (64.20m, 210-7), while HPU's DMR quartet of Alejandro Juan Torres, Vinny Todaro, Nick Hula and Paul O'Donoghue finished fourth in their section with a time of 10:02.29.

The Panthers return to action this Wednesday at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier in Lynchburg, Va.

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