USTFCCCA Release

HIGH POINT, N.C. – A quartet of High Point University track & field student-athletes were named to the 2016 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team for their superior efforts in competition and in the classroom.
 
Senior pole vaulter Austin Miller earned the award for the second time on the men's side, while senior thrower Christine Rickert (two-time honoree), senior vaulter Alyssa Palenchar and sophomore thrower Makenzi Holmes-DiGiovine garnered the accolade on the women's roster.
 
To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must maintain a 3.25 GPA. The individual also must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org (indoor), or participate in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (outdoor).
 
Holmes-DiGiovine accomplished a number of firsts during her inaugural season with the Purple & White. In addition to setting an indoor school record in the shot put (12.70m, 41-8), she also posted new HPU best marks in the outdoor shot put (12.84m, 42-1.5) and her specialty event, the discus. The Phoenix, Ariz., product became the first ever HPU student-athlete (men's or women's) to capture the Big South discus title after posting a strong throw of 49.38m (162-0) at the outdoor league meet. Her school-record mark of 51.08m (167-7) earned her the berth in the NCAA preliminary. She carries a 3.57 GPA and is majoring in sport management.
 
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 titles, two NCAA preliminary bids and both the indoor and outdoor school records. He posted a Big South meet record and HPU school record mark of 5.25m (17-2.75) to win the outdoor league title in 2016. He earned Big South Outstanding Field Performer honors for his effort Miller won five individual pole vault titles in 2015-16 and cleared five meters on eight occasions. He graduated in May with a 3.58 GPA and a degree in business administration.
 
Palenchar graduated in May with 3.77 GPA and a degree in elementary education. One of the best pole vaulters in school history, she put together a strong senior vault campaign that earned her a first career NCAA Preliminary bid. During the indoor season, the Bradenville, Pa., product set a new PR (3.82m, 12-6.5) in Blacksburg and earned the Purple & White eight points with a second-place finish at the Big South Indoor Championships (3.75m, 12-3.5). During the outdoor campaign, Palenchar earned seven top-2 finishes and cleared 12 feet, five inches in seven of her final eight events of the season. After setting PRs in consecutive weeks at the Big South Triangular (3.82m, 12-6.25) and at the Duke Invite (3.93m, 120-10.75), Palenchar grabbed her NCAA qualifying mark with a clearance of 4.00m (13-1.5) at the Mountaineer Outdoor Open in Boone on Apr. 30. She finished second at the Big South Outdoor Championship with a vault of 3.95m (12-11.5).
 
Rickert graduated in May with a 3.94 GPA and a degree in international relations, political science and Spanish. A 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American, Rickert also was named the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She earned second team USTFCCCA All-America accolades after placing 12^th at the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., and also won her third-straight Big South javelin title in May. She became the first HPU student-athlete ever to advance to the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials in July.
 
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