RESULTS
HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University men's and women's track and field teams traded the rain for sunshine in the final day of annual Bill Webb Combined Events/Bob Davidson Memorial Invitational at Vert Stadium Saturday.
For the second consecutive day, the Panthers saw multiple student-athletes finish atop their events, while a handful posted personal bests and another claimed two wins for himself.
Head Coach Mike Esposito: "It was good to get the first outdoor one in. We always seem to have a little bit of a lull after indoor conference because of the training cycles. We had some good things happen. I was a little disappointed because historically, we don't perform well in the home opening meet — though we should take advantage of it — but we always make a big jump from here. The ones who won individually should be highlighted, but it's a good starting point after indoors. I know we will continue to move forward from here."
The women's javelin began the day and had a pair of Panthers in the top six.
Kelly Chaballa's 39.41m delivery earned her fifth place, while
Julia Newman was next with her 38.60m throw. In the women's high jump,
Sydney Koker took first place with a clearance of 1.65m and
Ebba Ahman jumped for a fourth-place finish of 1.55m. The women's long jump saw
Alicia Dawson finish third with a 5.87m leap as
Jordan Pringle landed at 5.29m.
In the women's 1500m,
Tessa Webb headlined five Panthers of 55 runners. The senior Webb edged out a new personal best 4:54.78 for an eighth-place finish, while
Madeline Quinn finished 14th with a 4:57.36 time.
Julianna Higgins clocked a 5:02.36 finish for 19th; meanwhile,
Lauren Buckminster (5:09.33) and
Lauren Vossen (5:21.01) rounded out HPU's competitors.
Liana Betts was the lone Panther to compete in the women's shot put as she tossed a 11.79m throw. Betts also competed in the women's discus alongside Amanda Scttergood, who delivered a 40.08m toss to pair with Betts' 38.60 throw. The women's pole vault elite had freshmen
Anjali Mead and
Grady Moyer competing. Mead posted a third-place 3.95m clearance, with Moyer's jumping at 3.35m.
Letizia Jessica Marsico was the lone Panther in the women's discus elite group as she threw it 42.02m.
In the women's 400m, Abi Craig finished second in her heat and sixth overall with her 57.77 finish.
Rachel Martin clocked a 1:04.58 time, while Ashley Sprung ran hers in 1:06.16. The Panthers claimed the winner and runner-up in women's 400m hurdles as
Ebba Ahman won with a new personal best 1:00.85 finish, while
Lindsay Cooper clocked a 1:02.94 for second.
Out of 66 women's 200m entries, HPU's
Dae'Nitra Hester (24.92) and
Marissa Blakely (25.13) finished fourth and sixth, respectively. Dawson posted a 26.53 time for 19th place, while
Abby Coy (28.39) and
Jordan Pringle (28.93) also competed for the Panthers. The women's 4x400m squad wrapped up the women's events by sprinting past everyone behind a 3:49.46 mark.
After seven events of the women's heptathlon and three Saturday— combined with the long jump, javelin throw, and 800m —
Lilly Wolf finished in third place with 4,037 points. Freshmen
Marietta Valente and
Amelia Moreland combined 3,004 points and 2,804 points in that order.
HPU saved the best section for last in the men's 1500m.
Graham Ferguson zoomed out to a lead and was able to maintain it in the end, registering a new personal best 3:54.53. The sophomore was joined by teammate
Aidan Soto, who finished with a mark of 4:13.06. Ferguson matched his 1500m victory with another in the 800m as he posted a meet-best 1:55.78. Sophomore
Reilly Mazzetti turned on the jets for a massive personal best 800m race as he crossed at 1:58.68, good for seventh place.
The men's 400m saw
Aidan Britt finish eighth of 48 runners behind his 49.31 mark. Freshman
Isaiah Muse ran a new personal best 50.94, good for 16th place, while
Will Ransone rounded out the three Panthers with his 53.70 time.
In the men's 110m hurdles,
Felix Leblanc led four Panthers' hurdlers with a 16.28 finish. The trio of
Evan Mills (16.86),
David Caivano (16.92) and
Kolt Byers (17.05) finished in that order. The 400m hurdles saw Terris Burton cross second at the 53.11 mark, while
Trent Strachan finished in fifth at 59.17. In the 200m,
Deron Dudley (unattached) cruised to the win with a time of 21.80 as Adell Colthurst (unattached) placed fourth with a mark of 22.07.
HPU was well-represented in the men's long jump with six Panthers.
Freddie Allen III won the event with his 6.98 jump, while
Larry Coaxum took second (6.88) and
Michael Henson (6.661) was fourth.
Felix Leblanc (6.39m) rounded out the top eight finishers,
David Caivano registered a 6.20m leap, and
Kolt Byers landed at 6.08m. The men's high jump saw
Michael Henson clear 1.90m for fourth place as
Evan Mills followed at 1.80m.
Men's pole vault elite had five Panthers competing.
Nick Lourenco had a new personal best 4.97 clearance, good for second place.
Jackson Tuomey and
Reid Holloway cleared 4.67m each, while
Owen Williamson jumped 4.52m.
Chris Van Kiekerk tossed a fifth-place 54.79m throw in the men's discus elite with fellow Panther
Alex Hoffman's delivery grossing 43.35m. Van Kiekerk followed it up with a first-place men's shot put throw at 17.70m to lead 33 throwers. Hoffman secured eighth place in shot put with a toss of 14.98m.
The men's 4x400m relay wrapped up the two-day event as the Panthers cruised to the win behind an impressive 3:24.79 finish.
Up Next: HPU will have athletes at three different events this upcoming weekend: Raleigh Relays, Adidas Trojan Challenge, and Weems Baskin Invitational. The full schedule can be viewed on the respective team's page at highpointpanthers.com.
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