INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Nine student-athletes will represent High Point University in 11 events at the 2023 NCAA First Round Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Jacksonville, Florida, next week.
Lindsay Cooper and
Chris Van Niekerk will both compete in two events while seven other HPU athletes are set to compete as well. The nine Panthers will be battling for a spot to compete at the 2023 NCAA Championships hosted by the University of Texas-Austin. The top-12 finishers from each regional event will advance to the National Championships in Austin.
Lindsay Cooper | Junior | 100m Hurdles
Qualifying Time: 13.43 seconds (42
nd in the East)
Qualifying Context: Cooper ran to a first-place finish at HPU's Meet of Champions on April 15
th with a time of 13.43 seconds. Her time also had 2.8mph wind, meeting the under 4.0mph wind interference making it possible to record a NCAA regional qualifying mark.
Last Time Out (Big South Championships): Cooper raced to a runner-up finish in the 100m hurdles, posting a time of 13.71 seconds (-0.8 wi) in the finals after qualifying second with a time of 13.67 seconds (0.6 wi) in prelims.
Lindsay Cooper | Junior | 400m Hurdles
Qualifying Time: 58.66 seconds (44
th in the East)
Qualifying Context: The only Panther to secure a mark from Diesel's Last Chance Meet on Sunday, Cooper ran to a 58.66-second finish in the 400m hurdles, shaving off 0.31 seconds from her previous best to qualify 44
th for the NCAA First Round Championships.
Last Time Out (Diesel's Last Chance Meet): After steadily shaving off tenths of seconds in the 400m hurdles this season, Cooper recorded a top-48 mark in the Last Chance Meet at High Point University on Sunday, despite having run six events (four finals, two prelims) for HPU at the Big South Championships Wednesday-Friday last week.
Dae'Nitra Hester | Sophomore | 400m
Qualifying Time: 53.65 seconds (62
nd in the East)
Qualifying Context: Hester ran to a school-record time of 53.64 seconds in the 400m dash at the Big South Championships to win the event. She also broke the HPU record in the 200m (23.94s) and ran on record-breaking 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams for the Panthers last week.
Last Time Out (Diesel's Last Chance Meet): Hester ran to a 55.47-second finish by herself in the 400m on Sunday at HPU's last chance meet.
Sydney Horn | Junior | Pole Vault
Qualifying Mark: 4.41m (4
th in the East)
Qualifying Context: Horn vaulted to a win at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier on May 3
rd, clearing a season-best 4.41m. She also posted another top-five qualifying mark after clearing 4.32m at VertKlasse.
Last Time Out (Big South Championships): Horn claimed her third-straight Big South Outdoor Championships individual title with a mark 4.26m last week.
Rachel Vesper | Junior | Pole Vault
Qualifying Mark: 4.26m (10
th in the East)
Qualifying Context: Vesper solidified her spot in the top-10 last week at the Big South Outdoor Championships, finishing as the runner-up behind teammate
Sydney Horn with a season-best mark of 4.26m. The 2023 NCAA Indoor All-American previously sat inside the top-30 with a clearance of 4.10m from late April at the Virginia Challenge.
Last Time Out (Big South Championships): Vesper claimed her highest finish at a conference championship meet last week, finishing as the silver medalist with a mark of 4.26m.
Mackenzie Horn | Senior | Pole Vault
Qualifying Mark: 4.10m (29
th in the East)
Qualifying Context: Horn's mark at 4.10m put her at 29
th among East region women's pole vaulters. Her season-best mark at the Virginia Challenge earned her a fourth-place finish at the meet as well. Horn returns to the NCAA First Round Championships after qualifying for the 2023 Indoor Championships and the 2022 Outdoor Championships.
Last Time Out (Big South Championships): Horn finished fourth at the Big South Championships after clearing 3.86m, joining three other HPU vaulters to sweep the top-four finishes in the event.
Anjali Mead | Freshman | Pole Vault
Qualifying Mark: 4.06m (42
nd in the East)
Qualifying Context: Mead qualified for her first NCAA First Round Championships after finishing third at the Big South Championships with a mark of 4.06m. She broke into the top-48 after posting a mark of 4.02m at VertKlasse in early April.
Last Time Out (Big South Championships): Mead finished third at the Big South Outdoor Championships, marking the first time she has made the podium at the conference championships in her young career.
Alicia Dawson | Senior | Triple Jump
Qualifying Mark: 12.77m (36
th in the East)
Qualifying Context: Dawson posted a mark of 12.77m with +2.6 wind on March 31
st at VertKlasse in High Point. While the wind interference was too high to claim as a personal best or program record (>2.0mph), the mark can be recorded as a regional qualifier (<>
Last Time Out (Big South Championships): Dawson jumped a personal best mark of 12.71m at the Big South Outdoor Championships last week with a +1.0mph wind. She claimed the gold medal at the conference championships with the mark.
Chris Van Niekerk | Senior | Discus
Qualifying Mark: 58.08m (14
th in the East)
Qualifying Context: Van Niekerk threw for over 58 meters at HPU's Meet of Champions on April 15
th. It marks just the second time in his career that he's thrown for over 58 meters in the event.
Last Time Out (Big South Championships): Van Niekerk helped the HPU men capture its third-straight team title while claiming gold medals in two events for his individual efforts. He finished the meet contributing 24 points to HPU's team total. He threw for 53.16m in the javelin for a fifth-place finish on day one before throwing for 18.00m, a season-best, in the shot put on day two to secure the first-place finish. On the final day, Van Niekerk threw the discus for 52.56m to win the event. The two gold medals mark the second time in his career that Van Niekerk has won both events at the outdoor conference championships (2021, 2023) after missing the 2022 championships with an injury.
Chris Van Niekerk | Senior | Shot Put
Qualifying Mark: 18.00m (37
th in the East)
Qualifying Context: Van Niekerk won the shot put at the conference championships last week with a season-best mark of 18.00m which also improved his standing in the East region from his previous mark of 17.92m at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier.
Last Time Out (Big South Championships): Van Niekerk helped the HPU men capture its third-straight team title while claiming gold medals in two events for his individual efforts. He finished the meet contributing 24 points to HPU's team total. He threw for 53.16m in the javelin for a fifth-place finish on day one before throwing for 18.00m, a season-best, in the shot put on day two to secure the first-place finish. On the final day, Van Niekerk threw the discus for 52.56m to win the event. The two gold medals mark the second time in his career that Van Niekerk has won both events at the outdoor conference championships (2021, 2023) after missing the 2022 championships with an injury.
Terris Burton II | Senior | 400m Hurdles
Qualifying Mark: 51.68 seconds (46
th in the East)
Qualifying Context: Burton qualifies for the first round of the NCAA Championships for the third-straight season after running 51.68 seconds in the 400m hurdles at VertKlasse. While it marks the only time he has run under 52 seconds this season, Burton has run under 52 seconds three other times in his career.
Last Time Out (Big South Championships): This season at the Big South Championships, Burton finished third overall with a time of 52.44 after qualifying second for finals with a time of 52.48 seconds.
#DefendTheTeam x #GoHPU
