Blacksburg, Va. – The High Point men's and women's track and field teams celebrated Saturday evening sweeping both the men's and women's Big South Indoor Championship titles. The Panthers repeat as back-to-back champions after securing 219 points for the men and 191.33 points for the women.
"Excellent team win on both sides," Head Coach
Mike Esposito commented. "Every event group contributed and as we always say, every point counts. On the women's side in particular, we had a lot of winners and a lot of people up and down the lineup, as they like to say, contributed. I have a great staff and that is why we are able to be consistently good. We are certainly excited about what Sydney did today. That's big time and it really sets the stage well as she gets ready for the National Championships in Boston in two weeks. I want to thank all of our support staff who were out there today and all of our kids' parents. We kinda took over Rector Field house and I think Virginia Tech created a really neat environment for us. We are looking forward to a little down time and getting ready for a really special outdoor season."
On Friday, the meet kicked off with the field events. Securing the first Big South Champion title was
Maxwell Robinson from the men's pole vault team. He cleared 5.03m to set a new personal best height.
The men's pole vault team swept the podium with spots 1-4.
Jake Morgan finished second with a personal best height of 4.93m.
Adam Craig and
Reid Holloway placed third and fourth respectively both clearing a height of 4.73m.
High Point won both men's and women's shot-put events, crowning
Letizia Jessica Marsico and
Chris Van Neikerk as the Champions. Marsico took home first place for the first time at the Indoor Big South Championships.
Rounding out the night on Friday,
Sydney Koker was crowned the women's high jump champion after clearing 1.70m.
Saturday was an outstanding day for the Panthers as 10 student-athletes were crowned champions in their respective events.
Kicking off the day,
Andrew Taylor won the men's high jump with a height of 2.15m. Joining him on the podium was freshman
Shaun Thomas in second place with a new personal best height of 2.12m.
Winning the one-mile race in the men's and women's races were
Brianna Malone and
Jason Thomson. Malone had an outstanding comeback to take first place in the final stretch with a time of 4:58.27. Thomson ran a personal best 4:05.69.
Sweeping the men's heptathlon competition,
Cole Wilson walked away with first place after registering 5,360 points.
Kolt Biers (4,848 pts) and
Evan Mills (4,656 pts) joined Wilson on the podium in second and third place respectively.
Lindsay Cooper picked up where she left off from the last meet and crushed the women's 60m hurdles for another first place finish and Big South title. She recorded a time of 8.55.
In the men's 60m dash,
A'lajuwan Robinson recorded a 6.73 to earn a first-place title.
After breaking a school record in the women's 200m prelims (24.45) to qualify for the finals,
Dae'Nitra Hester topped that breaking her own record on Saturday with a time of 24.41 to be awarded the Big South Champion.
High Point secured both titles in the men's and women's 800m races.
Nikki Frail represented the women with a time of 2:12.56 and
Graham Ferguson represented the men with a time of 1:53.04. Joining Ferguson on the podium was
Reilly Mazzetti in second place with a time of 1:53.82.
The women's pole vault team closed out the day and helped the Panther women to the 2024 title after contributing 36 points.
Sydney Horn was crowned the women's pole vault champion, collecting her three straight indoor title. She cleared a personal best height of 4.51m. The Panthers secured spots 1-6 with
Rachel Vesper and
Auriane Viola earning second and third place respectively on the podium.
Big South Indoor Championship Post-Season Awards
Men's Most Outstanding Performer
Chris Van Niekerk, High Point
Men's Most Valuable Athlete
Graham Ferguson, High Point
Men's Indoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year
Carl Murray IV, Charleston Southern
Men's Indoor Track & Field Newcomer of the Year
A'lajuwan Robinson, High Point
Men's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year
Mike Esposito, High Point
Women's Most Outstanding Performer
Sydney Horn, High Point
Women's Most Valuable Athlete
Chloe Greene, Charleston Southern
Women's Indoor Track & Field Newcomer of the Year
Alison Graf, UNC Asheville
Women's Indoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year
Gianna Paul, High Point
Women's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year
Soyini Thompson, Charleston Southern
2023-24 Men's Indoor Track & Field All-Academic Team
Michael Calhoun, Charleston Southern, R-Jr.
Quentin Peterson, Gardner-Webb, Soph.
Graham Ferguson, High Point, Jr.
Zac Weas, UNC Asheville, Sr.
Jared Keklak, USC Upstate, Gr.
Jurnii Lucas, Winthrop, Soph.
Men's Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Graham Ferguson, High Point, Jr.
2023-24 Women's Indoor Track & Field All-Academic Team
Chloe Greene, Charleston Southern, Jr.
Alena Ivanov, Gardner-Webb, Jr.
Letizia Marsico, High Point, Sr.
Kandace McIvor, Radford, Soph.
Bree Moore, UNC Asheville, Sr.
Sierra St. John, USC Upstate, Jr.
Monay James, Winthrop, Gr.
Women's Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Chloe Greene, Charleston Southern, Jr.
UP NEXT:
High Point will look to prepare for the 2024 outdoor season beginning March 15-16 at the 49er Classic. In the meantime,
Sydney Horn will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships March 8-9 in Boston, Massachusetts.
#GoHPU
