BLACKSBURG, Va. – On Friday and Saturday, the High Point University men's and women's track and field teams traveled up to Blacksburg, Virginia to compete at the Doc Hale Invitational hosted by Virginia Tech.
 
"This weekend we probably had two of the best performances ever, both at High Point and even in the Big South," Head Coach Mike Esposito stated. "Bri was pretty special on Friday night, breaking a record that had stood since 2002. Obviously what Ricardo did on Friday night in the pole vault just continues to impress us. I also thought that Sydney on Saturday was jumping at a PR bar that is really coming along at the right time. Camerin Williams had an excellent two-day meet in two off-events for him and he's really ready to run a good 800m next weekend. Alex Hoffman took a massive step forward in the weight throw and he also had a solid day in the shot put. Coach Tamer, Coach Houston, and my entire staff are really getting it done at a very high level. It was a smaller group this weekend, but we got a lot of exceptional results."
 
On Friday, the Panthers broke four High Point records. Ricardo Montes de Oca kicked the session off, breaking his own program record after clearing an impressive 5.60m bar in the men's pole vault. His new record set the HPU, Big South and Venezuelan Indoor National record. Brianna Malone absolutely crushed it in the women's one mile race, breaking the Big South and High Point record by six seconds with her 4:35.62 time. That same time in 2002 won the Indoor National Championship.
 
Adding to the broken records, Alex Hoffman set the HPU record in the men's weight throw after launching the weight 18.16m for a new personal best. Lindsay Cooper took third place in the women's 60m hurdles and set a new program record in the preliminaries with her 8.43 time.
 
Malone later competed in the women's 800m race and clocked a 2:08.81 time for fifth place. In the men's 400m, Tim Brown and Camerin Williams crossed the finish line side by side as Brown recorded a 48.01 time for third place and Williams recorded a season best 48.05 time for fourth place. In the women's 400m, Dae'Nitra Hester placed sixth overall with a 55.55 second time to wrap up the running events on Friday.
 
In the field events on Friday, Gianna Paul jumped a new personal best in the women's long jump, marking 5.78m in the sand for fifth place. On the men's side in the long jump, David Caivano had the highest placement in the long jump finishing ninth for 6.60m.
 
Opening the day on Saturday, Williams went to work on the track and broke another program record, this time in the 500m race. Williams placed third after recording a 1:02.01 time. He now holds HPU records in the 500m, 600m and 800m indoor events.
 
In the field events on Saturday, Hoffman posted another strong performance with a third-place finish in the men's shot put, throwing a season-best 16.12m. Continuing in the men's events, Andrew Taylor and Alex Constantinou placed third and fourth respectively in the high jump, clearing 2.11m and 2.06m. Taylor posted a season best while Constantinou recorded a new personal best. In the triple jump, Mobu Nwakor placed third with a new personal best, 14.71m.
 
In the women's field events on Saturday, Sydney Horn took second place in the pole vault with her 4.48m clearance. Ashari Pearson was the lone Panther to compete in the high jump and placed fourth clearing 1.63m.
 
"Ricardo and Sydney are getting better by the week and their consistency is only going to prove invaluable later on this season.," Coach Scott Houston stated. "They're putting in good, consistent work in training and it's paying off on the runway and in competition. We're looking forward to dialing in our jumping as we move forward into championship season."
 
Across the two days, the men's heptathlon took place as two Panthers competed in the events. Overall, Cole Wilson placed third with 5,571 points while Mauricio Galindo Vega placed sixth with 5,027 points. Wilson posted a personal best in the 60m (7.09 seconds) and the 1000m (2:43.12) for first place. He placed second in the pole vault (4.47m) and third in the long jump (7.03m), shot put (13.52m) and high jump (1.97m). Galindo Vega had his best performance in the shot put (14.41m) for first place.
 
 
UP NEXT:
High Point travels to Lynchburg, Virginia for the 11^th Annual Darius Dixon Invitational and Norfolk, Virginia for the DI Pre-Nationals Meet next weekend, beginning on Friday, February 15.