High Point University Athletics

Hillary Holmes joined the High Point University track & field staff in July 2022 to coach the high jump and combined events. In her first three years at HPU, there have been Five HPU school records, 16 Big South Conference 1^st place finishes, Six NCAA First-Round Qualifiers, Three NCAA Qualifiers and One NCAA First-Team All-American.

In the 2024 – 2025 season, decathlete Cole Wilson improved his indoor heptathlon marks to 5772, outdoor decathlon mark to 7662, and qualified to the National meet finishing 2^nd team All-American. Alex Constantinou became indoor Big South Conference Champion in the high jump with a mark of 2.18, second best in Indoor Big South Conference History. Decathlete Mauricio Galindo Vega set the Guatemalan National Record in the indoor heptathlon with a score of 5348, placing second at the Big South Championships. Outdoors, Shaun Thomas bettered his high jump best to 2.15. He and Alex Constantinou punched their ticket to the NCAA first round competition. On the women’s side, Ashari Pearson was high jump conference champion indoor and Gianna Paul outdoor champion, marking the third year in a row HPU taking the women’s gold at the indoor and outdoor Big South Championship.

In the 2023-2024 season, Decathlete Cole Wilson became the 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials Champion. He set the outdoor Big South Outdoor Conference meet record and was joined with his teammates who swept the podium indoors and outdoors. Andrew Taylor became the first male indoor HPU track and field athlete to place First-Team All-American securing 8^th place and raised the indoor school record to 2.19m that season. Shaun Thomas tied the outdoor school record with Andrew Taylor (2.14m) placing 1^st in the Big South and Alex Constantinou had a breakthrough improving from 1.91m to 2.10m. Sydney Koker earned her 4^th Big South title, punching her ticket along with Shaun and Andrew to the NCAA First Round Championships. Gianna Paul, the Big South’s Indoor Freshman of the Year, placed 2^nd in the high jump outdoors with a personal best of 1.73. Karlea Duhon set the school record in the heptathlon with 4961 and was the conference champion in the Javelin with 42.59m. The season concluded with HPU Men’s High Jump and Decathlon ranked 5^th and 6^th in USTFCCCA Division 1 Event Squad Rankings.

In the 2022-2023 season, Sydney Koker placed 1st in the Big South with a school record high jump of 1.78m. Kolt Byers and Evan Mills tied their heptathlon personal bests in a competitive 1st and 2nd finish, with HPU men's combined events scoring 35 points total taking 3rd, 4th, and 6th places. Lilly Wolf earned a spot on the podium with 3rd in the women's pentathlon. Outdoors, Mike Henson went 2.06m for 4th and a notable personal best and HPU decathletes placed 2nd through 5th.

Prior to joining the staff at HPU, Holmes coached at Auburn University from 2020-22 where she made contributions to the combined events and jumps. Holmes worked with multiple SEC-scoring and NCAA-qualifying athletes, including US championship 3rd place and 2x NCAA 3^rd place high jumper Dontavious Hill, 3x first-team All-American decathlete Alex Spyridonidis, NCAA qualifier heptathlete Natosha Jordan, and NCAA East Region qualifier in the long jump Janaya Jones. Prior, Holmes coached horizontal jumps at Phillips Exeter Academy in 2018 and was a volunteer horizontal jumps coach at the University of New Hampshire.  

Holmes earned her PhD in Biomechanics from Auburn in 2022. Prior, she completed a Master of Science in Human Performance from the University of Florida in 2017. She is certified in strength and conditioning through the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and has her CSCS through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Holmes has USTFCCCA Technical Coaching, Jumps Specialist and USATF Level 1 certifications. Additionally, Holmes helps instruct the USTFCCCA Strength and Conditioning and Jumps Specialist Certifications.

Holmes graduated from Cornell University in 2016 as team captain. She was a member of the 2013 Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonal Championship team and ranks the No. 3 performer on the Big Red's pentathlon list. 

A native of Exeter, New Hampshire, Holmes is a third-generation coach following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. Outside of coaching, she enjoys exploring the outdoors with her dog, Champ.