High Point University athletic director Dan Hauser named Remy Tamer as women's cross country head coach in late August 2016.
In his first season at HPU, Tamer led the women's cross country team to a second-place finish at the Big South Championships and had four runners earn All-Big South honors, including Natalia Ocasio and Cozette Collin, who finished third and fourth, respectively. Tamer then guided Ocasio and Collin to Big South titles in the 3,000m steeplechase and 1,500m, respectively, at the conference outdoor track and field meet.
In 2017, women's cross country ran to its fourth conference title since 2010 and, in the process, tied the record for the largest margin of victory in conference history since 1996. The women’s team repeated as champions in the 2018 and 2019 campaigns. Famke Heinst claimed Big South Cross Country individual titles in 2017, 2018, and 2019. This is en route to claiming back-to-back-to-back Big South Runner of the Year awards 2017-2019 and USTFCCCA All-Southeast Region honors in 2018 and 2019. During this time, 16 other HPU women have earned All-Conference honors in cross country in addition to Heinst.
On the track, Heinst earned back-to-back Big South Runner of the Year recognitions (across all seasons) in 2018 and 2019. On the way, she also claimed the Most Outstanding Performer awards at the 2019 indoor and outdoor conference meets. During Heinst’s freshmen and sophomore years, she captured 10 conference titles between indoor and outdoor seasons. She recorded the multiple event wins in the indoor mile and 3000m, along with titles in the 3000m steeplechase, 1500m, and 5000m during the outdoor seasons. Heinst set Big South Championship records in the 5000m (2018) and the 3000m steeplechase (2019). As a sophomore Heinst reached NCAA East Preliminaries for a second straight year, coming just a single spot shy of a National Championship berth with a school record performance.
In addition to Heinst's 10 conference titles in 2018-19, Panther women claimed 21 more podium spots in Big South distance events and three additional individual titles during this time, accounting for a pair of new HPU program records. Zoe Geis taking conference titles in the 5000m indoors and 10000m outdoors in 2019 and Keaton Case taking the 800m title outdoors in 2019. Case also earned the conference’s Scholar Athlete of the Year honor during the 2018 indoor season.
Lead by Tamer, Zoe Geis is now the most prolific point scorer in HPU Track & Field history scoring a total of 123 points over her four indoor and three outdoor Big South Championships. Along with averaging over 30 points a year for the Panthers, Geis also holds program records in the 10000m (34:53.92) and indoor 5000m (16:47.94). Geis has never finished below 5
th place at any Big South track & field championship and has earned All-Conference honors in cross country four years in a row.
In 2021, Tamer guided the HPU Cross Country team to their fourth straight Big South title with a team score of 29. Famke Heinst won her fourth straight individual title, the first person in Big South history to complete this feat, qualifying her for the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Freshmen Ashley Jones was the top Freshman finisher in the race as she placed ninth earning Big South Freshman of the Year honors. Heinst went on to compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championships as the first female Panther since 2004 and the second in program history.
Tamer closed out the 2021 outdoor season with a trip to the NCAA East Preliminary Championships with Famke Heinst and Zoe Geis as they competed in the 3000 m Steeplechase. Heinst finished in 29th place overall recording a time of 10:32.17. Her senior campaign consisted of a Big-South Cross Country title, Big South Individual titles in the 5000 m and the 1500 m, while also competing in the NCAA Cross Country National title and the NCAA East Preliminary in the same season. Geis finished in 22nd place overall recording a time of 10:22.61. Geis closed out her career as reigning Big South Most Valuable Athlete.
Tamer led the women's distance team to their fifth straight cross country title in the fall of 2021. Lindsey Ickes was the top finisher for HPU as she finished in fourth with a time of 17:56. Sydney Bagus, Camryn Harper, and Olive Allen all played big roles in the team score of 50. The team then went on to compete in the NCAA Southeast regional placing 16th with a team score of 449. Lindsey Ickes was the top finisher for the Panthers with a time of 21:24.09.
He guided the Panthers to a second place finish in the 2022 Indoor Track and Field Championships in which the distance team played a big role in gaining points for the Panthers. Hannah Brookover was named Big South Most Valuable Athlete as she finished second in the mile, first in the 3000 m, and first in the 5000 m. Olive Allen recorded a third place finish in the mile, while Sydney Bagus and Franzi Jakobs recorded fourth and sixth place to claim four of the top six finishes.
In the 2022 Outdoor season he guided the Panther women to a first place finish in the Big South Championships. Hannah Brookover and and Olive Allen claimed second and third place respectively in the 1500m. The Panthers also swept the podium in the 5000 m, led by Ashley Jones who finished with a time of 16:34.24, a facility and meet record. Hannah Brookover and Lindsey Ickes helped round out the podium sweep.
During Tamer’s time at HPU, the women distance athletes are responsible for seven school records and 23 top-10 all time performances.
Tamer Era - Women's Cross Country (2016-2023)
7 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21*, 2021, 2022, 2023)
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Big South Women's Cross Country Championships |
5 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023)
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Big South Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year |
7 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21*, 2021, 2022, 2023)
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Regional Appearances as a team |
Tamer joined the HPU staff after spending two years at Florida State University as first a volunteer and then part time coach. There, he helped mentor a number of All-ACC selections and NCAA qualifiers.
During Tamer's time in Tallahassee, women's cross country runners garnered four All-ACC selections and nine USTFCCCA all-region accolades. Cross country standout Carmela Cardama Baez was both an all-ACC and USTFCCCA All-Region selection.
On the track, Chelsea Jarvis earned second team indoor All-America honors at the NCAA Championship (800m), while the women's distance medley relay raced to a second place ACC showing in 2016, just missing NCAA qualification by two positions.
Bridget Blake earned second team All-ACC honors in the mile run (indoor), then tallied a runner up finish in the 3000m steeplechase outdoors while qualifying for the NCAA Championship in the event. Blake also finished sixth in the outdoor 1500m and garnered All-ACC accolades.
On the strength of the Seminoles' distance squad, Florida State captured the 2016 ACC Outdoor Championship.
While in Tallahassee, Tamer also attended Florida State University earning a masters degree in Sport Psychology. During that time, he was an assistant cross country and track coach at the Maclay School where he helped the lady Marauders win the 2013 Florida 1A Track & Field Championship and the boys to a repeat runner-up finish at the 2012 and 2013 Florida 1A Cross Country Championships. During this time Maclay produced four individual state champions and two state champion relay teams.
Tamer also worked for a professional track & field results company and served as a sport psychology consultant to athletes and teams in the Tallahassee area ranging from youth sports to NCAA programs.
Tamer was a two-time Academic All-American at UNC Wilmington, where he also won the Seahawks' cross country Rookie of the Year Award in 2007 and is a part of the school record 4x800m relay time that still stands today.
He graduated from UNC Wilmington in 2011 with a degree in psychology and earned his master's degree from Florida State in sport psychology in 2014.
Tamer also has worked as a resident intern at ZAP Fitness in Blowing Rock, N.C., a professional running club that features a strong alumni base.
He is a USTFCCCA Level 2 certified track & field coach and has earned his USATF Level 1 coaching certification.
