Six Panthers Earn CSC All-District Recognition

HIGHLIGHT, NC The College Sport Communicators announced the 2024 Academic All-District Men's and Women's Track & Field teams. CSC recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined achievements on the track, field and in the classroom. Six members of the Track & Field Teams were named to the All-District team on Tuesday, June 18^eincluded Sydney Horn, Aurian Viola, Lindsay KuiperChris Van Viekerk, Reid Holloway And Cole Wilson.

A student-athlete at the undergraduate level must:at least a cumulative grade point average of 3.50(on a 4.0 scale). A graduating student-athlete must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) as both an undergraduate and graduate student, unless they are in their first semester as a graduate student and do not have an established graduate GPA. Eligible nominees will be based onTFRRSranking of achievements at the time of nomination. Please note: ONLY INDIVIDUAL TOP 50 ACHIEVEMENTS MAY BE USED FOR ELIGIBILITY.

Academic All-District honorees were eligible for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America pageant.Sydney Horn, Chris Van Niekerk And Reid Holloway waiting for the All-America ballot to be voted on.

Horn made her fourth appearance at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in early March and placed third overall for her second-highest Indoor Championships finish. She cleared 4.45m and earned her seventh consecutive All-American honor since joining the Panthers as a freshman. At the Big South Indoor Track and Field Championships, she cleared a new personal best of 4.51m to break the HPU program and Big South records and take first place.

Viola joined the Panthers in the fall of 2023 and competed in eight indoor meets and 11 outdoor meets. She earned a podium spot at both the Big South Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the pole vault, placing third indoors with a clearance of 13.5 ft (4.14 m) and first outdoors with a clearance of 13.5 ft (4.15 m). She made the NCAA East Regional, clearing a personal best of 13.6 ft (4.20 m) to finish 17th.

Cooper competed in seven indoor meets and 12 outdoor meets this season. She was crowned Big South 100-meter hurdles champion with a time of 12.09 and the 400-meter hurdles champion with a time of 59.15. During the outdoor season, she set new personal records at the Wake Forest Invitational in the 100-meter hurdles (13.64) and 400-meter hurdles (58.41). Her 400-meter hurdles time earned her a ticket to the NCAA Eat First Round in late May.

Van Niekerk was named Big South Field Athlete of the Year following the 2023-24 season. He claimed Second-Team All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships after his 18.82 shot put performance, making him High Point’s first-ever All-American in men’s track and field and the Big South’s first All-America in the shot put since 2013. He punched his ticket to the national meet with a ninth-place finish at the NCAA East First Round with a Big South and school-record throw of 19.12 m. Van Niekerk was the Big South Outdoor Champion in the shot put and discus, becoming the first male student-athlete in Big South history with three individual titles in both events, winning the shot put with a Championship meet record of 18.77 m.

During the outdoor season, he won the shot put five times and had two wins in the discus. Van Niekerk became the Big South Indoor champion in the shot put with a record 18.63 meters. This was his third career gold medal in the event and one of four wins this season. He also ran a season record 16.89 meters in the weight throw at the Conference Championship. He earned points for his fourth place.

Holloway represented the men's pole vault, competing in 17 events between the indoor and outdoor seasons. At the Big South Indoor Championships, he placed third with a clearance of 4.78 m (16 ft 11 in) and at the Big South Outdoor Championships, he took first place with a jump of 5.15 m (17 ft 11 in). His personal best clearance of 5.23 m (17 ft 11 in) at the Charlotte Invitational helped him qualify for the NCAA East First Round, where he cleared 5.22 m (17 ft 11 in) to finish 24th.

Wilson joined HPU in the fall of 2023 and competed in five events during the indoor season, including the heptathlon in two of the events. He was crowned Big South Heptathlon Champion after earning 5,360 points with personal bests in the 60m (7.17) and 60m hurdles (8.49). He placed first in every event except the 1000m. During the outdoor season, he competed in seven events, representing HPU in the decathlon at the Bryan Clay Invitational and Big South Outdoor Championships. He first broke the program record at the Bryan Clay Invitational with 7,431 points, but later broke his own record at the Big South Outdoor Championships with 7,466 points and a Big South Individual Title. He finished first in seven events and second in the remaining three, while setting new personal bests in the 100 meters (10.84), 400 meters (50.07), javelin (53.48 meters) and the 1500 meters (4:45.62).

#GoHPU x #DefendTheTeam