LOCAL ROUNDUP: HPU announces changes to track, cross country staff

HIGH POINT – High Point University has announced changes in its track and field and cross country programs following the retirement of longtime coach Mike Esposito.

Remy Tamer has been named the Director of Track & Field/Cross Country. He has been the women’s cross country coach since 2016, winning nine straight conference titles and earning seven straight Big South Coach of the Year honors.

Dr. Scott Hall becomes the program’s first-ever general manager. He will oversee the administrative duties for the programs.

Shamoya Pruitt has been promoted to associate head coach, focusing on sprints hurdles and horizontal jumps, while Collin Post has been promoted to associate head coach, focusing on throws.

Anne Akagi-Koons and Zach Ferrara have been hired as assistant coaches.

Akagi-Koons will coach women’s distance after spending last year at Radford. She graduated from Charleston Southern in 2024 after setting school records in the 800 and 1,500 meters.

Ferrara will coach pole vault coach after seven seasons at Nazareth. He was Niagara Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2024 and coached multiple NCAA qualifiers and conference champions.

Hillary Holmes returns for her fifth season as an assistant coach, while former All-American Cole Wilson joins the staff as director of operations/assistant coach.

HPU PLACES OVER 300 ON BIG SOUTH HONOR ROLL

CHARLOTTE – High Point University placed 309 student-athletes on this year’s Big South Conference Presidential Honor Roll.

The Panthers had 84.66% of their 365 eligible student-athletes earn the academic honor, ranking third among Big South institutions behind Longwood (85.77%) and Radford (85.04%). The conference average was 77.49%.

The Big South recognized 2,320 of 2,994 eligible student-athletes on the Presidential Honor Roll, which requires a 3.0 GPA or better for the school year.

Conference-wide, a record 294 student-athletes earned the Commissioner’s Award for a perfect 4.0 GPA. Another 703 received Gold Awards (3.75-3.99 GPA) and 560 earned Silver Awards (3.50-3.74 GPA), giving the league 1,557 student-athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA.

High Point produced 32 Commissioner’s Award recipients, recognizing student-athletes who maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2025-26 academic year.

HPU EARNS IWLCA ACADEMIC HONORS

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – The High Point University women’s lacrosse team has been named an Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Honor Squad for the 12th year in a row while nine Panthers were tabbed to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll.

HPU was represented by graduate student Caitlyn Baehr; seniors Reese Dowgiallo, Rachelle Gauthier and Sydney Martin; and juniors Sarah Johnson, Ella McKay and Eva Thorn.

These Panthers were among 1,212 student-athletes honored who posted a 3.50 GPA and were a junior, senior or graduate student across 122 different institutions.

It was the third straight IWLCA Academic Honor Roll submission for Baehr, while it’s the second in a row for Dowgiallo, Gauthier and Martin and the first for Johnson, McKay and Thorn.

As a team, the Panthers were one of 357 schools across all divisions to post a 3.2 GPA or higher.

ROCKERS LOSE AT LEXINGTON

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The High Point Rockers lost 8-3 against the Lexington Legends in Atlantic League baseball Thursday at Lexington’s CommonSpirit Ballpark.

Ryan McCarthy, who had two hits, and Alex Dickerson each homered for the Rockers (39-42 overall, 10-8 second half), who led 2-0 in the first but fell behind 8-2 in the sixth. Ty Hubbard, who doubled, also had two hits.

Nic Laio took the pitching loss, striking out six in seven innings.

High Point, which dipped into a second-place tie with Southern Maryland behind Lexington atop the South Division’s second-half standings, will continue its six-game series at Lexington through Sunday.

The Rockers will host Charleston for a six-game set next week.