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.