High Point University Women's Track

Esposito's tutelage, the men's cross country program has put together its best three-year stretch in the school's Div. I history. HPU won the Big South Championship title in 2014, its first since 2004, in convincing fashion. The Panthers bested second-place Liberty by 25 points and were represented by a program-record six all-conference selections. In 2014, the Panthers also finished seventh at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship, tying the program's best-ever finish in regional action. The Panthers have claimed the individual Big South title in each of the past three seasons, with HPU runners Jacob Smith (2012), Patrick Crawford (2013) and Jeff LaCoste all claiming conference titles. Since Esposito took over the program, 24 Panthers have earned all-Big South men's cross country accolades. He is a three-time Big South Coach of the Year and has earned the accolade in for men's cross country (2014), indoor track & field (2012) and women's cross country (2011). In 2011, the HPU women's cross country team won its first-ever Big South Championship while the men's team placed second for the fifth year in a row. The HPU women's team placed all five of its scorers in the top 10 at the 2011 Big South Cross Country Championship, knocking off two-time defending champion Liberty. HPU also won the women's cross country title in 2014, led by a pair of all-conference selections. On the track, High Point's men's team had four competitors all underclassmen finish in the top 20 at the NCAA Preliminary in 2012. That included Jacob Smith, who qualified for the NCAA Final in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Smith is one of three NCAA steeplechase qualifiers for the Panthers over the past four years, joining Dakota Peachee (2013) and Jacob Smith. Both Smith and Peachee earned All-America accolades, with Peachee claiming first-team honors and Smith garnering second-team honors for their steeple performances in Eugene. Javelin standout Christine Rickert has qualified for NCAA Preliminary action in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and finished 14th in 2015, missing NCAA Championship qualification by just two spots. In track & field, HPU student-athletes have earned 58 Big South titles, including 37 on the men's side and 21 on the women's. HPU records have been set in 28 events on the women's side and 22 events on the men's side since 2006. In 2012, sophomore sprinter Evan Emery set three HPU records, including the 100-meter dash (10.31) and 200-meter (20.87). Smith set High Point records in the outdoor 3,000-meter (8:13.87) and steeplechase (8:47.09) while sophomore Tristan Faure set records in the heptathlon (4,956) and decathlon (6,633). Women's hurdler Manika Gamble set eight High Point records during her career from 2008-12, including the Big South record in the 400-meter hurdles (58.56). In Esposito's first seven seasons as head coach, High Point never finished lower than third in the Big South Championship in men's cross country, and HPU runners earned 16 All-Big South honors. In women's cross country, HPU runners earned All-Big South honors 13 times over the past seven seasons. Three of Esposito's former HPU runners have gone on to the professional ranks: Cole Atkins is running for ZAP Fitness and Tamas Kovacs is a professional marathoner in Hungary. Both Cherry and Atkins will participate in Olympic Trials competition in 2016 in the hopes of qualfiying for the Rio games. Esposito's squads also perform well off the track, as HPU has posted a perfect APR score of 1000 in women's cross country and track & field, earning the program NCAA Public Recognition honors in 2015. In addition, the men's cross country and track & field programs registered perfect single-year scores of 1000 in 2013-14 and have a strong-four year average score of 987. The Punxsutawney, Pa., native came to High Point following 19-years as the head coach at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, N.C. At Mount Tabor, Esposito coached four national champions, four national runners-up, three Footlocker finalists, over 52 individual and relay state champions, and 11 state champion teams. Esposito was honored for his success on the track by having been named Conference Coach of the Year 22 times and N.C. Coach of the Year eight times. Mount Tabor's men's cross country teams went undefeated from 1994 until Esposito's final season of 2005, and the women's team was nationally ranked in 2000 and 2001. Esposito served as the co-director of the North Carolina Indoor and Outdoor Track Championships on numerous occasions and was the director for the state cross country meet from 2002-04. Esposito, a graduate of Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., played basketball for the Titans before joining the cross country and track teams. He was named most valuable runner in 1979 and 1980.Mike Esposito

Hall brings four decades of elite track & field experience to the HPU program and an impressive student-athlete alumni list that includes 150+ NCAA Championship qualifiers, 97 NCAA All-Americans, 80+ conference champions, 16 NCAA Champions and six Olympians.   "Scott's extensive experience at all levels of track & field will be a fantastic asset for our program," Esposito said. "He's a very high character person and he will make an incredible impact with our student-athletes. We are excited to have Scott on board."   Recognized as one of the top combined events coaches in the United States, Hall served as Chair for Combined Events on the USATF Olympic Development Committee from 1999-2012. He has also been named to seven Team USA international coaching staffs as either a coach or manager.  In 2012, Hall served as Coach of the Liberian Olympic team for the London Games.   Under his direction, athletes have earned berths on more than twenty US national teams and six of those athletes have also gone on to compete in the IAAF World Championships, Pan American Games or the Olympic Games.   In the collegiate ranks, Hall's most recent coaching stints have included stops at Wake Forest (2003-12), North Carolina A&T and Salisbury (2013-15).   At Wake Forest, Hall mentored 11 ACC individual champions, eight All-Americans and one NCAA individual champion. He garnered USTFCCCA Div. I National and East Region Men's Sprints/Hurdles Coach of the Year honors in 2006 as a member of the Demon Deacon Staff.   In his most recent stint at Salisbury, Hall worked with 12 All-Americans, six NCAA Div. III individual champions and two Div. III Athletes of the Year.  He was part of the 2014 & 2015 Capital Athletic Conference Indoor & Outdoor Coaching Staffs of the Year and the 2014 Capital Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year.   Prior to his time in the Tar Heel State, Hall spent close to two decades as the director of men's & women's track & field and cross country at Northern Colorado University (1986-2003), a perennial top-20 program. A two-time North Central Conference Track & Field Coach of the Year, Hall also garnered NCC Cross Country Coach of the Year accolades in 2000. He also was named the NCAA II North Central Region Women's Cross Country and Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2000.   While in Greeley, Hall also taught as an assistant professor of kinesiology at Northern Colorado.   Hall served as an assistant track & field coach at Idaho State in 1982-85 and also worked as head coach of the Pocatello Track Club while at ISU from 1983-85.   Hall graduated from St. Lawrence University in 1980 with a degree in physical education. He earned his M.P.E. in athletic administration from Idaho State in 1981 and completed his doctorate in mechanical kinesiology at Northern Colorado in 1993.Scott Hall

Thiesfeld works with HPU student-athletes in the 100-meter through 800-meter dashes. During his time with the Panthers, Thiesfeld has mentored a number of conference champions and NCAA Championship qualifiers. In 2015-16, Thiesfield led the Panthers to a number of strong finishes. James House put together an outstanding indoor season, setting new school records in the 60m (6.82) and 200m (21.98). The superb sophomore also won the Big South 60m indoor title to claim his second league crown in as many seasons. Senior Paul O'Donoghue capped an outstanding career, setting a new school record in the 1000m run (2:26.81) while earning a trio of all-conference accolades. The three Big South honors raised his career all-conference selections to an impressive 12 in four years. In addition to that duo, Thiesfield coached the men's 4x400m relay team to a Big South runner-up finish during the indoor campaign and led the outdoor 4x100m squad to a third-place podium finish at the league meet. In 2014-15, Thiesfeld led a duo of Panthers to Big South titles. He played a key role in the development of breakout  House, who was a three-time all-conference selection and won the 100m dash title at the Big South Outdoor Championships in May. He also earned all-conference accolades during the indoor season in the 60m dash and 200m dash. House advanced to NCAA Preliminary action in the 100m and represented High Point at the USA Track & Field Junior Championships in Eugene, Ore. House finished the NCAA season with the 18th best time Div. I time for freshmen in the 100m dash. In addition to House, junior Paul O'Donoghue won the Big South 800m outdoor crown, while Andrew Kuras earned all-conference honors in the indoor 200m dash in 2014-15 on the sprints circuit. Other Big South champions mentored by Thiesfeld include sprints standout Evan Emery, who won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes at the Big South Outdoor Championship and was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer in 2013. In 2014, Emory broke the 60m indoor HPU (6.83) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship in the 100m dash. In addition, Thiesfeld was instrumental in the development of two-time Big South 800m champion Eddie Whitlock and mid-distance standout Paul O'Donoghue, who won the Big South 800m outdoor title and was the runner up at Big South Indoors at the event. In 2014, O'Donoghue finished third in the 1500m at the 2014 Big South Outdoor Championships. In addition to those outstanding individual performances, both the men's and women's 4x400m relay teams have broken the HPU school record during Thiesfeld's tenure with the program.   Thiesfeld came to HPU from Wichita State, where he served on the Shockers' coaching staff for two seasons while completing his masters degree in sports management. He worked with the WSU sprinters and hurdlers, helping two Shockers, Audacia Moore and Todd McKown to MVC Championships. Thiesfeld also assisted with the cross country program. During his time in the Sunflower State, Thiesfeld coached more than 20 Missouri Valley Conference individual champions and All-America selections.   As a student-athlete at Wichita State, Thiesfeld was a four-time All-MVC sprinter and captured three individual conference championships in sprinting events. He was part of the 2007 indoor DMR relay, as well as the 2010 indoor and outdoor 4x400 relay teams. As a senior in 2010, Thiesfeld won the 400-meter at the indoor championship.   Thiesfeld graduated with a bachelors degree in criminal justice with a minor in sociology from Wichita State in December 2009. He also earned a masters sport management from Wichita State in December 2011. He is a USATF Level 1 and 2 certified coach and is USTFCCCA Track and Field Academy Strength and Conditioning certified. A native of Gardner, Kan., Thiesfeld resides in High Point.  Nate Thiesfeld

Houston Assistant Coach Alma Mater: North Carolina '12 First season at HPU: 2015 Scott Houston was named to the High Point University track & field staff in September 2015. Houston comes to HPU after serving as a volunteer assistant at Indiana University from 2013-15 while pursuing a post-collegiate pole vault career. The Oak Ridge, N.C., native is an accomplished vaulter that starred at both the University of North Carolina and Indiana.   He finished fourth at the USA Indoor Championships in 2015 and aims to make the U.S. roster for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.   "Scott brings elite competing experience to our staff," Esposito said. "He has a lot of enthusiasm and his youthful energy is infectious. He has a passion for vaulting and is excited about the emphasis we place on it here at High Point. Our student-athletes will benefit greatly from his mentorship and expertise."   While serving as a volunteer assistant at Indiana, Houston helped mentor  Terry Batemon to an outdoor Big Ten Championship in 2015, and an NCAA berth. Sophie Gutermuth was a runner up at both indoor and outdoor Big Ten championships in 2015 while setting an NCAA indoor qualifying mark and new indoor school record of 4.35m.   Houston also worked with multi-event student-athletes at IU and led two Hoosiers to All-America honors in the heptathlon at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships.   In 2014, Houston also mentored the women's vault trio of Kelsie Ahbe, Sophie Gutermuth, and Sydney Clute to a first, second, and fourth place finish at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Ahbe and Clute went on to become NCAA All-Americans during the outdoor season, with Ahbe setting a school record at 4.40m, escalating herself to the NCAA runner up finish.   As a student-athlete at Indiana, Houston was an NCAA Championship outdoor qualifier and won the Big Ten Indoor title in 2013. At North Carolina, Houston finished third in the vault at the 2009 ACC Outdoor Championships and still holds the fifth-best vault mark all-time at Chapel Hill.   In his post-collegiate career, Houston has posted personal best vaults of 5.51m in indoor competition and 5.63 in outdoor action. He has qualified for the United States Indoor and Outdoor Championships and recently won the prestigious Brit's Pub Vault in Minneapolis on Sept. 5 with a victorious vault of 5.63m (18-5.5).   Houston also still holds the indoor and outdoor North Carolina high school pole vault records.

Wrieden joined the Panthers in 2010 after working at Queens University of Charlotte, Arizona State and Appalachian State. Under Wriedens tutelage, the Panthers have won back-to-back Big South cross country titles (2014, 2015) and garnered six all-conference nominations during that span.  Wrieden and the Panthers have carried the championship momentum into track & field season, where HPU has reached new heights over the past two seasons. In 2015, the Purple & White swept the podium in the 3000m steeplechase at the Big South Outdoor Championship held at Vert Stadium. Ocasio won her first Big South individual title to lead the way. Then, in 2016, Ocasio repeated, becoming the only runner in league history to win back-to-back steeplechase titles. She also set a new school record in the event at the Virginia Challenge (10:29.27) and advanced to the NCAA preliminary round for the first time in her career. In addition, Cozette Collin broke out in a big way at the Big South Championship in 2016. Collin won the 1500m run in a meet record time of 4:27 while also garnering all-conference honors in the 5000m run. Collin finished fourth in the 800-meter in a PR of 2:11. Collin and Ocasio helped the Panthers set a new school record for points in a Big South meet (120.5), marking the first time since 2003 HPU broke the 100-point plateau. The Panthers scored in each distance event at the meet. Two of Wriedens distance runners have set new HPU school records over the past two years.  Leah Anne Wirfel broke a pair of HPU top times in 2014-15 (Indoor 5000m, 17:25.44; Outdoor 5000m, 17:06.27), while Ocasio broke the steeple record in 2014-15 (10:36.64), then topped her own time in 2015-16 (10:29.27). Earlier in her High Point career, Wrieden played an instrumental role in HPUs 2011 cross country title, when the team placed an impressive five runners in the top 10 to win the title. The Panthers totaled just 33 points, 23 ahead of two-time defending champ Liberty. Sophomores Kayleigh Perry and Audrey Malloy finished third and fifth, respectively, to lead five all-conference selections. Perry also captured all-conference honors in 2012 and 2013 while Kelsey Hunt garnered the accolade in 2012. Wriedens program also has excelled in the classroom during her six years with the Purple & White. Womens cross country and womens track & field earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards in 2015, which are given to NCAA athletics programs that post a single-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) that rank in the top 10 percent of their sports. The Panthers garnered that recognition again in 2016. Both programs led the Big South in APR scores in 2015 and 2016 and posted a perfect four-year score in each campaign. HPU womens track & field also has garnered All-Academic Team USTFCCCA honors on multiple occasions during Wriedens career. In addition to her work with HPUs outstanding student-athletes, Wrieden also has helped coordinate the programs renowned VertKlasse Meeting each April. In 2015, the meet was the largest home event on campus and included the largest alumni reunion in track and field history. Before coming to HPU, Wrieden served as assistant coach at Queens University, helping guide the women's cross country team to its first-ever Div. II NCAA Championship appearance and the men's cross country team to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championship in 2009. She contributed to the coaching of 10 All-American performances, including NCAA champions Tanya Zeferjahn (10,000-meter) and Michael Crouch (5,000-meter). Wrieden also had recruiting responsibilities and coached multiple event groups. Prior to Queens, Wrieden spent a year as graduate assistant coach at her alma mater, Arizona State. One of the top track & field programs in the country, Arizona State's men's and women's teams both placed fifth at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championship and the women placed third and the men placed eighth at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championship. Wrieden worked with individual student-athletes, developed strength training drills and routines and provided nutritional education. She also assisted in organizational and administrative areas. As a student-athlete, Wrieden competed for a Sun Devils cross country squad that placed 14th at the NCAA Championship in 2003. Arizona State was runner-up at the Pac-10 Championship all four years that Wrieden was there. In track & field, Wrieden competed three seasons and ran in the Pac-10 Championship twice. She earned six Pac-10 academic awards. Wrieden attended graduate school at Appalachian State, competing for the Mountaineers during the 2006-07 season before serving as assistant coach in 2007-08. In cross country, Wrieden posted an All-Region finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional in 2006 and was runner-up at the Southern Conference Championship. She posted times that ranked in the top-five all-time in the indoor 3,000 and 5,000-meter and the outdoor 5,000-meter and steeplechase at Appalachian State. Wrieden was assistant coach of the highly-successful men's and women's programs at Appalachian State in 2007-08. She also interned with the elite training program ZAP Fitness in 2006 and 2007. HPU graduates Jesse Cherry and Cole Atkins both trained as professional runners at ZAP Fitness. Wrieden earned her bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from Arizona State in 2006 and earned her master's degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in strength and conditioning from Appalachian State in 2008. She is certified as a USATF Level 1 Coach and also is USTFCCCA Track and Field Academy Strength and Conditioning certified.Jenna Wrieden