HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women's track & field team has announced that six student-athletes will join the Panthers for the 2014-15 campaign.
 
The group of incoming freshmen includes hurdlers Mikaela Campbell, Haley Cianfarini, Ashlynn Schiro and CeAnna Soper, long jump specialist Kela Seals and thrower Mackenzie Vermette.
 
Campbell, a native of Marrero, La., earned all-state, all-metro and all-district honors at the Academy of the Sacred Heart during her high school career. A two-time regional and district MVP selection, Campbell was the state indoor and outdoor runner-up in the 100m hurdles as a senior while helping lead her team to a second-place finish at the state championship. She holds the school record in the 55m dash, 100m dash, 100m hurdles and 400m dash.
 
Campbell holds personals best of 14.77 seconds in the 100m hurdles and 12.50 in the 100m dash.
 
Cianfarini hails from Hampstead, Md. and attended North Carroll High School where she won state titles in the 55m and 100m hurdles in 2014. A four-time all-conference selection, Cianfarini earned Baltimore Sun All-Metro accolades as a senior while posting the seventh-best 100m hurdles time in the state across all classifications.
 
She holds personal bests of 8.61 seconds in the 55m hurdles and 14.64 in the 100m hurdles. Both marks are North Carroll school records.
 
Schiro enjoyed a strong career at Okemos High School in Okemos, Mich., where she won the 300m hurdles state title in 2014 and earned all-state accolades in the 100m hurdles. A nine-time all-conference selection, Schiro was named the Lansing State Journal Athlete of the Year as a junior and senior and was selected to the newspaper's Dream Team in the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles and long jump.
 
Schiro owns personal bests of 14.51 in the 100m hurdles, 43.09 seconds in the 300m hurdles and 17'10" in the long jump.
 
Soper, a Hartland, Wis., native, recently wrapped up an outstanding career at Arrowhead High School where she garnered all-state honors as a senior in the 300m hurdles.  Her school-record time of 44.81 seconds in the event is a top-25 all-time mark in Wisconsin state history. A 15-time all-conference selection during her high school career and a two-time state qualifier, Soper was invited to the Wisconsin All-Star Senior Spotlight track meet in 2014.
 
In addition to her school-record time in the 300m hurdles, Soper also owns the Arrowhead school record in the 100m hurdles.
 
"I'm really excited about our incoming group of hurdlers," assistant coach Amber Larsen said. "By all indications so far, Mikaela, Haley, Ashlynn and CeAnna are a motivated group that is willing to put in the work to do great things.  All four showed tremendous improvement during their senior years of high school and we plan on carrying that momentum into their freshman seasons at HPU.  Their versatility will allow us to cover several different events and will make our relays stronger."
 
"It will be beneficial for Lilla Lorand to have a strong training group and she will provide valuable leadership to this young group."
 
Seals is a native of Beltsville, Md., and competed at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va. She earned Virginia High School League (VAHSL) all-state and all-district honors as a senior and finished second in the long jump at the 2014 USATF Indoor Nationals with a mark of 17'2^3/4".
 
She owns a personal-best mark of 17'11^3/4" in the javelin.
 
"Kela improved during her senior season, and I love seeing that with our incoming freshmen," Larsen said. "She will add depth to our jumps squad and I expect her to have an immediate impact at the conference level.  She is an athlete who I believe has the potential to develop and grow her freshman year and beyond."
 
Vermette attended Enrico Fermi High School in Enfield, Conn., where she garnered all-state honors during the 2014 outdoor season. A two-time all-area and three-time all-conference selection, Vermette finished third in the shot put and fourth in the javelin during the 2014 Connecticut Class MM Championships while leading her team to a sixth-place state finish. She also won the javelin title at the CCC East Championships in May.
 
Vermette owns personal bests of 113'4" in the javelin and 34'3" in the shot put.
 
"Mackenzie will be expected to continue our tradition of excellence in the javelin," associate head coach Eric Dudley said. "She's bright and competitive, and will have a great mentor in Chrissy Rickert."
 
The group of six incoming student-athletes joins distance freshmen Lona Williams and Kelly Hayes in the 2014 women's track class.
 
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