High Point University Athletics

Hillary Holmes joined the High Point University track & field staff in July 2022 to coach the high jump and combined events. In her first four years at HPU, there have been five HPU school records broken, 21 Big South Conference 1st place finishes, eight NCAA First-Round Qualifiers, five NCAA Qualifiers and an NCAA First-Team All-American.

In the 2025-2026 season, Cole Wilson secured Big South All-Time records in the heptathlon (5,815 points) and decathlon (7,855 points) and placed 9th in the nation at the NCAA outdoor championship. Mya Hines also secured a qualification at the NCAA Championship by jumping an outdoor school record of 1.79, and earlier in the season set the school record in the heptathlon with a score of 5,144. Shaun Thomas also competed at the First-Round NCAA Championships and was the Big South Champion in the outdoor high jump. Holmes’ athletes swept the Big South Championship podium in the indoor heptathlon and outdoor decathlon and had additional first-place finishes with Mya Hines in the indoor pentathlon, Alex Constantinou and Gianna Paul indoor high jump.

In the 2024 – 2025 season, decathlete Cole Wilson qualified to the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships finishing 2nd team All-American. Decathlete Mauricio Galindo Vega set the Guatemalan National Record in the indoor heptathlon with a score of 5,348 points, placing second at the Big South Championships. Alex Constantinou became the Indoor Big South Conference Champion in the high jump with a mark of 2.18, second best in Indoor Big South Conference history. Shaun Thomas bettered his high jump best to 2.15. Thomas and Constantinou punched their ticket to the NCAA first round competition. On the women’s side, Ashari Pearson was the indoor high jump conference champion and Gianna Paul the outdoor high jump champion.

In the 2023-2024 season, Andrew Taylor became the first male indoor HPU track and field athlete to place First-Team All-American securing 8th place and raised the indoor school record to 2.19m that season. Shaun Thomas tied the outdoor school record with Andrew Taylor (2.14m) placing 1st in the Big South and Alex Constantinou had a breakthrough, improving from 1.91m to 2.10m. Cole Wilson became the 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials Champion. Wilson and teammates swept the Big South podium indoors and outdoors. Sydney Koker earned her 4th Big South title, punching her ticket along with Thomas and Taylor to the NCAA First Round Championships. Gianna Paul, the Big South’s Indoor Freshman of the Year, placed 2nd in the high jump outdoors with a personal best of 1.73. Karlea Duhon set the school record in the heptathlon and was the conference champion in the javelin with 42.59m. The season concluded with HPU men’s high jump and decathlon ranked 5th and 6th in USTFCCCA Division I Event Squad Rankings.

In the 2022-2023 season, Sydney Koker placed 1st in the Big South with an indoor school record high jump of 1.78m. Kolt Byers and Evan Mills tied their heptathlon personal bests in a competitive 1st and 2nd finish, with HPU men's combined events scoring 35 points total taking 3rd, 4th, and 6th places. Lilly Wolf earned a spot on the podium with 3rd in the women's pentathlon. Outdoors, Mike Henson went 2.06m for 4th and a notable personal best and HPU decathletes placed 2nd through 5th.

Prior to joining the staff at HPU, Holmes coached at Auburn University from 2020-22 where she made contributions to the combined events and jumps. Holmes worked with multiple SEC-scoring and NCAA-qualifying athletes, including US championship 3rd place and 2x NCAA 3^rd place high jumper Dontavious Hill, 3x first-team All-American decathlete Alex Spyridonidis, NCAA qualifier heptathlete Natosha Jordan, and NCAA East Region qualifier in the long jump Janaya Jones. Prior, Holmes coached horizontal jumps at Phillips Exeter Academy in 2018 and was a volunteer horizontal jumps coach at the University of New Hampshire.  

Holmes earned her PhD in Biomechanics from Auburn in 2022. Prior, she completed a Master of Science in Human Performance from the University of Florida in 2017. She is certified in strength and conditioning through the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and has her CSCS through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Holmes has USTFCCCA Technical Coaching, Jumps Specialist and USATF Level 1 certifications. Additionally, Holmes helps instruct the USTFCCCA Strength and Conditioning, Combined Events, and Jumps Specialist Certifications.

Holmes graduated from Cornell University in 2016 as team captain. She was a member of the 2013 Ivy League Outdoor Heptagonal Championship team and ranks the No. 3 performer on the Big Red's pentathlon list. 

A native of Exeter, New Hampshire, Holmes is a third-generation coach following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. Outside of coaching, she enjoys gardening and the outdoors with her dog, Champ.