Liberty Men's Track Joins Top 25 at No. 22
5/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
The three-time defending Big South champion Liberty men's track & field team is listed in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I Top 25 for the first time this season. The Flames check in at No. 22 in this week's poll.
Head coach Brant Tolsma's squad was ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 25 throughout most of the 2008 indoor and outdoor campaigns. The Flames lost four 2008 NCAA national meet qualifiers to graduation (Jon Hart, Clendon Henderson, Brandon Hoskins and Josh McDougal) and are redshirting a fifth national qualifier, Evans Kigen (Jr., Eldoret, Kenya). However, Liberty has climbed back into the national rankings on the strength of NCAA national/regional qualifying performances by eight different individuals this season.
Liberty, one of only two non-BCS squads included in this week's men's Top 25 (also BYU at No. 20), is led by redshirt sophomore Sam Chelanga (Nairobi, Kenya). Chelanga's NCAA-record time of 27:28.48 in the 10K tops the national performance list, while his 13:28.31 5K clocking from last Saturday's Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational ranks No. 2 in that event.
A second Flames athlete, freshman John Talbert (Newton, Kan.), is also ranked in the top 10 nationally in his event. His 191-9 discus effort on April 4 sits No. 9 on the NCAA performance list, and No. 2 among freshmen.
Liberty climbed 10 spots from last week's rankings, moving up from No. 32 to No. 22. The Flames' jump matched the largest upward move among the men's Top 25 teams. Minnesota catapulted from No. 27 to No. 17 this week.
Selected Liberty athletes are entered in Thursday's Maryland Twilight Meet in College Park, Md., and Friday's Chick-fil-A UNC Elite Meet in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Flames' next full team competition will be the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, to be held May 15-17 in Princeton, N.J. Liberty will attempt to claim its third consecutive IC4A title.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track & Field Rankings
Rank – School (Points)
1 – Florida (280.73)
2 – Oregon (279.32)
3 – Texas A&M (249.05)
4 – Arizona State (190.22)
5 – Arkansas (183.98)
6 – Nebraska (178.32)
7 – Texas (172.76)
8 – Baylor (171.76)
9 – LSU (170.87)
10 – South Carolina (168.44)
11 – Florida State (162.79)
12 – Auburn (159.97)
13 – Stanford (159.71)
14 – USC (144.28)
15 – Washington (122.26)
16 – California (117.51)
17 – Minnesota (113.19)
18 – Texas Tech (112.97)
19 – Washington State (101.16)
20 – BYU (97.62)
21 – Kentucky (95.40)
22 – Liberty (94.03)
23 – Georgia (93.87)
24 – Virginia Tech (93.60)
25 – Louisville (88.54)
Head coach Brant Tolsma's squad was ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 25 throughout most of the 2008 indoor and outdoor campaigns. The Flames lost four 2008 NCAA national meet qualifiers to graduation (Jon Hart, Clendon Henderson, Brandon Hoskins and Josh McDougal) and are redshirting a fifth national qualifier, Evans Kigen (Jr., Eldoret, Kenya). However, Liberty has climbed back into the national rankings on the strength of NCAA national/regional qualifying performances by eight different individuals this season.
Liberty, one of only two non-BCS squads included in this week's men's Top 25 (also BYU at No. 20), is led by redshirt sophomore Sam Chelanga (Nairobi, Kenya). Chelanga's NCAA-record time of 27:28.48 in the 10K tops the national performance list, while his 13:28.31 5K clocking from last Saturday's Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational ranks No. 2 in that event.
A second Flames athlete, freshman John Talbert (Newton, Kan.), is also ranked in the top 10 nationally in his event. His 191-9 discus effort on April 4 sits No. 9 on the NCAA performance list, and No. 2 among freshmen.
Liberty climbed 10 spots from last week's rankings, moving up from No. 32 to No. 22. The Flames' jump matched the largest upward move among the men's Top 25 teams. Minnesota catapulted from No. 27 to No. 17 this week.
Selected Liberty athletes are entered in Thursday's Maryland Twilight Meet in College Park, Md., and Friday's Chick-fil-A UNC Elite Meet in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Flames' next full team competition will be the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, to be held May 15-17 in Princeton, N.J. Liberty will attempt to claim its third consecutive IC4A title.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track & Field Rankings
Rank – School (Points)
1 – Florida (280.73)
2 – Oregon (279.32)
3 – Texas A&M (249.05)
4 – Arizona State (190.22)
5 – Arkansas (183.98)
6 – Nebraska (178.32)
7 – Texas (172.76)
8 – Baylor (171.76)
9 – LSU (170.87)
10 – South Carolina (168.44)
11 – Florida State (162.79)
12 – Auburn (159.97)
13 – Stanford (159.71)
14 – USC (144.28)
15 – Washington (122.26)
16 – California (117.51)
17 – Minnesota (113.19)
18 – Texas Tech (112.97)
19 – Washington State (101.16)
20 – BYU (97.62)
21 – Kentucky (95.40)
22 – Liberty (94.03)
23 – Georgia (93.87)
24 – Virginia Tech (93.60)
25 – Louisville (88.54)
Ben Shughart: Throwing Through the Pain
Thursday, May 21
Paola Bueno: Representing Liberty and Mexico
Thursday, January 29
The Sherard Family: On the Court and on the Track
Wednesday, January 21
Allie Zealand Talks About The Cross Country & Indoor Track Season
Friday, December 12