Liberty University
ECAC/IC4A Indoor Track Championships
Liberty Men's Track Ties for 2nd at IC4A Meet
3/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Taylor Courtney's record-setting victory in the 500-meter run on Sunday helped propel Liberty into a tie for second place at the IC4A Indoor Track & Field Championships. Meanwhile, the Lady Flames finished 14th at the ECAC Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships across town in Boston.
The Liberty men's squad scored 43 points during the meet's final day, enabling the Flames to share second place with Rutgers. Both teams tallied 46 total points for the competition. It equaled Liberty's highest placing ever at the IC4A indoor meet, as the Flames also claimed IC4A runner-up honors in 2008. Connecticut took top honors, outdistancing both Liberty and Rutgers with 73.5 points.
The Lady Flames made a marked improvement from the 2010 ECAC indoor championship, where they tied for 32nd place. This year, Liberty finished with 19 points, claiming 14th place in the final team standings. Connecticut made it a sweep of the team championship trophies, racking up 96.5 points to runner-up Cornell's 52 markers.
Three Liberty school records fell on Sunday, as Courtney clocked a 1:01.96 for the 500, Isaac Wendland improved his own men's 1,000-meter standard to 2:24.74 and Melinda Bendik shattered the women's weight throw record with a 55-0.25 heave.
Men's IC4A Day Two Recap
A week after claiming a surprise championship in the Big South men's 400-meter final, Courtney turned even more heads inside the Boston University Pavilion. The redshirt sophomore became Liberty's first-ever IC4A men's 500-meter run champion, racing to a school-record time of 1:01.96.
Courtney, who went from fourth place to first within the last 150 meters, eclipsed the previous mark of 1:02.05 which had been set by three-time All-American Mike Decker on Feb. 12, 1999. Courtney's time ranks him No. 4 in the NCAA this season and makes the Keystone State native one of the top 80 performers in world history for the indoor 500.
Courtney's effort somewhat overshadowed a stellar performance by Wendland in the men's 1,000-meter run final. After clocking a school-record time of 2:25.31 during Saturday's preliminaries, Wendland improved his Liberty standard to 2:24.74 in the final. The junior claimed IC4A runner-up honors in the race, and his time ranks No. 24 in the NCAA for 2011.
Staying on the track, redshirt senior Josh Edmonds closed his collegiate track & field career in style during the men's 5K final. He matched his fourth-place showing from the 2010 IC4A indoor 5K, stopping the clock in a personal-best time of 14:12.61. In his final race donning a Liberty uniform, Edmonds moved up to No. 4 on the Flames' all-time performance list for the event.
The Flames also enjoyed a successful day in the field events, including a pair of third-place finishes. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Smith moved up one spot from his fourth-place shot put showing at this meet a year ago. His top throw on Sunday stretched the tape to 56-7.25.
Anthony Bryant nabbed third place in the men's triple jump, courtesy of an indoor personal-best 50-2.75 leap on his sixth and final attempt.
Geren Woodbridge used a strong second day to take fourth place in the IC4A heptathlon for the second year in a row. He scored a personal-best 5,182 points, aided by his efforts in the pole vault and 1,000-meter run.
Woodbridge cleared 15-5 in the pole vault, marking a season best and tying for the highest clearance in the competition. He then closed things out by finishing third in the 1,000, in a personal-best time of 2:44.58.
Taylor Schmidt also climbed the heptathlon standings on Sunday but finished just 41 points out of eighth place. The first-year Flame captured ninth place with 4,972 total points.
Last year, Clarence Powell won the IC4A indoor high jump title with a 6-10.25 leap. The senior cleared the same height on Sunday, but only finished sixth this time around.
Women's ECAC Day Two Recap
Bendik added nearly two feet to her previous best effort in the weight throw on Sunday, topping out at 55-0.25 for ninth place. The Lone Star State native also improved upon the previous Liberty record by almost exactly a foot. Caitlyn Sutterfield had thrown the weight 54-0.5 on Jan. 27, 2007.
Jennifer Klugh came in third in the women's mile final, notching a personal-best time of 4:51.04. It was the fastest mile run by a Lady Flame since Heather Sagan won the 2002 NCAA Division I indoor national title for the women's mile in a school-record time of 4:38.52.
Sophomore Meghan Burggraf clocked a new personal best in the 800-meter run for the second straight day. Her 2:11.44 effort was good for sixth place in the final.
The Lady Flames also recorded a pair of eighth-place finishes in straightaway events at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. Olivia Charnuski ran an 8.72 for the eighth spot in the 60-meter hurdles, while fellow junior Alyssa Pegues' 7.76 effort earned eighth place in the 60-meter dash.
Sam Chelanga will head to College Station, Texas for the 2011 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, Friday and Saturday. He has qualified for both the men's 3K and 5K finals.
Meanwhile, a large group of Flames and Lady Flames will open the outdoor track & field season Friday and Saturday, when they travel to Conway, S.C., for the Coastal Carolina Invitational.
Watch more video of 2011 IC4A Indoor Championships on flotrack.org
Watch Isaac Wendland's runner-up effort in the IC4A 1,000:Watch more video of 2011 IC4A Indoor Championships on flotrack.org
