Liberty University
Upstate Invitational/Big South Preview
Francis, Scull Pace Liberty in Soggy Spartanburg
10/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Liberty's Cameron Francis and Torree Scull each recorded top-three finishes at Saturday's Upstate Invitational/Big South Preview. Their efforts at a waterlogged Milliken Center course helped the Flames place third and the Lady Flames come in fourth overall.
The torrential rains which had pelted Spartanburg throughout the latter part of the week continued Saturday morning, causing more than half of the scheduled teams to forego the meet. The meet was billed as the Big South Preview, but Liberty was one of only four conference teams to compete.
The Liberty men's squad ended up third of 13 teams with 75 points. High Point took home the team title with a team score of 28, defeating runner-up Appalachian State by 24 tallies.
The Lady Flames totaled 82 points for fourth place in the 13-team women's field and second among Big South squads. Appalachian State edged High Point for first place, 47-48.
Men's 8K Race Recap
With several of Liberty's top men's runners sitting out Saturday's race, sophomore Francis stepped up as the team leader. He led a good portion of the race before being outkicked by High Point's Vinny Todaro by 1.2 seconds for the victory.
Francis ended up second in the field of 115 men's runners, clocking a personal-best 8K time of 25:30.17 despite the treacherous footing.
Classmate Graham Hansel joined Francis in the top 10, also recording a personal-best time of 26:08.55 for 10th place.
Redshirt sophomore Luke Jelen (19th place, 26:36.54) and senior Sam Hibbs (25th place, 26:51.86) made it four Flames with sub-27:00 clockings.
Freshman Louis Paone served as Liberty's No. 5 runner, clocking 27:00.30 for 27th place. Fellow freshman Jack Tiball came in 37th with a 27:29.96.
Women's 5K Race Recap
Freshman standout Ednah Kurgat did not compete for the Lady Flames, but two of her classmates ran 1-2 for the squad on Saturday. Scull led the way in third place, as her time of 18:39.74 was one of just nine sub-19:00 efforts in the race.
Freshman Anna Van Wyk ran more than 20 seconds faster than she had at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational, crossing the line in 19:04.28 for 11th place out of 124.
The Lady Flames' next five runners finished within 31 seconds of one another, paced by junior Kat Bouton in 20th place in 19:23.24. Redshirt senior Caroline Parris was right on her heels, clocking 19:25.63 for 23rd place.
Junior Lindsey Bray closed out Liberty's five scorers with a 33rd-place showing in 19:44.00. Alyssa Karle's personal-best 19:48.72 effort was good for 37th place, while Aryn Embretson came in 41st in 19:54.66.
Liberty will now prepare for Pre-Nationals, set for Oct. 17 at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. The first race of the day will begin at 9:30 a.m.
