Liberty University
Big South Outdoor Track Championships
Kurgat's 10K Victory Highlights Big South Day 1
5/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Liberty sophomore Ednah Kurgat's victory in the women's 10K capped off a prolonged opening day of the 2016 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Tuesday at the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex. Liberty tops both the men's and women's standings after a day of competition which did not wrap up until after 11 p.m.
Lightning arrived in the greater Lynchburg area around 6:30 p.m., between heats of the men's 400 hurdles and amidst the women's javelin and men's long jump competitions. Action was suspended for approximately three hours before all of the day's events were eventually able to be completed under the lights.
Kurgat's first career Big South outdoor track event championship helped the Lady Flames build a 12-point advantage (48-36) over second-place High Point through Tuesday's four women's events.
On the men's side, David Scouten's runner-up showing in the men's hammer marked the Flames' top showing of the day. The nine-time defending champion Flames scored 27 points during Tuesday's trio of men's events, putting them four tallies ahead of both Campbell and Coastal Carolina.
Women's Day One Recap
Kurgat's victory was unique in more ways than one. Her first career race on Liberty's campus turned out to be a combined men's and women's 10K final. Additionally, the Eldoret, Kenya spotted the field approximately a 22-second advantage during the first two miles before rallying. In the end, Kurgat's winning time of 37:32.96 put her more than 11 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, making her Liberty's first Big South 10K champion since Dacia Bushman in 2011.
Making her 10K debut simultaneously with that of her younger brother James, Terrill Zentmeyer moved up through the field during the latter stages of the race. Her late charge resulted in a fourth-place finish in a time of 38:06.00.
About nine and a half hours earlier, both Mychelle Cumings and Holly Arey saved their best throw for last in the women's discus. Cumings' 150-9 effort netted her second straight runner-up finish in the event and the 11th All-Big South honor of her career. Meanwhile, Arey came in fourth at 141-0.
Later on, Arey was one of three Lady Flames to place inside the women's javelin's top seven. Sophomore Brenna Smith came in third for the second straight year, thanks to a season-best mark of 140-9. Riley Brandon's season-best 123-1 effort garnered fifth place, while Arey came in seventh at 108-3.
After entering the finals in eighth and ninth place, respectively, Oasis Hernandez and Dana Mercer both made late moves in the women's long jump final. Hernandez finished up in fourth with a personal-best leap of 18-8.5, while Mercer's season-best 18-4.5 effort took sixth place.
Liberty is in position for big points in the heptathlon, an event the Lady Flames have won 11 of 15 times it has been contested at this meet. At the end of Tuesday's four events, defending champion Erika Jackson leads with 3,039 points, followed by freshman teammate Kylie Polsgrove in second (3,023) and Riley Brandon in fifth (2,750).
Jackson, who finished just four points shy of her best-ever opening day, started off with a personal-best 14.44 clocking in the 100 hurdles. The top time among the 14 heptathletes in the competition moves Jackson into 10th place in program history. She also won the heptathlon shot put with a third-round throw of 35-7.75.
Polsgrove set personal bests in three of four events on the day, including the 100 hurdles (14.59), high jump (5-7) and 200 (25.69). She led all heptathletes in the latter two disciplines, while her 5-7 high jump was notable for several reasons. It equaled the Liberty freshman record co-held by Danielle McNaney and Kena Butts, tied for the second-best mark ever within a Liberty heptathlon competition and gave Polsgrove a share of fourth place on Liberty's all-time outdoor women's high jump chart.
Brandon, who won this event at the 2014 Big South meet, clocked a season-best 100 hurdles time of 15.14, marking the Lone Star State native's best-ever effort inside of a heptathlon.
The Lady Flames were successful in advancing athletes to Thursday's running event finals. All three Liberty entrants (Torree Scull, Alexis Taylor and Hannah Scherlacher) made it through to the 1,500 final, while Kate Flower (personal-best 24.46) and Erin Edmond (season-best 24.87) each earned berths in the 200 final. Flower moved up to eighth place in program history in the process.
Men's Day One Recap
A pair of redshirt seniors who have become quite familiar with the All-Big South podium during their time at Liberty made one more trip there on Tuesday. Scouten reached a personal-best 191-5 in the sixth and final round of the men's hammer for second place in the event. His first-ever All-Big South honor in the hammer was the Michigan native's 12th overall Big South top-three finish for his career.
Classmate Fred Fulton followed in third place for the second year in a row, topping out at 178-0. He is now an eight-time All-Big South performer for the Flames.
Gusty tailwinds blowing down the men's long jump runway helped Darrel Jones record an outdoor personal-best mark of 23-10.25, good for fifth place.
The aforementioned James Zentmeyer finished his 10K debut in fifth place with a time of 32:02.71. The next two runners to finish were teammates Jeremie Bourget (sixth, 32:15.28) and Azaria Kirwa (seventh, 32:52.85). For Bourget, it marked his fourth career top-six finish in the Big South men's 10K final.
Seeking his first Big South title, junior Zach Davis owns a 116-point lead through day one of the decathlon. He totaled 3,447 points on Tuesday, pacing the field in both the long jump (22-7) and high jump (season-best 6-8.25).
Teammates Lewis Williams (3,205) and Zach Gilroy (3,012) are fourth and fifth, respectively. Williams sped to a season-best 100 time of 11.44, long jumped a personal-best 20-5.25, threw the shot put a season-best 40-4.75 and equaled his outdoor high jump best of 5-6.
Gilroy achieved a new personal best of 38-4.25 in the shot put, to go along with season-best marks in the long jump (19-5.5) and high jump (6-1.25).
The Flames were perfect in advancing runners through both of Tuesday's running preliminaries. Two-time defending men's 400 hurdles champion Ryan Davis was the event's top qualifier, while Michael Fairfax will join him in Thursday's race after a 55.63 preliminary clocking.
Stephen Racanelli's season-best 200 time of 21.63 moved him into the final, alongside teammates Greg Edwards (21.92) and Spencer Jamison (21.98).
A full second day of action will commence Wednesday at 9 a.m. with the men's discus. All events will be contested exactly two hours earlier than originally scheduled, with the exception of the women's pole vault. That event will begin one hour after the conclusion of the decathlon pole vault.
