Liberty University
Big South Outdoor Track Championships
Liberty Wins 3 Events on Big South Day 2
5/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Host Liberty won three events on the second day of the 2016 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Wednesday at the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex, including the heptathlon (Erika Jackson), decathlon (Zach Davis) and men's discus (Fred Fulton). The Flames and Lady Flames both top the team standings entering the final day of competition.
Jackson led a 1-2-3 sweep by the Lady Flames in the heptathlon, helping Liberty build a 39-point cushion (112.5-73.5) over High Point through nine women's events. Coastal Carolina, the Lady Flames' usual top challenger at this meet, currently sits in third place with 51 points.
On the men's side, the nine-time defending champion Flames have totaled 76 points through six events. That puts them 41 tallies ahead of Coastal Carolina's second-place score of 35.
Women's Day Two Recap
Jackson's victory extended Liberty's tradition of success in the Big South heptathlon competition. The Lady Flames have now won the event eight straight years and 12 out of 16 times in meet history. However, never has Liberty dominated the event like it did on Wednesday.
Jackson (4,921 points), fellow senior Riley Brandon (4,906) and freshman Kylie Polsgrove (personal-best 4,875) produced the Lady Flames' first 1-2-3 heptathlon finish in meet history. Additionally, all three eclipsed the previous meet record of 4,869 points achieved by Jackson while winning the 2015 Big South title.
Jackson joins Danielle McNaney (2003-04) and Christina Mitchell (2011-13) as the only Lady Flames to win back-to-back Big South heptathlon crowns. The Lynchburg native paced the heptathletes with a 17-7 long jump and later clocked a 2:22.75 in the 800 to hold off Brandon for the overall victory.
Brandon, who earned her fifth career All-Big South medal, nearly pulled off an improbable first-place finish after sitting in fifth with two events remaining.
After opening Wednesday's competition with a season-best 16-10 long jump, Brandon made a big move in the javelin. She threw a personal-best 136-10, moving into eighth place in program history and to within 89 points of co-leaders Jackson and Polsgrove. Brandon won the heptathlon 800 in 2:17.24, but could not quite overtake her teammate in the final standings.
Polsgrove's score of 4,875 moves the North Carolina native into eighth place in both Liberty and Big South heptathlon history, garnering her first career All-Big South notation. She achieved personal bests in each of her last two events, including the javelin (106-3) and 800 (2:26.22).
Not to be outdone by her teammates, Jessica Harrison added 80 points to her best-ever heptathlon score, tallying 4,330 points for eighth place. Harrison heaved the javelin a season-best 103-2 and ran the best outdoor 800 time (2:24.64) of her career.
In addition to Wednesday's trio of heptathlon events, Jackson and Polsgrove also made time to compete in the high jump and 100 hurdles prelims.
Polsgrove (5-6), Erin Zappia (outdoor personal-best 5-6) and Jackson (equaled outdoor personal-best 5-4.25) took fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the women's high jump.
Jackson (14.50) and Polsgrove (14.72) later advanced to Thursday's 100 hurdles final.
Alyssa Karle made a late charge to second place in the women's steeplechase, becoming the Lady Flames' first top-three finisher in the event since Betel Yosef in 2012. Karle's time of 11:05.82 sliced 18.5 seconds off of her previous best and ranks fourth on Liberty's all-time list.
Teammate Kat Bouton followed in fourth place with a time of 11:12.06 which improved her personal best by 6.5 seconds.
All three Lady Flames who competed in the women's hammer scored points, highlighted by Catherine Oyarzun's fourth-place showing. She reached a personal-best 180-2, falling just one inch shy of third place in her Big South hammer debut.
Dasiana Larson (seventh place, 158-11) and Holly Arey (eighth, 157-3) added three points to Liberty's score in the women's hammer. Arey has now scored in all three of her throwing events (also discus and javelin) during the meet's first two days.
Mariel Finger pole vaulted 12-1.5, tying for fourth place. Meanwhile, Rachael Fasana came in seventh at 10-8.
The Lady Flames fared well in Wednesday's qualifying heats on the track, especially in the 400 and 800. All four Liberty entrants (Erin Edmond – 54.57, Nicole Leonzo – 56.02, Olivia Behymer – 56.44, Corinn Bedell – 57.12) reached the 400 final.
Liberty also went 3-for-3 in advancing runners to the 800 final, including No. 1 overall qualifier Ansley Gebben (2:11.43), Delaney McDowell (2:14.22) and Jasmin Sutton (personal-best 2:14.68).
Men's Day Two Recap
Although Liberty could not replicate its 1-2-3-4 men's discus finish from the 2015 Big South meet, the Flames still got their day off to a successful start during a soggy morning.
Redshirt seniors Fulton and Scouten went 1-2 in the event, giving the Flames nine men's discus titles in the last 10 years at this meet.
Fulton was dominant in winning his second straight Big South men's discus championship, posting the four longest throws of the competition. His winning mark of 181-11 put him almost 16 feet ahead of Scouten and made him the first back-to-back Big South men's discus titlist since Elliot Galeone in 2010 and 2011. Fulton is now a six-time Big South champion and nine-time All-Big South performer.
Scouten, now a 13-time All-Big South thrower, saved his best throw (166-2) for last. As a result, the Michigan native recorded his second runner-up finish in as many days, to go along with Tuesday's hammer effort.
Davis' first career Big South event title made the junior Liberty's 11th decathlon champion in the 16 years it has been contested at this meet. He won by 162 points with a score of 6,439 after surviving a scare in the pole vault. Davis needed a third attempt to clear his opening height of 12-11.5, before eventually going on to make it over 13-7.25. Davis also won the decathlon discus (120-6) and threw a solid 184-6 in the javelin.
Teammates Lewis Williams (season-best 6,013) and Zach Gilroy (season-best 5,995) took the fourth and fifth spots in the decathlon. Williams clocked a personal-best 16.81 in the 110 hurdles, with Gilroy posting his best-ever 110 hurdles time within a decathlon (16.82). Gilroy later topped the decathletes with his 13-11.25 pole vault clearance.
Josh Showalter led for most of the men's steeplechase before being edged by Winthrop's Kevin Mills in the final straightaway by 0.67 seconds. Showalter ended up second in 9:12.25, picking up his first All-Big South honor on the track, to go along with a pair he has won in cross country.
Louis Paone added a fifth-place steeplechase finish, crossing the line in 9:54.71.
Like the Lady Flames, Liberty's men's squad was perfect in pushing its 400 and 800 runners through to Thursday's finals.
The Flames will be represented in the 400 final by Stephen Racanelli (48.47), Jeff Jacobs (49.08), Spencer Jamison (49.47) and Levi Mack (49.51).
Bradley Prentice (1:53.81), Colin Schultz (1:53.86), Michael Todd (1:54.30) and Andrew Crowell (1:54.87) all raced their way into the 800 final.
The final day of the 2016 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships will begin with the men's shot put at 11 a.m.
