Liberty University
Aggie Last Chance
Francis, Women's 4 x 400 Win at Aggie Last Chance
5/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Liberty won two events at Sunday's Aggie Last Chance at North Carolina A&T's Aggie Stadium, including the men's 1,500 (Cameron Francis) and the women's 4 x 400 relay (Nicole Leonzo, Ansley Gebben, Olivia Behymer, Erin Edmond).
Women's Meet Recap
Three days after winning their first Big South women's 4 x 400 relay title since 2004, the Lady Flames were victorious in Greensboro, posting the second-fastest time (3:41.65) in program history.
Nicole Leonzo led off in 55.2 seconds, before handing off to Ansley Gebben for a 55.9 split. Olivia Behymer clocked 56.4 for the third leg, and then Erin Edmond brought the Lady Flames home in 53.8 seconds to seal the win.
Earlier in the day, Edmond placed seventh in the 400 dash with a time of 54.86.
Fittingly, Hannah Scherlacher capped off a breakthrough junior season with one final personal best performance. The New Jersey native lowered her 800 best to 2:13.55 for 10th place in the event. During 2016, Scherlacher made dramatic improvements in the 800 (2:20.15 to 2:13.55), 1,500 (4:44.60 to 4:34.49) and mile (5:20.43 to 5:04.48).
In the throwing events, Holly Arey placed third in the discus (137-0) and fellow sophomore Dasiana Larson came in sixth in the hammer (151-1).
Erin Zappia cleared 5-3 to place seventh in the women's high jump.
Men's Meet Recap
After placing second in the Big South men's 1,500 final and third in the men's 5K, Francis won the 1,500 by two and a half seconds on Sunday with his 3:57.10 clocking.
Liberty placed three runners inside the top 11 of the men's 800, three days after taking four of the top five spots in the Big South final. Leading the way was Big South champion Bradley Prentice in fourth place at 1:51.26. Colin Schultz clocked a personal-best 1:51.53 for fifth, while Michael Todd crossed the line in 1:53.79 for 11th place.
Josh Showalter posted a steeplechase time of 9:29.02 for second place, matching his placement from the Big South final.
Pole vaulters Ken Ritchey (third place, 15-11) and Alex Geniesse (fourth, 15-5) also ended up in the same positions as at the Big South meet.
On Thursday afternoon, Liberty will find out which of its athletes have qualified for the 2016 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet. The three-day event will take place May 26-28 at North Florida's Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., and will determine the qualifiers for the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
