Liberty University
Hokie Open
Anderson, Bowser Lead Lady Flames to Hokie Open Crown
11/2/2018 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Liberty freshmen Jamie Anderson (second place) and Naomi Bowser (fourth place) posted top-five finishes during a muddy Hokie Open, Friday afternoon at Virginia Tech's Cross Country Course. Their efforts helped the Lady Flames win the women's team title at this meet for the second year in a row.
In what was essentially a dual meet between the Lady Flames and host Hokies, Liberty pulled out a 27-32 victory. The first six Lady Flames to cross the 4K finish line were all freshmen.
On the men's side, freshman Jacob Underwood was the Flames' lone competitor in a race where only Duke fielded a full team. Underwood placed 11th of 27 finishers in the men's 6K.
Women's Team Standings
1) Liberty – 27
2) Virginia Tech – 32
Men's Team Standings
1) Duke - 15
Women's 4K Individual Results (14 Total Finishers):
1) Emily Shiesl, Virginia Tech – 14:39.4
2) Jamie Anderson, Liberty – 14:48.6
3) Cate Stone, Virginia Tech – 14:52.6
4) Naomi Bowser, Liberty – 14:54.6
5) Shannon Quinn, Virginia Tech – 15:12.4
6) Heidi Smith, Liberty – 15:33.9
7) Madison MacPherson, Liberty – 15:40.2
8) Rebekah Leone, Liberty – 15:44.0
9) Jessica Rogers, Liberty – 15:44.2
12) Anna Van Wyk, Liberty – 16:19.0
Men's 6K Individual Results (27 Total Finishers):
1) Diego Zarate, Unattached – 18:33.3
2) Ryan Hughes, Unattached – 18:37.4
3) Matthias Cannon, Unattached – 18:52.7
4) Simeon Mussie, Unattached – 19:05.8
5) Carter Dillon, Duke – 19:13.3
11) Jacob Underwood, Liberty – 19:43.6
Race Reactions
• Friday's race marked the Lady Flames' first team title since last year's Hokie Open.
• Virginia Tech was defeating the Lady Flames by a score of 9-12 through both teams' first three finishers. Liberty's No. 4 through 7 runners (Madison MacPherson, Rebekah Leone, Jessica Rogers and Anna Van Wyk) all defeated the Hokies' No. 4 finisher (Olivia Dunston), clinching the Lady Flames' first-place finish.
• Liberty opened the 2018 season on the same course nine weeks ago at the Virginia Tech Invitational (Aug. 31). That day, Jamie Anderson's collegiate debut resulted in a 23rd-place finish with a 4K time of 15:32.6, 61 seconds behind race champion Emily Shiesl of Virginia Tech. Shiesl was victorious again on Friday, but Anderson crossed the line just nine seconds behind her after dropping her 4K time by 44 seconds.
• Anderson was one of six Liberty runners to improve their time from the Virginia Tech Invitational, despite the sloppy conditions. Other Flames to run faster this time around included Naomi Bowser, Heidi Smith, Madison MacPherson, Rebekah Leone and Jacob Underwood.
Up Next
Liberty's top seven men's runners and top seven women's runners will return to action at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships. The meet, which will determine the qualifiers for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, is slated for Nov. 9 at the Winthrop Coliseum and Farm in Rock Hill, S.C. The women's 6K will begin at 11 a.m., with the men's 10K to follow at noon.
