Liberty University
Liberty Elite Invitational
Ealum, Perlaza Zapata Stand Out Among Liberty's Elites on Saturday
2/10/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
The second annual Liberty Elite Invitational proved to be aptly named, Saturday at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex, providing elite performances from start to finish. Sprinters Tanner Ealum and Alejandro Perlaza Zapata shone brightly for the host Flames, winning two events apiece, with all four of their combined victories coming in meet-record fashion.
Ealum's triumph in the women's 500 stood out among Liberty's nine event victories on the day as the sophomore raced to a Liberty, Big South and meet-record time of 1:12.95. She also anchored the Lady Flames' 4 x 400 quartet to a new meet record of 3:45.35.
Zapata's meet records came in the men's 200 (21.39) and 400 (46.80). His 400 time was one of two Liberty Indoor Track Complex standards the Flames took down on Saturday, along with the men's 60 hurdles (Jovaine Atkinson – 7.78).
Liberty totaled nine event victories during the eight-team competition, along with six new ECAC qualifications and six new IC4A qualifiers.
Women's Meet Recap
Jaime Watson had owned the Liberty and Big South women's 500 records since posting a time of 1:13.98 at the Tolsma Indoor Track Center on Jan. 30, 2010. Ealum lopped more than a second off of her time with the nation's 10th-fastest clocking of 2018.
Teammate Delaney McDowell followed in second place with her ECAC-qualifying time of 1:14.77 which ranks No. 4 in program history.
Cortney Dowling, Kimone Green, Olivia Behymer and Ealum won the day's final race, the women's 4 x 400 relay, in 3:45.35, breaking Liberty's own meet record by a second. Ealum notched the race's fastest split at 55.27 seconds.
Earlier in the day, Green (first place, 24.47) and Dowling (fourth, 24.83) made successful seasonal debuts at the 200-meter distance, each dipping under the ECAC standard. They now sit third and sixth, respectively, on Liberty's all-time top 10 list. Lady Flames now rank 1-2-3 in the Big South for the one-lap race in 2018, also including Ty'Asia Dansbury, who came in seventh at 24.94 on Saturday.
The Lady Flames' sprint depth was clearly evident in the 400 as well, where the home team claimed five of the top nine spots. Dowling led the way with a runner-up finish (55.81), followed by Behymer (fourth, indoor personal-best 56.01), Green (fifth, season-best 56.15), Dansbury (seventh, season-best 57.26) and Maggie McDermott (ninth, indoor personal-best 58.47).
Behymer's 56.01 effort punched her ECAC ticket and ranks No. 8 in program history, one spot ahead of Green's 56.15 clocking. McDermott, who shaved more than a second off of her previous indoor best, made it five Lady Flames among the Big South's top six women's 400 runners in 2018.
Dasiana Larson led Liberty's personal-best party in the women's weight throw with her winning mark of 65-2.25, a lifetime best by more than two feet. Catherine Oyarzun's fifth-place heave of 58-7.25, a personal best by nearly a foot and a half, ranks second to Larson on the 2018 Big South performance list.
Freshman Naomi Mojica continued her exceptional improvement in the weight throw, as she has gone from 46-10.75 to 50-9.25 to 53-8.5 in her first three collegiate meets. The reigning Big South Women's Field Athlete of the Week finished ninth in Saturday's competition and ranks seventh all-time at Liberty. Senior teammate Holly Arey added a 10th-place finish at 52-4.5.
Mojica later took second place in the women's shot put at 50-4.5, where she was trailed by Larson (eighth, 44-6) and Arey (ninth, 44-4). Arey's personal-best put earned ECAC qualification and moved her into sixth place among Liberty's all-time top 10.
Freshman Noel Palmer claimed victory in the women's 3K with an ECAC-qualifying 9:52.53 clocking. She now sits seventh all-time for the Lady Flames, one spot ahead of her coach, Rebekah Ricksecker. Anna Van Wyk added a third-place finish (10:07.30), while team captain Alyssa Karle came in fourth in 10:20.98, setting a personal best by 14 seconds.
Jessie Glynn was the day's top collegiate performer in the women's pole vault, clearing 12-5.5 to match her season best and finish third overall. The defending Big South champion finished one spot ahead of current Big South leader Nathalie Elliott of High Point on misses.
Two Lady Flames placed among the mile's top five, including Torree Scull (fourth, 5:08.81) and Mary Kate McElroy (fifth, 5:13.37).
Jaiden Mulder crossed the line fifth in the women's 60 hurdles final in 8.83, with Kylie Polsgrove coming in eighth at 8.97 following a season-best 8.94 effort in the prelims. Polsgrove's busy day also featured a seventh-place long jump performance (17-2).
Men's Meet Recap
Perlaza Zapata's first collegiate race at his specialty distance of 400 meters was certainly a success. His winning time of 46.80 set new facility and meet records, while ranking No. 2 all-time at Liberty and No. 3 all-time in the Big South Conference.
Jahquez Durham joined Perlaza Zapata in claiming an IC4A qualifier at 400 meters, coming in fourth at 48.97. Perlaza Zapata, Durham and Jeff Jacobs (sixth, 49.88) currently rank 1-2-3 on the Big South men's 400 list this season.
Perlaza Zapata's 200 clocking of 21.39 achieved another meet record and IC4A qualifier, moving him into third place on the Flames' all-time list.
Durham's indoor personal-best 21.92 effort netted fifth place in the race and another IC4A ticket. Travis Henderson (sixth, 21.97) and Greg Edwards (eighth, 22.11) join Perlaza Zapata and Durham to give Liberty four of the conference's five fastest men's 200 runners this season.
Atkinson has now won all seven of his 60-meter hurdles races in 2018 after taking his preliminary heat in a facility and meet-record time of 7.78 and winning the event final in 7.80.
Branson Rolle (third, 8.17) and Markus Ballengee (fifth, personal-best 8.19) give the 2018 Flames a trio of IC4A qualifiers in the event and three of the fastest 60 hurdlers in program history.
Bradley Prentice recorded the men's team's other event victory, courtesy of his 800 time of 1:52.79.
Nick Doan just snuck in under the IC4A standard of 8:28.00 with his fourth-place 3K finish in 8:27.63.
Carson Waters equaled his pole vault personal best of 17-0.75 to place fifth overall and second among collegiate entrants. Post-collegiate competitor Scott Houston won the event at a Liberty Indoor Track Complex record 18-8.75, a height which ranks No. 10 in the world this year.
Jacob Burke made a successful indoor debut in a Liberty uniform, high jumping 6-6 for third place. Ballengee followed in fourth at 6-4.
Jonny Saintil's season-best triple jump of 48-2 stood up for second place, with Jeremy Davis coming in fifth at 45-9.75.
The Flames got additional fifth-place finishes from Chukwuma Maduka in the men's long jump (personal-best 22-8) and William Partridge in the men's weight throw (53-6.5).
Ballengee threw the shot put a personal-best 44-3.5 for eighth place in one of the sophomore's four events on Saturday.
Up Next
Most Liberty athletes will take next weekend off from competition in preparation for the 2018 Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships. For the first time in meet history, the event will take place at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex, Feb. 23-24.
In the meantime, senior Darrel Jones will compete in the men's triple jump at the 2018 USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. His event is set to take place at 5:05 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 18.
