4 Flames Earn ASUN Track Weekly Honors
2/6/2019 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Liberty claimed four ASUN Conference weekly track & field honors on Wednesday, including Men's Track Athlete of the Week (Alejandro Perlaza Zapata), Men's Field Athlete of the Week (Reilly Stroot), Women's Field Athlete of the Week (Patria Vaimaona) and Women's Freshman of the Week (Taylen Langin).
Perlaza Zapata, Vaimaona and Langin were each honored for the second straight week, while Stroot claims his first ASUN award.
Perlaza Zapata dominated the men's 400 at Saturday's Liberty Flames Invite, winning by more than two seconds in a time of 46.84. The native of Cali, Colombia now ranks No. 1 in the ASUN and No. 22 in the NCAA for the men's 400 this season.
Stroot finished second in the Liberty Flames Invite men's pole vault competition with an indoor personal-best clearance of 16-0.75. The Roseau, Minn., native sits atop the ASUN men's pole vault list for 2019 and ranks No. 8 in program history.
Vaimaona posted a first-place finish in the women's weight throw for the second consecutive weekend. Her personal-best heave of 63-7.5 in round six at the Liberty Flames Invite won the event by four and a half feet. The native of Waimanalo, Hawaii owns the ASUN's top mark of 2019 and is tied for 54th nationally. She added a seventh-place finish in the shot put (45-6.5).
Langin, who hails from Meridian, Idaho, improved her own Liberty freshman record in the women's pole vault, thanks to a 12-9.5 clearance. Langin, who placed second at the Liberty Flames Invite, ranks No. 1 in the ASUN this season and sits No. 15 nationally among freshmen.
The Flames will split their athletes between three different meets next weekend. Most of the team, including Stroot, Vaimaona and Langin, will remain in Lynchburg to compete in the fifth annual Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational, Friday and Saturday at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.
Perlaza Zapata is among a group of athletes who will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Tyson Invitational. The prestigious meet is slated for Friday and Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Finally, Noel Palmer will compete in the women's 5K at the Iowa State Classic, Friday at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center in Ames, Iowa.
