Liberty University
South Carolina Invitational
Atkinson, Men's Hurdlers Star at South Carolina
2/7/2020 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Liberty All-American Jovaine Atkinson and Flames newcomers Juan Pablo Germain Ronco and Felix Lawrence placed third, sixth and seventh in a loaded men's 60 hurdles final, headlining the Flames' Friday at the South Carolina Invitational.
Liberty was the only team to qualify three runners to the 60 hurdles final, and all three delivered impressive performances. Atkinson's third-place time of 7.75 was his fastest since clocking 7.72 to place fourth in the 2018 NCAA national final. The performance ranks No. 2 all-time in the ASUN Conference and No. 12 in the NCAA this season, putting the redshirt senior in contention for a return trip to the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships next month.
In just his second meet as a Flame, Germain Ronco crossed the finish line in 8.01 seconds. The sixth-place time ranks the Chilean No. 2 behind Atkinson in program history.
Freshman Lawrence completed the Flames' hurdling trifecta with a personal-best 8.04 effort for seventh place. He now sits No. 3 on Liberty's all-time list for the men's 60 hurdles and second to Atkinson among Flames freshmen.
Adrianna Mitchell was Liberty's lone event champion during the meet's opening day. She claimed victory in the open women's triple jump with a 39-3 leap.
Cortney Strohman took fifth place in a field of 94 women's 400 runners with a 55.19 clocking. Fellow senior Jahquez Durham was 22nd of 90 men's 400 competitors with a season-best time of 48.77.
Christian Lyon finished 10th overall and sixth among collegiate performers in the men's 60 semifinals with a time of 6.80 that just missed the final by 0.01 seconds.
Women's Event Winners
Adrianna Mitchell – Open Triple Jump – 39-3
Men's Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Jovaine Atkinson – 60 Hurdles – 7.75
Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
60 Hurdles – No. 2 – Juan Pablo Germain Ronco – 8.01
60 Hurdles – No. 3 – Felix Lawrence – 8.04
Up Next
The South Carolina Invitational will resume Saturday at 10 a.m. with a number of events, including the open men's high jump (Cole Peterlin) and the invitational women's weight throw (Chelsea Igberaese, Naomi Mojica and Patria Vaimaona).
Liberty will also have athletes competing at the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite Meet on Saturday, beginning at noon.
