10 Flames Voted to ASUN Indoor Track All-Academic Teams
3/12/2021 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
A conference-high 10 Liberty student-athletes have been voted to the 2021 ASUN Conference Indoor Track & Field All-Academic Teams. The honorees include six Lady Flames (Naomi Armstrong, Calli Doan, Taylen Langin, Rachel Milnes, Makenzy Mizera and Noel Palmer) and four Flames (Stuart Folkerts, Juan Pablo Germain Ronco, Anders Janes and Joe Spitzer).
For Milnes, Palmer and Janes, it is their third career ASUN All-Academic Team appearance. Each of them was previously voted to the 2019 outdoor and 2020 indoor All-Academic squads. For each of Liberty's seven other award winners, this marks their first ASUN All-Academic Team honor.
Armstrong, a junior from Hartly, Del., is an exercise science major with a 3.95 GPA. She posted top-three finishes in all three of her events at the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships. Armstrong led off for Liberty's first-place distance medley relay squad which clocked a school-record time of 11:41.12 (No. 2 in meet history). She finished as the runner-up in the 800 with a personal-best time of 2:10.53 (tied for No. 5 in program history and tied for No. 10 in meet history). Finally, Armstrong took third place in the pole vault with an 11-2.25 clearance.
Doan, a junior from Apex, N.C., is an exercise science major with a 4.0 GPA. She won both of her events at the ASUN meet, including the mile (personal-best 4:45.84) and distance medley relay (program-record 11:41.12). The mile time ranks No. 2 in program history and No. 3 in meet history, while the relay time ranks No. 2 in meet history. In the distance medley relay, Doan took the baton more than eight seconds behind Kennesaw State before coming back to win the race.
Langin, a junior from Meridian, Idaho, is an exercise science major with a 3.95 GPA. She pole vaulted an indoor personal-best 12-11.75 at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational. That mark is tied for No. 2 all-time in the ASUN and ranks No. 3 on Liberty's all-time list for the event.
Milnes, a senior from Jonesboro, Ark., is a biomedical science major with a 3.96 GPA. She was named ASUN Women's Field Athlete of the Week on Jan. 27 after pole vaulting 13-1.5 at the Liberty Elite Invitational. That is the top indoor mark ever posted by an ASUN athlete, ranks No. 2 in program history and sits No. 64 in the NCAA this season.
Mizera, a junior from Maryville, Mo., is an exercise science major with a 3.79 GPA. She posted the longest triple jump mark in the conference by two feet this season with her program-record 42-8 effort at the Bob Pollock Invitational. That ranks No. 2 in ASUN history and No. 32 in the NCAA for the 2021 season. The ASUN Women's Field Athlete of the Week on Feb. 3, Mizera also recorded the ASUN's third-longest long jump mark of 2021 with her 19-3.5 performance at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
Palmer, a senior from Forest, Va., is a biology major with a 4.0 GPA. With the meet hanging in the balance, she pulled out a fifth place finish in the ASUN women's 5K final in 17:11.14. Two weeks earlier, Palmer had raced to a season-best 5K time of 16:54.96 for fifth place at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational.
Folkerts, a redshirt sophomore from Highlands Ranch, Colo., is a psychology major with a 4.0 GPA. He earned his first career All-ASUN medal with a third-place finish in the men's weight throw. Folkerts' mark from the ASUN meet, a personal-best 57-7, ranks No. 9 in program history. He made major improvements from 2020, when his top weight throw measured 51-11.25.
Germain Ronco, a junior from Santiago, Chile, is a business administration major with a 3.47 GPA. He was the ASUN men's 60 hurdles runner-up in 8.04 after clocking a season-best time of 8.02 in the prelims. Germain Ronco was also the top collegiate finisher in the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational 60 hurdles, coming in third overall in the event.
Janes, a redshirt junior from Victoria, Minn., is a strategic communications major with a 3.44 GPA. He was the ASUN men's pole vault runner-up, thanks to an indoor personal-best 16-7.25 clearance. That mark is tied for No. 3 in meet history, ranks No. 6 all-time at Liberty and sits No. 57 in the NCAA this season. Janes was names ASUN Men's Field Athlete of the Week on Feb. 10 after placing fifth overall (first collegiate) in the Brant Tolsma Invitational pole vault competition.
Spitzer, a junior from Versailles, Ohio, is an electrical engineering major with a 3.77 GPA. He garnered his first career All-ASUN medal with a third-place finish in the ASUN men's 3K final (8:25.19). The following day, Spitzer crossed the finish line sixth in the mile (4:19.29).
