Throwers, Distance Runners Set for VertKlasse Meeting
3/30/2021 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Meet Information
Friday Live Video (ESPN+)
Live Results
High Point Weather
Liberty will send a group of throwers and distance runners to High Point's Vert Stadium on Thursday and Friday for the VertKlasse Meeting. It will mark the Flames' first VertKlasse appearance since 2017.
The Flames' hammer throwers will get things started each day. John Hicks, Lane Hluch and Sam Mastro will compete in the men's hammer Thursday at 10 a.m., while the women's trio of Grace Artis, Chelsea Igberaese and Naomi Mojica will throw the hammer beginning Friday at 9:30 a.m.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Friday's events will be broadcasted on ESPN+ beginning at noon.
Live results will be available throughout the VertKlasse Meeting, courtesy of Flash Results.
Weather Report
Thursday's forecast in High Point, N.C., calls for a high in the upper 40s with partly cloudy skies and gusty winds out of the northwest.
On Friday, the high is expected to reach 50 with sunny skies and less wind than Thursday.
About the Facility
Vert Stadium, the home of High Point track & field, soccer and lacrosse, will play host to the 2021 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Liberty will be competing at the facility for the first time since sweeping the men's and women's team titles at the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Flames broke eight school records and eight facility records, headlined by Alejandro Perlaza Zapata's 44.86 clocking in the men's 400 final.
The Flames' last visit to the VertKlasse Meeting (March 31-April 1, 2017) saw current Flame Jovaine Atkinson break the program men's 110 hurdles record for the first time with a wind-aided 14.12 clocking.
Record Breakers
Three Liberty throwers broke records at last week's Texas Relays, and all three are scheduled to compete in the same events at the VertKlasse Meeting.
Chelsea Igberaese's women's hammer mark of 193-8 set the ASUN Conference all-time record. Two of the three women ahead of her on Liberty's all-time hammer list recorded their best-ever performances at High Point. Dasiana Larson set the program record of 206-6 at the 2018 Big South meet, while third-place Jocelyn Williams reached 200-10 at the 2015 Big South meet.
Kyle Mitchell improved his own Liberty men's shot put record with a mark of 61-11.5 which won the Texas Relays title. He will now set his sights on the new ASUN all-time record of 63-8.25 which was set by Kennesaw State's Tyler Blalock last week.
For the third consecutive week, John Hicks broke the Liberty freshman record for the men's hammer, topping 200 feet for the first time at 200-2. He is the Flames' second men's hammer thrower ever to eclipse 200 feet in the event.
Eyes on the 800
Bradley Prentice is scheduled to run his first outdoor 800 since May 2018, when he clocked the two fastest times in program history (1:48.70 and 1:48.74) at the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet in Tampa, Fla.
The men's 800 is shaping up to be a strong event in the ASUN Conference, as two Lipscomb Bisons (Shane Streich – 1:48.68 and Jonathan Schwind – 1:48.94) have already broken 1:49. Liberty's Ally Kipchirchir has yet to compete in an outdoor 800, following an indoor season where he clocked a program-record 1:50.40. The conference all-time outdoor record of 1:48.52, set by North Florida's Nick Morken in 2018, could be in jeopardy this season.
On the women's side, three different Lady Flames have won 800 races this season. Heidi Tillman was victorious at the Lynchburg Hornet Open, Kristiana Young claimed the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational title and Itzel Santos finished first at the Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational. Tillman and Santos are both entered in the 800 on Friday.
Atop the ASUN
During the early stages of the 2021 outdoor track & field season, Liberty ranks No. 1 in the ASUN Conference in the following events:
Women's 4 x 100 Relay – 46.13
Women's Pole Vault – Taylen Langin – 12-5.5
Women's Shot Put – Naomi Mojica – 50-8
Women's Discus – Chelsea Igberaese – 167-11
Women's Hammer – Chelsea Igberaese – 193-8
Women's Javelin – Mackenzie Hainley – 154-5
Men's 100 – Diamantae Griffin – 10.19
Men's 200 – Diamantae Griffin – 20.88
Men's 400 Hurdles – Felix Lawrence – 52.82
Men's 4 x 100 Relay – 40.90
Men's Hammer – John Hicks – 200-2
Men's Javelin – Samuel Arter – 216-6
Punching Preliminary Round Tickets
The 2021 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet will be contested May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla. The East Region's top 32 performers in each event will compete at the meet, with the 12 best finishers advancing to the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Based upon past historical data, here are Liberty's potential NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round qualifiers at this point of the season.
Likely Qualifiers – Jose Ballivian (Men's Shot Put – 61-3), Warren Barrett (Men's Shot Put – 60-6.5) and Kyle Mitchell (Men's Shot Put – 61-11.5)
On the Bubble – Samuel Arter (Men's Javelin – 216-6), Diamantae Griffin (Men's 200 – 20.88), John Hicks (Men's Hammer – 200-2) and Chelsea Igberaese (Women's Discus – 167-11)
Up Next
After taking a weekend off from competition, Liberty will return to action with its first of two meets at Lannigan Field in Charlottesville, Va. The Virginia Challenge is slated for April 16-17.
