Liberty University
Virginia Challenge
6 Records Go Down Friday at the Virginia Challenge
4/16/2021 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Liberty broke six different records on an action-packed opening day of the Virginia Challenge, Friday at Lannigan Field. They included two ASUN all-time records (Adelyn Ackley's 16:10.19 5K and Chelsea Igberaese's 203-1 hammer throw), one program record (Calli Doan's 10:25.34 steeplechase) and three Liberty freshman records (Ackley's 5K effort, Kali Grayson's 158-6 javelin throw and John Hicks' 204-1 hammer throw).
Ackley broke the longest-standing record of the day, as Belmont's Christy Csorna's 16:13.71 effort had stood as the ASUN women's 5K standard since April 30, 2004, when Ackley was three years old. Ackley slashed 15 seconds off her 5K personal best to move up to No. 2 in program history and put herself in contention for an NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round berth.
Ackley also improved upon the program freshman record of 16:28.13, set by teammate Noel Palmer on the same track at the 2018 Virginia Challenge. Behind Ackley, Grace Dwyer lowered her 5K personal best to 16:44.55 and Priscillah Kiplagat's 17:13.31 made her the fifth current Lady Flame to join the program's all-time top 10 list for the event.
Competing in the day's opening event, Igberaese eclipsed the ASUN women's hammer record for the second time this season. The junior originally set the record at 193-8 at the Texas Relays on March 25, only to see Jacksonville's Sade Meeks throw 198-1 at the USF Invite on April 3.
All five of Igberaese's legal marks on Friday registered over 200 feet, headlined by her 203-1 mark in round four. That enabled her to leapfrog All-Americans Jocelyn Williams and Melinda Bendik to take over the No. 2 spot on Liberty's all-time women's hammer list. It should also take Igberaese to the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet in a second event, along with the discus.
Prior to Friday, Piper Newby's 10:35.19 clocking from the NCAA East Regional in Gainesville, Fla., had stood as the Liberty women's steeplechase record since May 26, 2007. No one had come within 23 seconds of breaking it since then, until Doan made an impressive steeplechase debut in Charlottesville. The sophomore's first race of the 2021 outdoor season saw her set a new program record of 10:25.34.
That performance will put Doan in the hunt for an NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round invitation, as will the effort of All-American Felix Kandie on the men's side. His first steeplechase since the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships resulted in an 8:56.17 clocking.
Grayson is yet another Lady Flame who has entered the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round discussion after a big breakthrough performance on Friday. Her 158-6 bomb in round three, which was good for fourth place in the event, added 18.5 feet to her previous best. It also shattered Brenna Smith's Liberty freshman record of 140-10 from 2015. Grayson now trails only Smith on the Lady Flames' all-time javelin chart.
Teammate Mackenzie Hainley added a sixth-place women's javelin finish at 150-5, giving the Lady Flames a pair of 150-foot javelin throwers at the same meet for the first time in program history.
Hicks' 204-1 heave enabled him to break the Liberty men's hammer freshman record for the fourth time this season, adding four feet to his mark from the Texas Relays on March 25. It also produced a fifth-place finish in the event.
Program record holder Diamantae Griffin posted Liberty's highest event finish of the day, with his 100 time of 10.48 taking home runner-up honors.
Running his first 5K in a Liberty uniform, Ryan Drew dominated his heat with a 14:04.34 clocking which ranks No. 6 all-time for the Flames.
During his last Virginia Challenge appearance in 2019, Jeremy Davis had recorded a personal-best 23-7.5 long jump during the decathlon. On Friday, Davis had only the long jump to focus on and added 10 inches to that mark. His 24-5.5 leap was good for fourth in the event, No. 1 in the ASUN this season, tied for No. 8 in program history and the longest jump by a Flame in 11 years.
Davis was not the only Flame to long jump well on Friday. Making his decathlon debut, Branson Rolle long jumped a personal-best 23-7.25 for arguably his best event of an impressive opening day. The junior has racked up 3,913 points through five events, also aided by strong performances in both running events (10.92 100 and 49.85 400). Rolle currently sits in second place, trailing only Pitt All-American Felix Wolter.
Competing in her first heptathlon, freshman Meredith Engle is fourth with 2,804 points through Friday's four disciplines. She started out strong, posting a season-best 100 hurdles time of 15.42 and matching her season-best high jump clearance of 5-2.25.
Men's Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Diamantae Griffin – 100 – 10.48
Women's Record Breakers
ASUN Conference Record – Hammer – Chelsea Igberaese – 203-1
Previous Record: 198-1 by Jacksonville's Sade Meeks at the USF Invite on April 3, 2021
ASUN Conference Record – 5K – Adelyn Ackley – 16:10.19
Previous Record: 16:13.71 by Belmont's Christy Csorna at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational on April 30, 2004
Liberty Record – Steeplechase – Calli Doan – 10:25.34
Previous Record: 10:35.19 by Piper Newby at the NCAA East Regional on May 26, 2007
Liberty Freshman Record – 5K – Adelyn Ackley – 16:10.19
Previous Record: 16:28.13 by Noel Palmer at the Virginia Challenge on April 21, 2018
Liberty Freshman Record – Javelin – Kali Grayson – 158-6
Previous Record: 140-10 by Brenna Smith at Radford on April 24, 2015
Men's Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – Hammer – John Hicks – 204-1
Previous Record: 200-2 by Hicks at the Texas Relays on March 25
Women's NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round Qualifiers
Chelsea Igberaese – Hammer – 203-1
Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
Steeplechase – No. 1 – Calli Doan – 10:25.34
5K – No. 2 – Adelyn Ackley – 16:10.19
Javelin – No. 2 – Kali Grayson – 158-6
Hammer – No. 2 – Chelsea Igberaese – 203-1
5K – No. 5 – Grace Dwyer – 16:44.55
Hammer – No. 8 – Grace Artis – 177-1
100 – No. 8 – Abby Pantlitz – 11.86
5K – No. 10 – Priscillah Kiplagat – 17:13.31
Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
Hammer – No. 2 – John Hicks – 204-1
Decathlon Long Jump – Tie for No. 4 – Branson Rolle – 23-7.25
Decathlon 100 – No. 5 – Branson Rolle – 10.92
5K – No. 6 – Ryan Drew – 14:04.34
Long Jump – Tie for No. 8 – Jeremy Davis – 24-5.5
Up Next
Liberty athletes will be in action in two different meets on Saturday. The Virginia Challenge will resume at 10 a.m. with the decathlon 110 hurdles. Meanwhile, the Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic will begin in Lynchburg at 8 a.m., with the men's hammer and women's shot put first up on the schedule.
