Liberty University
Aggie Classic
Liberty Wins 4 Events on Soggy Saturday at Aggie Classic
4/24/2021 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Battling a steady rain on Saturday at the Aggie Classic, Liberty was able to win four events. The Flames' victors at Irwin Belk Track included a pair of mid-distance runners (Kyle Harkabus – men's 1,500 and Ally Kipchirchir – men's 800) and two throwers (Grace Artis – women's hammer and Kyle Mitchell – men's shot put).
One week after blazing a 5K personal best of 14:24.46, Harkabus led a 1-2-3 Liberty sweep in the men's 1,500. The freshman crossed the finish line in 3:52.25, followed in succession by teammates Joe Spitzer (3:54.25) and Jeremiah Mussmon (3:55.07). All three Flames set new personal bests in the "metric mile."
Contesting his first outdoor 800 of the season, indoor program record holder Kipchirchir won his event in 1:52.58. Spitzer lowered his 800 best to 1:57.01 for 11th place during his second race of the afternoon.
With the adverse conditions, Mitchell was unable to approach his program men's shot put record of 62-11.25 achieved at last Saturday's Virginia Challenge. However, his 60-4.5 effort won the competition by nearly four feet over teammate and fellow Jamaican Warren Barrett (56-6.5), the shot put runner-up.
Artis' first hammer attempt measured 173-2. That mark was good enough for her second hammer victory of the season. Freshman teammate Sofia Mojica reached 148-9 in the event to post her second fourth-place finish of the day. Mojica also took fourth in the women's discus (144-0).
Naomi Armstrong won her heat of the women's 800 and captured second place overall with a 2:12.25 clocking.
Men's hammer throwers Lane Hluch (176-3) and Stuart Folkerts (165-0) finished third and fourth, respectively.
Women's Event Winners (1)
Grace Artis – Hammer – 173-2
Men's Event Winners (3)
Kyle Harkabus – 1,500 – 3:52.25
Ally Kipchirchir – 800 – 1:52.58
Kyle Mitchell – Shot Put – 60-4.5
Other Women's Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Naomi Armstrong – 800 – 2:12.25
Other Men's Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Warren Barrett – Shot Put – 56-6.5
2nd – Joe Spitzer – 1,500 – 3:54.25
3rd – Lane Hluch – Hammer – 176-3
3rd – Jeremiah Mussmon – 1,500 – 3:55.07
Up Next
Liberty will divide its team between two different meets next week. Some Flames and Lady Flames will head to Jacksonville, Fla., for the UNF Invitational, Thursday and Friday. The meet will take place at the newly renovated Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium, site of this year's ASUN Outdoor Track & Field Championships and NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet.
Others will head up Route 29 to Charlottesville for the Virginia Grand Prix. Liberty's second meet in three weeks at Lannigan Field is slated for Saturday and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
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