Liberty University
Stanford Invitational
Doan Shatters Program Record with 9:57.15 Steeplechase at Stanford
3/31/2023 11:42:37 PM | Track and Field
Liberty’s Calli Doan sliced 13 seconds off her own program record with a 9:57.15 steeplechase, Friday at the Stanford Invitational. The Flames’ successful day at Cobb Track and Angell Field also saw Anna Hostetler post the No. 3 women’s steeplechase in program history (10:54.73), Caleb Olson run a personal-best 29:11.84 10K for No. 4 all-time at Liberty and Tristian Merchant become the eighth Flame ever to dip under 14:00 for a 5K (13:58.11).
Prior to Friday, Doan’s most recent steeplechase had seen her fall multiple times during the 2021 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet in Jacksonville, Fla. This race went considerably better, as the redshirt junior from Apex, N.C. placed fifth in an invitational section won by 2022 NCAA national runner-up Kayley DeLay of Washington.
Doan’s 9:57.15 clocking, which ranks No. 7 nationally this season, shattered her previous Liberty standard of 10:10.23 from the Virginia Grand Prix, May 1, 2021 in Charlottesville, Va. It was the fastest time by an ASUN runner since Lipscomb’s Madi Talbert recorded a 9:55.79 at the 2016 Mt. SAC Relays.
Doan has now broken three program records in the last two months. She previously ran a 4:36.52 mile in Boston on Feb. 10 and notched a 9:24.67 3K to win the ASUN indoor title on Feb. 25.
Doan collected an NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round qualifier for the second time in as many races this season. She opened her outdoor campaign with a personal-best 4:17.10 1,500 at the Raleigh Relays on March 24, earning ASUN Women’s Track Athlete of the Week honors on Wednesday.
Competing in an earlier section of the steeplechase, Hostetler’s 10:54.73 set a personal best in her first try at the event since the 2019 Big Ten Championships, when she attended Iowa. The only Lady Flames ever to run faster are Doan and Piper Newby (10:35.19 in 2007).
Olson took part in the final race of the night, which wrapped up just before 11:30 p.m. Pacific as the temperature had dropped into the 40s. He made use of the ideal running conditions to trim 2.4 seconds off his personal best, which had been achieved at last year’s Stanford Invitational. NCAA record holder Sam Chelanga, Josh McDougal and Azaria Kirwa are the only three Liberty runners ever to post a 10K superior to Olson’s 29:11.84 effort.
Merchant’s first sub-14:00 5K as a Flame (13:58.11) was less than a second off his lifetime best and puts him into some impressive company. The first-year Liberty athlete from Anchorage, Alaska now ranks No. 7 in program history. The only other Flames who are part of the sub-14:00 club (indoors or outdoors) are Sam Chelanga, Josh McDougal, Ryan Drew, Felix Kandie, Will Jefferson, Caleb Edmonds and Azaria Kirwa.
Jefferson (14:22.01) and Jack Cottrell (14:13.06) also competed in the men’s 5K for the Flames on Friday. It marked Jefferson’s first 5K of 2023, and Cottrell lopped 31 seconds off his outdoor 5K best.
Adelyn Ackley-Fairley’s 16:30.19 effort in the women’s 5K ranks No. 2 on the ASUN Conference list this season. Only three Lady Flames (including Ackley-Fairley at this meet a year ago) have ever gone faster in an outdoor 5K.
Women’s Record Breakers
Liberty Record – Steeplechase – Calli Doan – 9:57.15
Previous Record: 10:10.23 by Doan at the Virginia Grand Prix on May 1, 2021
New Women’s NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round Qualifiers
Calli Doan – Steeplechase – 9:57.15
Updates to Liberty’s All-Time Men’s Top 10 List
10K – No. 4 – Caleb Olson – 29:11.84
5K – No. 7 – Tristian Merchant – 13:58.11
Updates to Liberty’s All-Time Women’s Top 10 List
Steeplechase – No. 1 – Calli Doan – 9:57.15
Steeplechase – No. 3 – Anna Hostetler – 10:54.73
Up Next
Liberty’s quartet of Christopher Burge, Elonzo Burroughs, Omari Lewis and Donald McClinton will compete in the men’s 4 x 100 relay and individual events, Saturday at the VertKlasse Meeting in High Point, N.C.
The Flames will also send a sizable contingent of athletes to the Virginia Quadrangular, slated to begin Saturday at noon at Virginia’s Lannigan Field in Charlottesville, Va.
Featured in Main Photo: Calli Doan
