Liberty University
Bryan Clay Invitational
Engle, Bryan Join Heptathlon’s 5,000-Point Club, Friday at Bryan Clay Invite
4/14/2023 11:59:16 PM | Track and Field
Liberty’s Meredith Engle and Patasha Bryan became the program’s sixth and seventh members of heptathlon’s 5,000-point club, Friday at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Engle was one of the Flames’ three event winners on the day, joining Paola Bueno (women’s hammer) and Kevin Nedrick (men’s discus).
Bueno’s winning mark of 191-5 broke her own Liberty freshman record. Brendan Pitcher also set a Liberty freshman record on the Cougar Athletic Stadium oval with his 1:50.40 clocking in the men’s 800.
Women’s Day 2 Recap
Engle posted big marks in the javelin and 800 to come from behind and overtake Concordia-St. Paul’s Arika Harbo by 12 points for the Group B heptathlon title. Her winning score of 5,205 shattered her previous best by 277 points and ranks No. 4 all-time for the Lady Flames.
Engle won the heptathlon javelin with a mark of 129-3 which sits No. 4 on Liberty’s heptathlon javelin chart. She then cut more than three seconds off her 800 best with a 2:17.22 effort, the No. 5 mark in Liberty heptathlon 800 history.
Bryan made sure she eclipsed the 5,000-point mark by ripping off the No. 3 heptathlon 800 performance in program history, a 2:15.81. That put the redshirt freshman’s final score at 5,092, good for fifth place in Group B and No. 6 all-time at Liberty.
Fellow freshman Bueno recorded the women’s hammer’s four longest throws, including a 191-5 in round five which eclipsed her Liberty freshman standard of 190-0 from the Virginia Quadrangular on April 1. The native of Nayarit, Mexico has now won three of her first five collegiate hammer competitions.
Megan Mann (fourth place, 154-2) and Sofia Mojica (eighth, 147-7) both made the finals of the women’s discus.
Men’s Day 2 Recap
Nedrick (191-7) and Desmond Coleman (186-10) continued their impressive season with a 1-2 finish in the men’s discus, contested at nearby Citrus College. All-American Nedrick has now won three consecutive discus competitions.
ASUN indoor men’s 800 champion Pitcher clocked a lifetime-best 1:50.40 which took down the Liberty freshman record of 1:51.11, set by Michael Todd nearly seven years ago to the day (April 15, 2016). He grabbed the No. 7 spot on Liberty’s all-time list in the process.
The final Flame to compete late Friday night, Tristian Merchant posted a season-best 13:58.00 5K which solidified his hold on seventh place all-time for Liberty.
John Hicks produced a fourth-place men’s hammer finish with a top mark of 202-2 on his opening attempt.
Daniel Van Duren completed his first decathlon in fourth place in Group C, totaling 6,412 points. He won the decathlon 110 hurdles in a wind-legal personal-best 14.87 to open his second day of competition.
Women’s Day 2 Event Winners
Paola Bueno – Hammer – 191-5
Meredith Engle – Heptathlon Group B – 5,205
Men’s Day 2 Event Winners
Kevin Nedrick – Discus – 191-7
Other Men’s Day 2 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Desmond Coleman – Discus – 186-10
Day 2 Women’s Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – Hammer – Paola Bueno – 191-5
Previous Record: 190-0 by Bueno at the Virginia Quadrangular, April 1 at Charlottesville, Va.
Day 2 Men’s Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – 800 – Brendan Pitcher – 1:50.40
Previous Record: 1:51.11 by Michael Todd at the Big South Triangular, April 15, 2016 at High Point, N.C.
Day 2 Updates to Liberty’s All-Time Women’s Top 10 List
Heptathlon 800 – No. 3 – Patasha Bryan – 2:15.81
Heptathlon – No. 4 – Meredith Engle – 5,205
Heptathlon Javelin – No. 4 – Meredith Engle – 129-3
Heptathlon 800 – No. 5 – Meredith Engle – 2:17.22
Heptathlon – No. 6 – Patasha Bryan – 5,092
Hammer – No. 7 – Paola Bueno – 191-5
Day 2 Updates to Liberty’s All-Time Men’s Top 10 List
800 – No. 7 – Brendan Pitcher – 1:50.40
5K – No. 7 – Tristian Merchant – 13:58.00
Up Next
Liberty will again have athletes in action at three different meets on Saturday, including the Bryan Clay Invitational (Azusa, Calif.), Mt. SAC Relays (Walnut, Calif.) and Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic (Lynchburg, Va.)
Featured in Main Photo: Meredith Engle (front) and Patasha Bryan
.jpg&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)