Liberty University
Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic
Personal Bests Abound at Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic
4/14/2023 10:12:56 PM | Track and Field
Despite competing in only six events, Liberty was able to rack up numerous personal-best marks on a successful opening day of the Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic, Friday at Dr. Jack M. Toms Track.
Women’s Day 1 Recap
Arguably the Flames’ most impressive breakthrough performances came in the women’s 5K invitational section, the evening’s final event before a thunderstorm suspended competition for the night.
Hope Carr joined the sub-18:00 club in a big way, placing sixth in a time of 17:50.21 which shattered the sophomore’s previous best by 22 seconds. She clocked a 1:18.60 final lap to make sure her first-ever sub-18:00 effort was secure.
Freshman Summer Bejarano followed in eighth place in 18:11.60, notching a 12-second personal best of her own.
Senior teammate Anna Hostetler, who provided pacing help for Carr and Bejarano during the first part of the race, had earlier placed fourth overall (second among collegiate entrants) in the women’s invitational mile in 5:05.25.
Freshmen Jessie Zealand (18:50.21) and Anna Jo Ripple (19:08.59) were the top two collegiate runners in the open women’s 5K, crossing the line second and third overall. For Zealand, it marked her fastest time of the year by 27 seconds.
Rebecca Brown (4:57.71) and Rebekah Simmons (4:59.39) each recorded their first sub-5:00 1,500s in the meet’s first track event, finishing ninth and 10th overall.
Men’s Day 1 Recap
Three Flames finished inside the top seven of the men’s javelin, Liberty’s only field event on Friday. Freshman Brady Diller led the way with a runner-up finish, thanks to a personal-best mark of 189-9 in round six. Sophomore Ethan Mylin (185-4) and freshman Hunter Bleam (personal-best 161-5) followed in third and seventh place, respectively.
Jonathon Hadley clocked a personal-best 4:07.33 to pace the Flames with a third-place finish in the night’s marquee event, the men’s invitational mile. Isaiah Schulties stepped up from his signature 800-meter distance to take ninth in 4:11.04.
Up Next
Liberty will again compete 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: Hope Carr
