Liberty University
WildCat Twilight
Freshmen Account for 5 of Flames’ 7 Victories at WildCat Twilight
4/22/2023 7:39:41 PM | Track and Field
Liberty posted seven first-place finishes at Saturday’s WildCat Twilight, hosted by Randolph College at WildCat Stadium. Five of the victories were achieved by freshmen, including a pair (women’s 200 and 400) by Emily Coates.
Liberty’s other freshman victors included Rebecca Allen (women’s long jump), Summer Bejarano (women’s 1,500) and Josh Blalock (men’s 400 hurdles). For Allen and Blalock, it marked their first individual event victory as collegiate athletes.
Gabrielle Brohard (women’s 100) and Samantha Troup (women’s 800) also won events for the Lady Flames, giving the Liberty women’s squad a sweep of every event title from 100 meters to 1,500 meters.
Women’s Meet Recap
Liberty finished 1-2-3 in both the women’s 200 and 800 on Saturday. Coates’ 26.05 effort led the way in the 200, followed by fellow freshman Ava Podolski (26.85) and Brohard (26.86).
Troup posted an impressive negative split (1:11.96/1:08.99) to successfully defend her WildCat Twilight 800 title from 2022 in 2:20.95. Teammates Rebekah Simmons (personal-best 2:21.26) and Priscillah Kiplagat (2:22.09) followed Troup across the finish line in second and third.
Brohard was the first Lady Flame to win an event after a thunderstorm delayed running events by 1 hour, 40 minutes. She clocked a 100 time of 13.25 into a 0.5 m/s headwind, edging Emmy Donlon of the Virginia Tech Running Club by three thousandths of a second.
Coates won a 400 at Randolph College for the second time in 15 days (also the WildCat Track Festival), thanks to a 1:00.80 clocking. Ellie Bevan (1:01.38) and Podolski (1:01.85) placed third and fourth, respectively, for the Lady Flames.
Bejarano lopped 12 seconds off her 1,500 PR to win in 4:40.48, just ahead of runner-up Kiplagat (season-best 4:42.35). Bejarano became the eighth Lady Flame to run 4:40 or faster in the event this season.
Allen was the lone Liberty athlete to take home a field event title on Saturday, thanks to an 18-1.5 long jump.
Men’s Meet Recap
Liberty entered the weekend with the nation’s No. 5-ranked men’s 400 hurdles event squad, according to the USTFCCCA. The Flames did nothing to harm that ranking, with freshmen Blalock (53.83) and Isaiah Idore (54.83) each posting personal-best times while finishing 1-2.
Another member of the Flames’ freshman class, Hunter Bleam, competed in five different events on Saturday. He placed third in the men’s 400 (51.99), fourth in the long jump (19-0.75), fifth in both the 110 hurdles (17.55) and discus (116-9) and sixth in the shot put (37-6).
Two unattached Flames won a pair of events each, including Anthony Bryan (110 hurdles – 14.77 and shot put – 43-9.75) and Michael Rose (400 – 50.20 and triple jump – 45-2.5). For Rose, it marked his first competition of any kind in 2023.
Women’s Event Winners
Rebecca Allen – Long Jump – 18-1.5
Summer Bejarano – 1,500 – 4:40.48
Gabrielle Brohard – 100 – 13.25
Emily Coates – 200 – 26.05
Emily Coates – 400 – 1:00.80
Samantha Troup – 800 – 2:20.95
Men’s Event Winners
Josh Blalock – 400 Hurdles – 53.83
Up Next
Liberty will compete in the Penn Relays for the first time since 2017, April 27-29 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
Featured in Main Photo: Emily Coates
