Liberty Twilight Qualifier Slated for Wednesday
5/2/2023 3:14:50 PM | Track and Field
Liberty will close out its 2023 outdoor track & field regular season with its lone home meet, the Liberty Twilight Qualifier. The one-day event will take place Wednesday at the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex.
The women’s discus will open competition at 11:30 a.m., while running events will get started at 2 p.m. with the men’s 100 prelims. The senior recognition ceremony is slated for 5 p.m.
The meet is slated to wrap up with the five fastest sections of the 1,500 at 9:10 p.m.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Live results will be available throughout the meet, courtesy of Blue Ridge Timing.
Weather Report
Wednesday’s weather forecast in Lynchburg calls for a mixture of sun and clouds with a 10-20 mph breeze out of the west northwest. The high temperature is expected to approach 60 degrees.
10 Events to Watch (Organized Chronologically)
11:30 a.m. – Women’s Discus – Liberty’s Megan Mann (163-1) and Annika Hantho (157-10) rank 1-2 in the ASUN this season, as they approach their final tune-up for the conference meet. A throw of 165 feet or longer would also put the Lady Flames in contention for a berth at the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet. One athlete who has already punched her ticket to Jacksonville is Virginia Tech’s Essence Henderson (184-2 season best), a two-time All-American in the event.
Noon – Women’s Pole Vault – This event, along with the men’s pole vault, will take place at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex due to the forecast of gusty crosswinds. Six of the 15 entrants boast a seed mark of 13-5.25 or higher. That list includes the Lady Flames’ Taylen Langin (ASUN all-time record 13-9.25), who will compete at home for the final time in her collegiate career. Five-time All-American Sydney Horn of High Point will also be among the event’s top contenders.
1 p.m. (Approximately) – Men’s Discus – Liberty’s Kevin Nedrick and Desmond Coleman have made the men’s discus a can’t miss event this season. All-American Nedrick ranks No. 20 nationally with an ASUN all-time record mark of 194-5, with Coleman sitting No. 22 at a Liberty freshman-record 193-7. Also entered is Jordan Roach, the eighth-place finisher at the last U.S. Olympic Trials who reached a personal-best 203-3 last month. High Point’s Chris Van Niekerk will also challenge Nedrick’s current four-meet winning streak, as he has reached a season best of 190-7.
2:55 p.m. – Men’s 100 Final – After qualifying for last weekend’s Penn Relays 100 final, Liberty’s duo of Omari Lewis and Donald McClinton will chase NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round qualifying marks on Wednesday. They will face off against former Flame Christian Lyon, who won this event in 10.20 a year ago. Virginia Tech’s Cole Beck was last year’s ACC 100 runner-up and owns a season best of 10.14.
3:20 p.m. – Women’s 100 Hurdles Final – Liberty’s women’s 100 hurdles record of 13.65 has stood since Olivia Charnuski set it at the 2010 Liberty Twilight Qualifier. Jasmine Williams has lowered her time to 13.73 thus far in her first season as a Lady Flame. Competing unattached, Liberty’s Indea Cartwright is coming off a personal-best 13.36 clocking her last time out at the Dennis Craddock Coaches Classic on April 15.
3:40 p.m. – Women’s 200 – Isis Brooks will run the 200 for only the second time this season, following her 23.53 effort at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 15. She is just off Abigail Flower’s school record of 23.48 from 2013 and would likely need to run faster than 23.40 to qualify to the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet. Lauren Gale is also entered in the event, coming off a 2022 season where she clocked a personal-best 22.82 and represented Canada at the World Championships.
5:30 p.m. – Men’s 4 x 100 Relay – The first race following the senior recognition ceremony should be one to watch, as Liberty and Virginia Tech vie to become the first 4 x 100 squads ever to break 40 seconds at the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex. The Flames are anticipated to debut the quartet of Rayan Holmes, Donald McClinton, Omari Lewis and Elonzo Burroughs. Meanwhile, the Hokies ran a season-best 39.19 in Jacksonville last weekend. Last season, Virginia Tech placed 10th and Liberty was 12th at the NCAA national meet.
7 p.m. – Men’s 400 Hurdles – Liberty boasts the nation’s fifth-ranked men’s 400 hurdles event squad, and the entire squad is expected to compete on Wednesday. Leading the way are ASUN all-time record holder Rayan Holmes (50.63) and defending ASUN champion Felix Lawrence (53.00 season best). After just two races as a Flame, Holmes is knocking on the door of Mike Reed’s 50.52 program record which has lasted since 1995.
9:10 p.m. – Men’s 1,500 – The men’s 1,500 has become arguably the defining event of this meet, and 67 runners will descend upon Lynchburg on Wednesday to compete in the “metric mile.” Liberty’s entrants are headlined by Kyle Harkabus, who has lowered his personal best to 3:44.02 this year, and Will Jefferson, who clocked a Liberty freshman-record 3:45.28 at the 2022 Liberty Twilight Qualifier. Ryan Drew, who ran a program-record 3:41.26 in that same race for the Flames, will compete unattached during his first post-collegiate season. Virginia Tech’s Antonio Lopez Segura is back to defend his title from 2022 and perhaps chase the facility record of 3:39.03. Eastern Kentucky has entered the talented trio of Abdelhakim Abouzouhir, Jan Badia and Ahmed Kadri, putting the ASUN all-time record (3:40.69) on watch as well. Kadri was the ASUN indoor mile champion, while Abouzouhir currently tops the ASUN list in the 5K, 10K and steeplechase this season.
9:25 p.m. – Women’s 1,500 – Calli Doan has been on a record-breaking roll lately, but one that has eluded her thus far is Coach Heather (Sagan) Zealand’s Liberty 1,500 mark of 4:14.71 from the 2002 NCAA national final. She will take a shot at it Wednesday night in a race that will also feature the NC State duo of Amaris Tyynismaa (seventh-place finisher in 2021 NCAA 1,500 final) and Grace Hartman (sixth in the 2023 ACC indoor mile as a freshman). Last year, the Wolfpack’s Samantha Bush clocked a facility-record 4:13.50 at this meet. Further back, the Lady Flames’ Jessica Palisca and Katie Sigerud could be looking to take down Palisca’s Liberty freshman record of 4:28.39 from the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 15.
Among the Nation’s Elite
Liberty ranks among the top 25 nationally in the following events at this stage of the season.
Men’s Discus – No. 20 – Kevin Nedrick – 194-5
Men’s Discus – No. 22 – Desmond Coleman – 193-7
Women’s Steeplechase – No. 22 – Calli Doan – 9:57.15
Women’s Pole Vault – No. 23 – Taylen Langin – 13-9.25
Men’s 400 Hurdles – No. 24 – Rayan Holmes – 50.63
ASUN Leaders
Heading into the final portion of the 2023 outdoor regular season, Liberty ranks No. 1 in the ASUN Conference in the following events:
Men’s 200 – Omari Lewis – 20.93
Men’s 110 Hurdles – Prosper Ekporere – 13.83
Men’s 400 Hurdles – Rayan Holmes – 50.63
Men’s Discus – Kevin Nedrick – 194-5
Men’s Javelin – Ben Shughart – 214-9
Decathlon – Daniel Van Duren – 6,412
Women’s 100 – Isis Brooks – 11.38
Women’s 1,500 – Calli Doan – 4:15.34
Women’s Steeplechase – Calli Doan – 9:57.15
Women’s 5K – Calli Doan – 15:51.38
Women’s Pole Vault – Taylen Langin – 13-9.25
Women’s Shot Put – Megan Mann – 48-6.75
Women’s Discus – Megan Mann – 163-1
Journeying to Jacksonville
The NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet is scheduled for May 24-27 in Jacksonville, Fla. The following Flames are likely to qualify for the meet, based upon their marks thus far in the 2023 outdoor season.
Desmond Coleman – Men’s Discus
Prosper Ekporere – Men’s 110 Hurdles
John Hicks – Men’s Hammer
Rayan Holmes – Men’s 400 Hurdles
Kevin Nedrick – Men’s Shot Put and Discus
Caleb Olson – Men’s 10K
Ben Shughart – Men’s Javelin
Adelyn Ackley-Fairley – Women’s 10K
Isis Brooks – Women’s 100
Calli Doan – Women’s 1,500, Steeplechase and 5K
Kali Grayson – Women’s Javelin
Taylen Langin – Women’s Pole Vault
Up Next
Liberty will head to Jacksonville, Fla., for the 2023 ASUN Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The meet is scheduled for May 11-13 at North Florida’s Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium.
Featured in Main Photo: Kyle Harkabus (left) and Will Jefferson (right)
