Friday, September 1
Spartanburg, S.C.
6:30 PM ET
Liberty University
at
Eye Opener
Liberty XC to Begin 2023 Season at Eye Opener, Friday
8/30/2023 4:30:00 PM | Cross Country
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty men's and women's cross country teams will open their 2023 campaign Friday evening in Spartanburg, S.C. The Flames and Lady Flames will take part in the Eye Opener, hosted by USC Upstate at the Milliken Research Park.
The women's 5K will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by the men's 8K at 7:10. The races will be contested at the site of the 2023 NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships and will feature seven Division I squads (Clemson, ETSU, Furman, Liberty, South Carolina, USC Upstate and Wofford).
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Live results will be provided by TimingInc.
Weather Report
Friday's weather forecast for Spartanburg calls for partly cloudy skies and a high around 80. The course could be soggy, depending on the inland track of Hurricane Idalia.
Liberty's most recent regular-season meet in Spartanburg (Upstate Invitational/Big South Preview on Oct. 3, 2015) saw the Flames and Lady Flames battle through a waterlogged Milliken Research Center course.
Checking Out the Course
Liberty will race at the Milliken Research Center for the first time since 2015 in order to preview the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships venue. That event will take place in Spartanburg on Nov. 10.
The Flames' last visit to the Milliken Research Center saw them compete at the Big South Cross Country Championships on Oct. 31, 2015. The men's team came in second while the Lady Flames placed third.
Scouting the Competition
The Flames' top competition on Friday figures to come from two of the Southern Conference's (SoCon) top teams—Furman and ETSU. Furman swept the 2022 Eye Opener team titles to begin a season where the Paladins swept the SoCon men's and women's team championships for the 10th year in a row.
Furman is picked to continue its SoCon championship streaks this season, while ETSU was voted second in the men's poll and third on the women's side.
Furman is a perennial contender within the Southeast Region and opens the 2023 campaign sitting at No. 5 in the Southeast women's rankings and No. 7 on the men's side. Meanwhile, the ETSU men are tabbed for No. 10 in the South Region while the women's squad resides at No. 15.
Great Expectations
Competing in Conference USA for the first time in 2023, the Liberty men's squad is listed as the favorite to capture its first conference title since 2013 (Big South). The Lady Flames were a close second to Middle Tennessee in the women's preseason listing.
Both the Flames and Lady Flames open 2023 ranked No. 9 in the Southeast Region.
A year ago, both the Liberty men's and women's squads came in second in the ASUN Conference and ninth in the Southeast Region.
Welcome Back
The Flames return all four of their All-ASUN performers from 2022, including Nicholas Kiprotich (third place), Jack Cottrell (13th), Kyle Harkabus (14th) and Caleb Olson (21st), while Jacob Hess was the 2022 ASUN Men's Freshman of the Year.
Meanwhile, two All-ASUN performers from Liberty's 2022 conference runner-up women's squad are back, including ASUN Women's Freshman of the Year Ava Gordon (seventh place) and Catherine Farrell (17th). Two-time ASUN women's cross country individual champion Adelyn Fairley also returns to the lineup after redshirting the 2022 campaign.
Fresh Faces
Five Liberty men's runners will run their first cross country race in a Flames uniform on Friday, headlined by Tristian Merchant and Nathan Moore. Merchant raced to the ASUN 10K championship on the track in May. Meanwhile, Nathan Moore joins the Flames on the heels of a 2022 season where he placed 40th at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships while representing Walsh.
Katelyn Locker is the most notable of the five Lady Flames who will make their Liberty cross country debuts in Spartanburg. The Monmouth transfer posted impressive times of 2:07.34 (800) and 4:25.91 (1,500) on the track this past season.
Up Next
The Lady Flames will return to action on Sept. 23 at the Virginia Invitational in Charlottesville, Va. as part of a star-studded field. The women's 5K will begin at 9:20 a.m. at Panorama Farms, site of the 2023 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
Both Liberty teams will compete at the Paul Short Run, Sept. 30 in Bethlehem, Pa. The Flames' first race of the day will come at 11 a.m.
The women's 5K will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by the men's 8K at 7:10. The races will be contested at the site of the 2023 NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships and will feature seven Division I squads (Clemson, ETSU, Furman, Liberty, South Carolina, USC Upstate and Wofford).
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Live results will be provided by TimingInc.
Weather Report
Friday's weather forecast for Spartanburg calls for partly cloudy skies and a high around 80. The course could be soggy, depending on the inland track of Hurricane Idalia.
Liberty's most recent regular-season meet in Spartanburg (Upstate Invitational/Big South Preview on Oct. 3, 2015) saw the Flames and Lady Flames battle through a waterlogged Milliken Research Center course.
Checking Out the Course
Liberty will race at the Milliken Research Center for the first time since 2015 in order to preview the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships venue. That event will take place in Spartanburg on Nov. 10.
The Flames' last visit to the Milliken Research Center saw them compete at the Big South Cross Country Championships on Oct. 31, 2015. The men's team came in second while the Lady Flames placed third.
Scouting the Competition
The Flames' top competition on Friday figures to come from two of the Southern Conference's (SoCon) top teams—Furman and ETSU. Furman swept the 2022 Eye Opener team titles to begin a season where the Paladins swept the SoCon men's and women's team championships for the 10th year in a row.
Furman is picked to continue its SoCon championship streaks this season, while ETSU was voted second in the men's poll and third on the women's side.
Furman is a perennial contender within the Southeast Region and opens the 2023 campaign sitting at No. 5 in the Southeast women's rankings and No. 7 on the men's side. Meanwhile, the ETSU men are tabbed for No. 10 in the South Region while the women's squad resides at No. 15.
Great Expectations
Competing in Conference USA for the first time in 2023, the Liberty men's squad is listed as the favorite to capture its first conference title since 2013 (Big South). The Lady Flames were a close second to Middle Tennessee in the women's preseason listing.
Both the Flames and Lady Flames open 2023 ranked No. 9 in the Southeast Region.
A year ago, both the Liberty men's and women's squads came in second in the ASUN Conference and ninth in the Southeast Region.
Welcome Back
The Flames return all four of their All-ASUN performers from 2022, including Nicholas Kiprotich (third place), Jack Cottrell (13th), Kyle Harkabus (14th) and Caleb Olson (21st), while Jacob Hess was the 2022 ASUN Men's Freshman of the Year.
Meanwhile, two All-ASUN performers from Liberty's 2022 conference runner-up women's squad are back, including ASUN Women's Freshman of the Year Ava Gordon (seventh place) and Catherine Farrell (17th). Two-time ASUN women's cross country individual champion Adelyn Fairley also returns to the lineup after redshirting the 2022 campaign.
Fresh Faces
Five Liberty men's runners will run their first cross country race in a Flames uniform on Friday, headlined by Tristian Merchant and Nathan Moore. Merchant raced to the ASUN 10K championship on the track in May. Meanwhile, Nathan Moore joins the Flames on the heels of a 2022 season where he placed 40th at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships while representing Walsh.
Katelyn Locker is the most notable of the five Lady Flames who will make their Liberty cross country debuts in Spartanburg. The Monmouth transfer posted impressive times of 2:07.34 (800) and 4:25.91 (1,500) on the track this past season.
Up Next
The Lady Flames will return to action on Sept. 23 at the Virginia Invitational in Charlottesville, Va. as part of a star-studded field. The women's 5K will begin at 9:20 a.m. at Panorama Farms, site of the 2023 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
Both Liberty teams will compete at the Paul Short Run, Sept. 30 in Bethlehem, Pa. The Flames' first race of the day will come at 11 a.m.
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