Friday, February 23
Lynchburg, Va.
10:00 AM ET
Liberty University
vs
Conference USA Indoor Track Championships
(Clockwise from top left): Marie Hostetler, Katelyn Locker, Jessica Palisca and Maddy Merritt won the CUSA women's DMR in a record-breaking 11:32.82
Liberty Men, Women Lead After Impressive CUSA Day 1
2/23/2024 10:40:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Host Liberty made quite the first impression on day one of its first Conference USA Indoor Track & Field Championships appearance, Friday at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. The Flames won seven of 11 events contested, while setting four program records, two facility records and one CUSA meet standard.
The Lady Flames own an 18-point lead over FIU (68-50) atop the women's team standings through six of 17 events. Liberty's victories included the 5K (Adelyn Fairley – 16:46.52), distance medley relay (Katelyn Locker, Maddy Merritt, Jessica Palisca, Marie Hostetler – program and facility-record 11:32.82), long jump (Makenzy Mizera – 19-9.5) and pentathlon (Patasha Bryan – 3,791). Reese Webster also set program records in both of her prelims (60 – 7.31 and 200 – 23.28) on Friday, with the 200 mark also eclipsing the meet and facility bests.
Liberty's men's squad, in search of its 27th consecutive indoor conference title, is also 18 points ahead after Friday's competition. The Flames totaled 68.5 points in five men's disciplines to second-place Sam Houston's 50.5. Edwin Kiprop (5K – 14:07.46), John Hicks (weight throw – program-record 68-4.5) and the distance medley relay quartet of Brendan Pitcher, Luke Anderson, Isaiah Schulties and Kyle Harkabus (10:24.21) recorded the home team's event victories.
Women's Day 1 Recap
Bryan claimed Liberty's first-ever CUSA indoor track & field championship with a workmanlike effort in the pentathlon. Her score of 3,791 points defeated runner-up Fabiola Declet of FIU by 107 tallies. Bryan's first career conference title was aided by a victory in the shot put (38-10.25) and a personal-best 18-4.5 long jump.
While Bryan needed almost five hours to secure her 10 team points, Mizera required only one long jump to do so. Competing for the first time this season due to injury, Mizera matched her lifetime best long jump of 19-9.5 in round one. That's the only attempt she needed to claim her second career indoor long jump crown (also 2020 ASUN). Teammate Rebecca Allen nabbed fourth place in the event and a tie for third in program history with a personal-best 19-1.25 mark.
Fairley started off a string of four straight Liberty track victories to close out the night in dramatic fashion. She took the lead in the 5K during the final straightaway in a race that saw the top four finishers separated by only 0.6 seconds. Fairley is now a three-time indoor conference champion at the 5K distance, following ASUN triumphs in 2021 and 2022.
The grouping of Locker, Merritt, Palisca and Hostetler later raced to victory in the women's distance medley relay. Hostetler's sterling 4:50.07 anchor leg carry enabled Liberty to pull away from Middle Tennessee and take down a pair of records.
The facility standard of 11:34.54 had been set by Lake Braddock High School on the first day of competition at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex (Jan. 13, 2017). Meanwhile, the previous program record of 11:41.12 was achieved by the 2021 ASUN-winning squad of Naomi Armstrong, Megan Hinzman, Itzel Santos and Calli Doan. That marked the Lady Flames' most recent conference title in this event prior to Friday.
All three of Liberty's point scorers in the women's weight throw set big personal bests, including third-place Paola Bueno (66-4.25), fourth-place Megan Mann (63-3.5) and eighth-place Efe Latham (58-5.75). Bueno moved all the way up to No. 2 all-time for the Lady Flames.
With record-breaking teammate Katie Urbine having an off day in the women's pole vault, Colleen Schaner stepped up with a lifetime-best 12-6.75 clearance for third place and an All-CUSA medal.
The Lady Flames sent 10 of a possible 11 runners through to Saturday's finals on the track, led by Webster, who broke her own program records in the 60 and 200 to lead all qualifiers at both distances. The meet record Webster eclipsed in the 200 (23.35 by UCF's Aurieyall Scott) had stood for 11 years prior to Friday.
Men's Day 1 Recap
Liberty's highest-scoring event of the day was the men's weight throw, where Hicks (first place, 68-4.5), Desmond Coleman (second, 66-4.25) and Christian Hicks (third, 62-9.5) swept the three podium spots for a 24-point haul.
Hicks finishes his career as a four-time weight throw conference champion, as he previously claimed ASUN titles in 2020, 2021 and 2022. His record-breaking 68-4.5 effort came in round six, marking the third time the Flames' weight throw mark has changed hands this month.
Hicks first broke Jon Hart's record from 2008 at the Liberty Open on Feb. 3 with a 67-1.25 effort. Coleman took it down six days later, reaching 68-0.5 at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational. He held the record for two weeks before Hicks reclaimed it during Friday evening's final field event.
Younger brother Christian Hicks added more than two feet to his personal best on Friday to garner his first career all-conference medal and move up into a tie with David Scouten for eighth all-time for the Flames.
Running just the second race of his collegiate career, Kiprop dropped Middle Tennessee's Brian Kiptoo with a 27.8 second last lap, winning the men's 5K in 14:07.46 (No. 7 all-time at Liberty). The Flames put five runners inside the top eight for 22 big team points in the event.
About 45 minutes later, the distance medley relay quartet of Pitcher, Anderson, Schulties and Harkabus raced to first place in 10:24.21. Harkabus emerged victorious during a back-and-forth final lap battle with Middle Tennessee's Carmelo Cannizzaro to clinch Liberty's third distance medley relay title in four years. Anderson, Schulties and Harkabus had all helped the Flames win the ASUN DMR in 2022.
Sam Houston entered the meet seeded 1-2-3-4 in the men's pole vault, but Hunter Flack broke up a potential podium sweep by the Bearkats with a personal-best 16-0 clearance for third place.
Last year's ASUN decathlon champion (Daniel Van Duren – 2,976) and last year's ASUN heptathlon champion (Anthony Bryan – 2,935) sit 2-3 in the heptathlon standings through four events.
Van Duren started off with back-to-back personal bests in the 60 (7.08) and long jump (22-7), while Bryan won the shot put (42-11.5) and high jumped a personal-best 6-3.25.
Omari Lewis matched his program record of 6.70 to lead all men's 60 qualifiers and lowered his 200 best to 21.07 (No. 5 all-time at Liberty).
Harkabus (4:16.78) led the Flames' four qualifiers into the men's mile final, while Albrey Gossett (season-best 8.05) was the fastest of Liberty's trio of men's 60 hurdles finalists. Bryan (8.13) and Van Duren (8.19) also safely moved on to the 60 hurdles final during busy days for both.
Women's Team Scores (Through 6 of 17 Events)
1) Liberty – 68
2) FIU – 50
3) Middle Tennessee – 41
4) UTEP – 25
5) WKU – 13
T6) New Mexico State – 11
T6) Louisiana Tech – 11
8) Jacksonville State – 10
9) Sam Houston – 5
Men's Team Scores (Through 5 of 17 Events)
1) Liberty – 68.5
2) Sam Houston – 50.5
3) Middle Tennessee – 31
4) Louisiana Tech – 21.5
5) UTEP – 12.5
6) WKU – 8
Women's Day 1 CUSA Champions
Patasha Bryan – Pentathlon – 3,791
Adelyn Fairley – 5K – 16:46.52
Makenzy Mizera – Long Jump – 19-9.5
Katelyn Locker, Maddy Merritt, Jessica Palisca, Marie Hostetler – Distance Medley Relay – 11:32.82
Men's Day 1 CUSA Champions
John Hicks – Weight Throw – 68-4.5
Edwin Kiprop – 5K – 14:07.46
Brendan Pitcher, Luke Anderson, Isaiah Schulties, Kyle Harkabus – Distance Medley Relay – 10:24.21
Other Women's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Paola Bueno – Weight Throw – 66-4.25
3rd – Colleen Schaner – Pole Vault – 12-6.75
Other Men's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Desmond Coleman – Weight Throw – 66-4.25
3rd – Hunter Flack – Pole Vault – 16-0
3rd – Christian Hicks – Weight Throw – 62-9.5
Women's Day 1 Record Breakers
Meet Record – 200 – Reese Webster – 23.28
Previous Record: 23.35 by UCF's Aurieyall Scott on Feb. 24, 2013
Program Record – 60 – Reese Webster – 7.31
Previous Record: 7.32 by Webster at the Liberty Open on Feb. 3
Program Record – 200 – Reese Webster – 23.28
Previous Record: 23.66 by Webster at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational on Feb. 10
Program Record – DMR – Locker, Merritt, Palisca, Hostetler – 11:32.82
Previous Record: 11:41.12 by Naomi Armstrong, Megan Hinzman, Itzel Santos and Calli Doan at the ASUN Championship on Feb. 26, 2021
Facility Record – 200 – Reese Webster – 23.28
Previous Record: 23.30 by Charlotte's Joyasia Smith on Feb. 10, 2024
Facility Record – DMR – Locker, Merritt, Palisca, Hostetler – 11:32.82
Previous Record: 11:34.54 by Lake Braddock High School on Jan. 13, 2017
Men's Day 1 Record Breakers
Program Record – Weight Throw – John Hicks – 68-4.5
Previous Record: 68-0.5 by Desmond Coleman at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational on Feb. 9
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 1 – 60 – Reese Webster – 7.31
No. 1 – 200 – Reese Webster – 23.28
No. 1 – DMR – Locker, Merritt, Palisca, Hostetler – 11:32.82
No. 2 – Long Jump – Makenzy Mizera – 19-9.5
No. 2 – Weight Throw – Paola Bueno – 66-4.25
Tie for No. 3 – Long Jump – Rebecca Allen – 19-1.25
No. 5 – 200 – Indea Cartwright – 24.32
No. 7 – Weight Throw – Megan Mann – 63-3.5
No. 9 – Pole Vault – Colleen Schaner – 12-6.75
No. 10 – 800 – Katrina Schlenker – 2:12.53
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 1 – Weight Throw – John Hicks – 68-4.5
No. 5 – 200 – Omari Lewis – 21.07
No. 5 – 60 Hurdles – Albrey Gossett – 8.05
No. 7 – 5K – Edwin Kiprop – 14:07.46
Tie for No. 8 – Weight Throw – Christian Hicks – 62-9.5
No. 9 – 200 – Revell Webster – 21.53
Up Next
The meet will conclude with a busy day of activity on Saturday. First up will be the heptathlon 60 hurdles at 10:30 a.m. Field events will commence at Noon with the women's shot put, women's triple jump and women's high jump, while the women's mile final will get running events going at 2 p.m.
The Lady Flames own an 18-point lead over FIU (68-50) atop the women's team standings through six of 17 events. Liberty's victories included the 5K (Adelyn Fairley – 16:46.52), distance medley relay (Katelyn Locker, Maddy Merritt, Jessica Palisca, Marie Hostetler – program and facility-record 11:32.82), long jump (Makenzy Mizera – 19-9.5) and pentathlon (Patasha Bryan – 3,791). Reese Webster also set program records in both of her prelims (60 – 7.31 and 200 – 23.28) on Friday, with the 200 mark also eclipsing the meet and facility bests.
Liberty's men's squad, in search of its 27th consecutive indoor conference title, is also 18 points ahead after Friday's competition. The Flames totaled 68.5 points in five men's disciplines to second-place Sam Houston's 50.5. Edwin Kiprop (5K – 14:07.46), John Hicks (weight throw – program-record 68-4.5) and the distance medley relay quartet of Brendan Pitcher, Luke Anderson, Isaiah Schulties and Kyle Harkabus (10:24.21) recorded the home team's event victories.
Women's Day 1 Recap
Bryan claimed Liberty's first-ever CUSA indoor track & field championship with a workmanlike effort in the pentathlon. Her score of 3,791 points defeated runner-up Fabiola Declet of FIU by 107 tallies. Bryan's first career conference title was aided by a victory in the shot put (38-10.25) and a personal-best 18-4.5 long jump.
While Bryan needed almost five hours to secure her 10 team points, Mizera required only one long jump to do so. Competing for the first time this season due to injury, Mizera matched her lifetime best long jump of 19-9.5 in round one. That's the only attempt she needed to claim her second career indoor long jump crown (also 2020 ASUN). Teammate Rebecca Allen nabbed fourth place in the event and a tie for third in program history with a personal-best 19-1.25 mark.
Fairley started off a string of four straight Liberty track victories to close out the night in dramatic fashion. She took the lead in the 5K during the final straightaway in a race that saw the top four finishers separated by only 0.6 seconds. Fairley is now a three-time indoor conference champion at the 5K distance, following ASUN triumphs in 2021 and 2022.
The grouping of Locker, Merritt, Palisca and Hostetler later raced to victory in the women's distance medley relay. Hostetler's sterling 4:50.07 anchor leg carry enabled Liberty to pull away from Middle Tennessee and take down a pair of records.
The facility standard of 11:34.54 had been set by Lake Braddock High School on the first day of competition at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex (Jan. 13, 2017). Meanwhile, the previous program record of 11:41.12 was achieved by the 2021 ASUN-winning squad of Naomi Armstrong, Megan Hinzman, Itzel Santos and Calli Doan. That marked the Lady Flames' most recent conference title in this event prior to Friday.
All three of Liberty's point scorers in the women's weight throw set big personal bests, including third-place Paola Bueno (66-4.25), fourth-place Megan Mann (63-3.5) and eighth-place Efe Latham (58-5.75). Bueno moved all the way up to No. 2 all-time for the Lady Flames.
With record-breaking teammate Katie Urbine having an off day in the women's pole vault, Colleen Schaner stepped up with a lifetime-best 12-6.75 clearance for third place and an All-CUSA medal.
The Lady Flames sent 10 of a possible 11 runners through to Saturday's finals on the track, led by Webster, who broke her own program records in the 60 and 200 to lead all qualifiers at both distances. The meet record Webster eclipsed in the 200 (23.35 by UCF's Aurieyall Scott) had stood for 11 years prior to Friday.
Men's Day 1 Recap
Liberty's highest-scoring event of the day was the men's weight throw, where Hicks (first place, 68-4.5), Desmond Coleman (second, 66-4.25) and Christian Hicks (third, 62-9.5) swept the three podium spots for a 24-point haul.
Hicks finishes his career as a four-time weight throw conference champion, as he previously claimed ASUN titles in 2020, 2021 and 2022. His record-breaking 68-4.5 effort came in round six, marking the third time the Flames' weight throw mark has changed hands this month.
Hicks first broke Jon Hart's record from 2008 at the Liberty Open on Feb. 3 with a 67-1.25 effort. Coleman took it down six days later, reaching 68-0.5 at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational. He held the record for two weeks before Hicks reclaimed it during Friday evening's final field event.
Younger brother Christian Hicks added more than two feet to his personal best on Friday to garner his first career all-conference medal and move up into a tie with David Scouten for eighth all-time for the Flames.
Running just the second race of his collegiate career, Kiprop dropped Middle Tennessee's Brian Kiptoo with a 27.8 second last lap, winning the men's 5K in 14:07.46 (No. 7 all-time at Liberty). The Flames put five runners inside the top eight for 22 big team points in the event.
About 45 minutes later, the distance medley relay quartet of Pitcher, Anderson, Schulties and Harkabus raced to first place in 10:24.21. Harkabus emerged victorious during a back-and-forth final lap battle with Middle Tennessee's Carmelo Cannizzaro to clinch Liberty's third distance medley relay title in four years. Anderson, Schulties and Harkabus had all helped the Flames win the ASUN DMR in 2022.
Sam Houston entered the meet seeded 1-2-3-4 in the men's pole vault, but Hunter Flack broke up a potential podium sweep by the Bearkats with a personal-best 16-0 clearance for third place.
Last year's ASUN decathlon champion (Daniel Van Duren – 2,976) and last year's ASUN heptathlon champion (Anthony Bryan – 2,935) sit 2-3 in the heptathlon standings through four events.
Van Duren started off with back-to-back personal bests in the 60 (7.08) and long jump (22-7), while Bryan won the shot put (42-11.5) and high jumped a personal-best 6-3.25.
Omari Lewis matched his program record of 6.70 to lead all men's 60 qualifiers and lowered his 200 best to 21.07 (No. 5 all-time at Liberty).
Harkabus (4:16.78) led the Flames' four qualifiers into the men's mile final, while Albrey Gossett (season-best 8.05) was the fastest of Liberty's trio of men's 60 hurdles finalists. Bryan (8.13) and Van Duren (8.19) also safely moved on to the 60 hurdles final during busy days for both.
Women's Team Scores (Through 6 of 17 Events)
1) Liberty – 68
2) FIU – 50
3) Middle Tennessee – 41
4) UTEP – 25
5) WKU – 13
T6) New Mexico State – 11
T6) Louisiana Tech – 11
8) Jacksonville State – 10
9) Sam Houston – 5
Men's Team Scores (Through 5 of 17 Events)
1) Liberty – 68.5
2) Sam Houston – 50.5
3) Middle Tennessee – 31
4) Louisiana Tech – 21.5
5) UTEP – 12.5
6) WKU – 8
Women's Day 1 CUSA Champions
Patasha Bryan – Pentathlon – 3,791
Adelyn Fairley – 5K – 16:46.52
Makenzy Mizera – Long Jump – 19-9.5
Katelyn Locker, Maddy Merritt, Jessica Palisca, Marie Hostetler – Distance Medley Relay – 11:32.82
Men's Day 1 CUSA Champions
John Hicks – Weight Throw – 68-4.5
Edwin Kiprop – 5K – 14:07.46
Brendan Pitcher, Luke Anderson, Isaiah Schulties, Kyle Harkabus – Distance Medley Relay – 10:24.21
Other Women's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Paola Bueno – Weight Throw – 66-4.25
3rd – Colleen Schaner – Pole Vault – 12-6.75
Other Men's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Desmond Coleman – Weight Throw – 66-4.25
3rd – Hunter Flack – Pole Vault – 16-0
3rd – Christian Hicks – Weight Throw – 62-9.5
Women's Day 1 Record Breakers
Meet Record – 200 – Reese Webster – 23.28
Previous Record: 23.35 by UCF's Aurieyall Scott on Feb. 24, 2013
Program Record – 60 – Reese Webster – 7.31
Previous Record: 7.32 by Webster at the Liberty Open on Feb. 3
Program Record – 200 – Reese Webster – 23.28
Previous Record: 23.66 by Webster at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational on Feb. 10
Program Record – DMR – Locker, Merritt, Palisca, Hostetler – 11:32.82
Previous Record: 11:41.12 by Naomi Armstrong, Megan Hinzman, Itzel Santos and Calli Doan at the ASUN Championship on Feb. 26, 2021
Facility Record – 200 – Reese Webster – 23.28
Previous Record: 23.30 by Charlotte's Joyasia Smith on Feb. 10, 2024
Facility Record – DMR – Locker, Merritt, Palisca, Hostetler – 11:32.82
Previous Record: 11:34.54 by Lake Braddock High School on Jan. 13, 2017
Men's Day 1 Record Breakers
Program Record – Weight Throw – John Hicks – 68-4.5
Previous Record: 68-0.5 by Desmond Coleman at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational on Feb. 9
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 1 – 60 – Reese Webster – 7.31
No. 1 – 200 – Reese Webster – 23.28
No. 1 – DMR – Locker, Merritt, Palisca, Hostetler – 11:32.82
No. 2 – Long Jump – Makenzy Mizera – 19-9.5
No. 2 – Weight Throw – Paola Bueno – 66-4.25
Tie for No. 3 – Long Jump – Rebecca Allen – 19-1.25
No. 5 – 200 – Indea Cartwright – 24.32
No. 7 – Weight Throw – Megan Mann – 63-3.5
No. 9 – Pole Vault – Colleen Schaner – 12-6.75
No. 10 – 800 – Katrina Schlenker – 2:12.53
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 1 – Weight Throw – John Hicks – 68-4.5
No. 5 – 200 – Omari Lewis – 21.07
No. 5 – 60 Hurdles – Albrey Gossett – 8.05
No. 7 – 5K – Edwin Kiprop – 14:07.46
Tie for No. 8 – Weight Throw – Christian Hicks – 62-9.5
No. 9 – 200 – Revell Webster – 21.53
Up Next
The meet will conclude with a busy day of activity on Saturday. First up will be the heptathlon 60 hurdles at 10:30 a.m. Field events will commence at Noon with the women's shot put, women's triple jump and women's high jump, while the women's mile final will get running events going at 2 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Jumps
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Hurdles
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Mid-distance/PV
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Decathlon
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Heptathlon
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Hammer
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Hurdles
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Throws
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Distance
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Distance
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Pole Vault
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Mid-distance
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Hurdles
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Distance
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Throws
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Throws
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Mid-distance
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Distance
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Throws
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Sprints
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Throws
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Sprints
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Jumps
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Mid-distance
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Mid-distance
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Pole Vault
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Distance
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Mid-distance
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Pole Vault
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Decathlon
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Sprints
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Sprints
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