Joshua Smith
Flames to Compete in Meets at High Point & Lynchburg
3/21/2024 3:35:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty will divide up its squad for the first time this season, Friday and Saturday. A majority of the Flames and Lady Flames will take part in the team-scored Bob Davidson Team Challenge at High Point. Meanwhile, a smaller group of Lady Flames will remain in the Hill City for the Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Live video streaming will be provided for the Saturday events at the Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational on YouTube, courtesy of the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network.
Live results will also be available throughout both meets, thanks to Flash Results (Bob Davidson Team Challenge) and Blue Ridge Timing (Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational).
Weather Report
The high temperature in High Point is forecasted to be around 60 degrees on both Friday and Saturday. Rain is expected to arrive Friday afternoon and continue into Saturday morning. Saturday will see a strong wind blowing out of the north.
The weather in Lynchburg will be similar to High Point, but rain is expected to begin a bit later Friday evening and extend through more of the day on Saturday.
Keeping Score
The Bob Davidson Team Challenge will be Liberty's first scored regular-season competition since the 2022 Meet of Champions, also hosted by High Point. The Flames and Lady Flames each finished second at that event.
This week's meet will see Liberty battle teams from Akron, Campbell, East Carolina, Furman, George Mason, host High Point, Howard, James Madison, North Carolina A&T and UNCG.
Stepping Outside
Some of Liberty's top performers from the CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships are slated to make their 2024 outdoor season debuts at High Point this week. The following are some of the top events to watch:
Women's 100 (Reese Webster) – Webster won the CUSA women's 60 dash title, capping off a record-breaking indoor season. She was the CAA women's 100 champion as a freshman at Elon last year. Webster's fastest time of 11.57 came at High Point's facility at the 2023 VertKlasse Meeting.
Women's 800 (Katelyn Locker) – The CUSA women's 800 champion, Locker will run the event outdoors in a Liberty uniform for the first time. Locker was the MAAC outdoor 800 titlist in 2021, competing for Monmouth.
Women's 100 Hurdles (Indea Cartwright) – Cartwright lowered the Liberty women's 60 hurdles record to 8.16 while finishing second in the CUSA final. Now she could take aim at the program 100 hurdles standard of 13.65 set by Olivia Charnuski in 2010. Competing unattached in 2023, Cartwright blazed to a time of 13.36.
Men's 100 (Omari Lewis) – Lewis claimed the CUSA men's 60 crown in a program-record 6.67. His fastest 100 clocking a year ago was 10.22, just off Diamantae Griffin's Liberty standard of 10.19 from 2021.
Men's 1,500 (Kyle Harkabus, Edwin Kiprop and Brendan Pitcher) – Pitcher (800), Harkabus (mile) and Kiprop (3K and 5K) combined for four event victories at the CUSA meet. They will converge at the 1,500-meter distance in High Point. Harkabus (No. 4, 3:44.02) and Pitcher (No. 10, 3:48.66) both rank among the top 10 metric milers in program history, while Kiprop will make his Liberty debut at this distance.
Men's Triple Jump (Joshua Smith) – Smith punctuated his second consecutive indoor conference triple jump title with a personal-best 50-0.5 effort.
Men's Hammer (John Hicks) – Hicks' final indoor college meet resulted in a CUSA men's weight throw title and a program record of 68-4.5. Moving outdoors, Hicks will take aim at Jon Hart's Liberty hammer standard of 222-4, which has stood since 2008. Hicks ranks No. 2 on the Flames' all-time list at 216-4.
CUSA's Best
The following Flames and Lady Flames rank No. 1 in Conference USA in their events during the early stages of the 2024 outdoor track & field season. The 2024 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will take place at Larry K. Durham Track at Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas, May 10-12.
Heptathlon – Paige Greenhagel – 4,270
Up Next
Liberty has three meets on the schedule next weekend, including the Raleigh Relays (March 28-30 in Raleigh, N.C.), Florida Relays (March 29-30 in Gainesville, Fla.) and Hornet Open (March 29-30 in Lynchburg).
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Live video streaming will be provided for the Saturday events at the Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational on YouTube, courtesy of the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network.
Live results will also be available throughout both meets, thanks to Flash Results (Bob Davidson Team Challenge) and Blue Ridge Timing (Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational).
Weather Report
The high temperature in High Point is forecasted to be around 60 degrees on both Friday and Saturday. Rain is expected to arrive Friday afternoon and continue into Saturday morning. Saturday will see a strong wind blowing out of the north.
The weather in Lynchburg will be similar to High Point, but rain is expected to begin a bit later Friday evening and extend through more of the day on Saturday.
Keeping Score
The Bob Davidson Team Challenge will be Liberty's first scored regular-season competition since the 2022 Meet of Champions, also hosted by High Point. The Flames and Lady Flames each finished second at that event.
This week's meet will see Liberty battle teams from Akron, Campbell, East Carolina, Furman, George Mason, host High Point, Howard, James Madison, North Carolina A&T and UNCG.
Stepping Outside
Some of Liberty's top performers from the CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships are slated to make their 2024 outdoor season debuts at High Point this week. The following are some of the top events to watch:
Women's 100 (Reese Webster) – Webster won the CUSA women's 60 dash title, capping off a record-breaking indoor season. She was the CAA women's 100 champion as a freshman at Elon last year. Webster's fastest time of 11.57 came at High Point's facility at the 2023 VertKlasse Meeting.
Women's 800 (Katelyn Locker) – The CUSA women's 800 champion, Locker will run the event outdoors in a Liberty uniform for the first time. Locker was the MAAC outdoor 800 titlist in 2021, competing for Monmouth.
Women's 100 Hurdles (Indea Cartwright) – Cartwright lowered the Liberty women's 60 hurdles record to 8.16 while finishing second in the CUSA final. Now she could take aim at the program 100 hurdles standard of 13.65 set by Olivia Charnuski in 2010. Competing unattached in 2023, Cartwright blazed to a time of 13.36.
Men's 100 (Omari Lewis) – Lewis claimed the CUSA men's 60 crown in a program-record 6.67. His fastest 100 clocking a year ago was 10.22, just off Diamantae Griffin's Liberty standard of 10.19 from 2021.
Men's 1,500 (Kyle Harkabus, Edwin Kiprop and Brendan Pitcher) – Pitcher (800), Harkabus (mile) and Kiprop (3K and 5K) combined for four event victories at the CUSA meet. They will converge at the 1,500-meter distance in High Point. Harkabus (No. 4, 3:44.02) and Pitcher (No. 10, 3:48.66) both rank among the top 10 metric milers in program history, while Kiprop will make his Liberty debut at this distance.
Men's Triple Jump (Joshua Smith) – Smith punctuated his second consecutive indoor conference triple jump title with a personal-best 50-0.5 effort.
Men's Hammer (John Hicks) – Hicks' final indoor college meet resulted in a CUSA men's weight throw title and a program record of 68-4.5. Moving outdoors, Hicks will take aim at Jon Hart's Liberty hammer standard of 222-4, which has stood since 2008. Hicks ranks No. 2 on the Flames' all-time list at 216-4.
CUSA's Best
The following Flames and Lady Flames rank No. 1 in Conference USA in their events during the early stages of the 2024 outdoor track & field season. The 2024 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will take place at Larry K. Durham Track at Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas, May 10-12.
Heptathlon – Paige Greenhagel – 4,270
Up Next
Liberty has three meets on the schedule next weekend, including the Raleigh Relays (March 28-30 in Raleigh, N.C.), Florida Relays (March 29-30 in Gainesville, Fla.) and Hornet Open (March 29-30 in Lynchburg).
Players Mentioned
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Sprints
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