Friday, January 31
University Park, Pa.
11:00 AM ET
Liberty University
at
Penn State National Open
First-year Flame Eddy Vu (middle) is set to sprint at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
Meets at Clemson, Penn State Next for Liberty Track
1/29/2025 4:11:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – With a month remaining before the CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Liberty will divide its athletes between a pair of televised Friday/Saturday competitions. A group of Flames sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers will head to Clemson, S.C., for the Bob Pollock Invitational, while the remainder of the team will enter the Penn State National Open in University Park, Pa.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
The Bob Pollock Invitational will air on ACC Network Extra, while the Penn State National Open will be televised on Big Ten Plus.
Live results will also be available for both meets, courtesy of Flash Results (Bob Pollock Invitational) and PT Timing (Penn State National Open).
Record Watch
The last time the Lady Flames contested a distance medley relay, they achieved spectacular success. The team of Kate Goodyear, Maddy Merritt, Jessica Palisca and Marie Hostetler raced to the 2024 CUSA title in a program and facility-record time of 11:32.82.
On Saturday at Penn State, Goodyear (1,200-meter opening leg) and Palisca (800-meter third leg) will return to the same roles. They will be joined by Patasha Bryan (400-meter second leg) and Allie Zealand (1,600-meter anchor leg) in attempting to break the program record and more.
At this stage of the season, Wisconsin owns the nation's top women's DMR time at 11:16.71. Last season, it took a time of 10:52.06 or faster to qualify to the NCAA Championship.
Renewing Acquaintances
First-year CUSA member Kennesaw State had numerous team championship battles with the Flames during Liberty's five years of ASUN Conference membership (2019-23).
Liberty and Kennesaw State athletes will go head-to-head for the first time this season at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
The following events at Clemson could see clashes between some of this year's CUSA performance list leaders:
Women's 60 – No. 1 Reese Webster (Liberty), No. 2 Kenadie Singleton (KSU), No. 3 Samiya Wayne (KSU)
Men's 60 – No. 2 Chance Cross (KSU), No. 3 Eddy Vu (Liberty)
Men's 60 Hurdles – No. 2 Jeremiah Sims (KSU), No. 3 Mohamed Diaby (KSU), No. 4 Isaiah Idore (Liberty), No. 5 Cameron Guadiano (KSU)
Men's Triple Jump – No. 1 Lloyd Hill Jr. (KSU), No. 2 Justin Campbell (KSU), No. 4 Joshua Smith (Liberty), No. 5 Tevon Shuler (KSU)
Looking Back
Liberty is competing in the Penn State National Open for the second year in a row. In 2024, the Flames' top performers at the event included Kate Goodyear (program-record 2:45.61 in the women's 1,000), Katie Urbine (Liberty freshman-record 13-8.5 in the women's pole vault) and Warren Barrett (season-best 63-6 mark in the men's shot put which eventually punched his ticket to the NCAA meet.
The Flames and Lady Flames are back at the Bob Pollock Invitational for the first time since 2023. That meet saw Ally Kipchirchir lower the Liberty men's 800 record to 1:49.18 and Paola Bueno push the Liberty women's weight throw freshman standard to 65-2.75.
Conference USA Contenders
Liberty's second season as a Conference USA member will culminate with the 2025 CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Feb. 28-March 1 at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. A month before the conference meet, Liberty ranks No. 1 in the following events:
Women's 60 – Reese Webster – 7.38
Women's 3K – Allie Zealand – 9:07.33
Women's 5K – Adelyn Fairley – 15:58.74
Pentathlon – Meredith Engle – 3,989
Heptathlon – Gabriel Willis – 4,977
Among the Nation's Elite
At season's end, the nation's top 16 performers in each event will qualify to the 2025 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. The meet is scheduled for March 14-15 in Virginia Beach, Va.
The following Flames currently rank among the top 16 in their respective events:
No. 5 – Meredith Engle – Pentathlon – 3,989
No. 16 – Allie Zealand – Women's 3K – 9:07.33
Up Next
Liberty will return to Virginia for its first of three consecutive home meets. The Liberty Open is scheduled for Feb. 7-8 at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
The Bob Pollock Invitational will air on ACC Network Extra, while the Penn State National Open will be televised on Big Ten Plus.
Live results will also be available for both meets, courtesy of Flash Results (Bob Pollock Invitational) and PT Timing (Penn State National Open).
Record Watch
The last time the Lady Flames contested a distance medley relay, they achieved spectacular success. The team of Kate Goodyear, Maddy Merritt, Jessica Palisca and Marie Hostetler raced to the 2024 CUSA title in a program and facility-record time of 11:32.82.
On Saturday at Penn State, Goodyear (1,200-meter opening leg) and Palisca (800-meter third leg) will return to the same roles. They will be joined by Patasha Bryan (400-meter second leg) and Allie Zealand (1,600-meter anchor leg) in attempting to break the program record and more.
At this stage of the season, Wisconsin owns the nation's top women's DMR time at 11:16.71. Last season, it took a time of 10:52.06 or faster to qualify to the NCAA Championship.
Renewing Acquaintances
First-year CUSA member Kennesaw State had numerous team championship battles with the Flames during Liberty's five years of ASUN Conference membership (2019-23).
Liberty and Kennesaw State athletes will go head-to-head for the first time this season at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
The following events at Clemson could see clashes between some of this year's CUSA performance list leaders:
Women's 60 – No. 1 Reese Webster (Liberty), No. 2 Kenadie Singleton (KSU), No. 3 Samiya Wayne (KSU)
Men's 60 – No. 2 Chance Cross (KSU), No. 3 Eddy Vu (Liberty)
Men's 60 Hurdles – No. 2 Jeremiah Sims (KSU), No. 3 Mohamed Diaby (KSU), No. 4 Isaiah Idore (Liberty), No. 5 Cameron Guadiano (KSU)
Men's Triple Jump – No. 1 Lloyd Hill Jr. (KSU), No. 2 Justin Campbell (KSU), No. 4 Joshua Smith (Liberty), No. 5 Tevon Shuler (KSU)
Looking Back
Liberty is competing in the Penn State National Open for the second year in a row. In 2024, the Flames' top performers at the event included Kate Goodyear (program-record 2:45.61 in the women's 1,000), Katie Urbine (Liberty freshman-record 13-8.5 in the women's pole vault) and Warren Barrett (season-best 63-6 mark in the men's shot put which eventually punched his ticket to the NCAA meet.
The Flames and Lady Flames are back at the Bob Pollock Invitational for the first time since 2023. That meet saw Ally Kipchirchir lower the Liberty men's 800 record to 1:49.18 and Paola Bueno push the Liberty women's weight throw freshman standard to 65-2.75.
Conference USA Contenders
Liberty's second season as a Conference USA member will culminate with the 2025 CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Feb. 28-March 1 at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. A month before the conference meet, Liberty ranks No. 1 in the following events:
Women's 60 – Reese Webster – 7.38
Women's 3K – Allie Zealand – 9:07.33
Women's 5K – Adelyn Fairley – 15:58.74
Pentathlon – Meredith Engle – 3,989
Heptathlon – Gabriel Willis – 4,977
Among the Nation's Elite
At season's end, the nation's top 16 performers in each event will qualify to the 2025 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. The meet is scheduled for March 14-15 in Virginia Beach, Va.
The following Flames currently rank among the top 16 in their respective events:
No. 5 – Meredith Engle – Pentathlon – 3,989
No. 16 – Allie Zealand – Women's 3K – 9:07.33
Up Next
Liberty will return to Virginia for its first of three consecutive home meets. The Liberty Open is scheduled for Feb. 7-8 at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Hammer
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Distance
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