Friday, October 3
South Bend, Ind.
9:50 AM ET
Liberty University
at
Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational
Liberty XC to Race at ND, in NC on Friday
10/1/2025 2:51:00 PM | Cross Country
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty men's and women's cross country teams will compete in a pair of meets on Friday. Most of the runners will race in the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, while five Lady Flames are entered in the Spartan Classic in Kernersville, N.C.
Adjusted due to the forecasted warm weather conditions, the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational schedule will begin with the women's 5K at 9:50 a.m. and the men's 8K at 10:30. The men's team will also have a pair of competitors in the open men's 8K at 11:10 a.m.
Meanwhile, the Spartan Classic women's 5K is slated for Friday at 5:45 p.m. at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Live results for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational will be provided by PrimeTime Timing, while SnapTiming will handle results for the Spartan Classic.
Weather Report
Although Friday's high temperature in South Bend is projected in the upper 80s under sunny skies, conditions should be in the upper 60s to mid 70s during the morning races.
Friday is also supposed to be a sunny day in Kernersville, but the high will only reach the low 70s, making for a comfortable early evening of racing.
Challenge Accepted
Liberty enjoyed a strong showing in its most recent race, the Sept. 19 adidas XC Challenge in Cary, N.C. The defending champion men's team finished second of 14 squads, while the Lady Flames came in fourth behind only No. 3 NC State, No. 15 North Carolina and South Carolina.
As a result, Liberty swept the CUSA weekly honors on Sept. 23. The Flames' award winners included Allie Zealand (Women's Athlete of the Week), Mackenzie Babcock (Women's Freshman of the Week), Nicholas Kiprotich (Men's Athlete of the Week) and Eli Julian (Men's Freshman of the Week).
The Liberty men's squad joined the USTFCCCA Southeast Region rankings for the first time this week at No. 10, while the Lady Flames moved up four spots to No. 9 in the region.
At Notre Dame, Liberty will match up against a couple fellow ranked Southeast Region squads, including Southeast No. 12 Charlotte on the men's side and Southeast No. 5 South Carolina and Southeast No. 12 Charlotte in the women's race.
Fast, Familiar Venue
Liberty will race at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational for the second straight season and the third time in the last four years.
Last season, the Lady Flames placed an impressive fourth at this meet while the Flames came in 15th.
Liberty has typically recorded fast times at Notre Dame. Five of the seven fastest 5K runners in Lady Flames history have notched their top mark in South Bend, headlined by Calli Doan's program-record 16:15.1 and Ava Gordon's Liberty freshman-record 16:34.7 in 2022.
Meanwhile, the top five Flames (Nicholas Kiprotich, Tristian Merchant, Jack Cottrell, Edwin Kiprop and Nathan Moore) all dipped under 24:00 during the 2024 Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational men's 8K. Only eight Flames had done so in program history prior to that race.
Not So Familiar Venue
Despite its relative proximity to Lynchburg, Liberty has not raced at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in four years.
Five Lady Flames took part in the VertCross Invitational on Oct. 15, 2021. Then freshman Hope Carr placed 40th, leading Liberty to eighth place of 11 women's squads.
Liberty has also entered five women's runners during its return trip to Kernersville, including Sophia Park, Anna Fletcher, Raini Mayo, Eden Alexander and Gracelyn Laudermilch.
Up Next
Liberty will close out the regular season with a pair of Oct. 18 competitions. Most of the team will head to Columbia, Mo., for the Pre-National Invitational. Meanwhile, the Lady Flames will also look to defend their team title at the Roanoke XC Invitational in Salem, Va.
Adjusted due to the forecasted warm weather conditions, the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational schedule will begin with the women's 5K at 9:50 a.m. and the men's 8K at 10:30. The men's team will also have a pair of competitors in the open men's 8K at 11:10 a.m.
Meanwhile, the Spartan Classic women's 5K is slated for Friday at 5:45 p.m. at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Live results for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational will be provided by PrimeTime Timing, while SnapTiming will handle results for the Spartan Classic.
Weather Report
Although Friday's high temperature in South Bend is projected in the upper 80s under sunny skies, conditions should be in the upper 60s to mid 70s during the morning races.
Friday is also supposed to be a sunny day in Kernersville, but the high will only reach the low 70s, making for a comfortable early evening of racing.
Challenge Accepted
Liberty enjoyed a strong showing in its most recent race, the Sept. 19 adidas XC Challenge in Cary, N.C. The defending champion men's team finished second of 14 squads, while the Lady Flames came in fourth behind only No. 3 NC State, No. 15 North Carolina and South Carolina.
As a result, Liberty swept the CUSA weekly honors on Sept. 23. The Flames' award winners included Allie Zealand (Women's Athlete of the Week), Mackenzie Babcock (Women's Freshman of the Week), Nicholas Kiprotich (Men's Athlete of the Week) and Eli Julian (Men's Freshman of the Week).
The Liberty men's squad joined the USTFCCCA Southeast Region rankings for the first time this week at No. 10, while the Lady Flames moved up four spots to No. 9 in the region.
At Notre Dame, Liberty will match up against a couple fellow ranked Southeast Region squads, including Southeast No. 12 Charlotte on the men's side and Southeast No. 5 South Carolina and Southeast No. 12 Charlotte in the women's race.
Fast, Familiar Venue
Liberty will race at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational for the second straight season and the third time in the last four years.
Last season, the Lady Flames placed an impressive fourth at this meet while the Flames came in 15th.
Liberty has typically recorded fast times at Notre Dame. Five of the seven fastest 5K runners in Lady Flames history have notched their top mark in South Bend, headlined by Calli Doan's program-record 16:15.1 and Ava Gordon's Liberty freshman-record 16:34.7 in 2022.
Meanwhile, the top five Flames (Nicholas Kiprotich, Tristian Merchant, Jack Cottrell, Edwin Kiprop and Nathan Moore) all dipped under 24:00 during the 2024 Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational men's 8K. Only eight Flames had done so in program history prior to that race.
Not So Familiar Venue
Despite its relative proximity to Lynchburg, Liberty has not raced at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in four years.
Five Lady Flames took part in the VertCross Invitational on Oct. 15, 2021. Then freshman Hope Carr placed 40th, leading Liberty to eighth place of 11 women's squads.
Liberty has also entered five women's runners during its return trip to Kernersville, including Sophia Park, Anna Fletcher, Raini Mayo, Eden Alexander and Gracelyn Laudermilch.
Up Next
Liberty will close out the regular season with a pair of Oct. 18 competitions. Most of the team will head to Columbia, Mo., for the Pre-National Invitational. Meanwhile, the Lady Flames will also look to defend their team title at the Roanoke XC Invitational in Salem, Va.
Players Mentioned
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