Friday, October 3
Kernersville, N.C.
5:45 PM ET
Liberty University
at
Spartan Classic
Gracelyn Laudermilch
Lady Flames Finish as Spartan Classic Runners-Up
10/3/2025 7:03:00 PM | Cross Country
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. – The Liberty women's cross country "B" team performed well Friday evening, taking second place at the Spartan Classic at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex.
Sophia Park's third-place women's 5K individual finish led the Lady Flames to a final team score of 32, putting them only nine points behind meet champion No. 25 Wake Forest's "B" squad (23 points). Liberty topped host UNCG's "A" team (third place, 70 points) and everyone else among the 14-team women's field.
Race Reactions
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.
Sophia Park's third-place women's 5K individual finish led the Lady Flames to a final team score of 32, putting them only nine points behind meet champion No. 25 Wake Forest's "B" squad (23 points). Liberty topped host UNCG's "A" team (third place, 70 points) and everyone else among the 14-team women's field.
Race Reactions
- Park's final 5K time of 17:57.8 marked the junior's first-ever sub-18:00 effort in either cross country or track. She became the 10th Lady Flame dip under 18:00 on Friday, also including all nine of the team's entrants at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.
- Park moved up well throughout the race, going from 14th place at the mile mark to third place at the finish line, just 1.4 seconds behind the race runner-up, Palmer Walstad of Wake Forest.
- Three other Lady Flames notched cross country 5K PRs during the race, including Anna Fletcher (fifth place, 18:10.9), Eden Alexander (sixth, 18:11.4) and Gracelyn Laudermilch (12th, 18:36.7). Alexander and Laudermilch were the race's second and third-fastest freshmen among 99 total women's 5K finishers.
- Laudermilch made a big step forward from her first collegiate 5K (adidas XC Challenge on Sept. 19) to her second on Friday, cutting 52 seconds off her time.
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
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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