Saturday, November 1
Huntsville, Ala.
10:00 AM ET/9:00 AM CT
Liberty University
at
Conference USA Championships
(L-R): Returning All-CUSA performers Ava Gordon, Allie Zealand, Katrina Schlenker and Isabela Ross
Liberty Seeks to Defend CUSA XC Titles on Saturday
10/30/2025 11:01:00 AM | Cross Country
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty will attempt to defend its men's and women's team titles at the CUSA Cross Country Championships, Saturday morning. The races will be contested at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Ala.
The women's 6K will get things started at 10 a.m. Eastern, while the gun will go off for the men's 8K at 11 a.m. Eastern.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Saturday's races and the awards ceremony will air live on ESPN+.
Live results will also be available, courtesy of Delta Timing.
Weather Report
Cloudy but dry conditions are expected in Huntsville Saturday morning. The weather should be cool, as Friday night's low could dip below 40 degrees.
About the Course
Liberty will race at John Hunt Park for the first time since the 2022 ASUN Cross Country Championships. Both the Flames and Lady Flames finished as team runners-up during their final year of ASUN membership.
Nicholas Kiprotich finished third in the men's race during his first year as a Flame. Ava Gordon (seventh place) and Katrina Schlenker (23rd) both made the women's ASUN All-Freshman Team with Gordon being named ASUN Freshman of the Year.
The John Hunt Park course yielded fast times that morning, as current Lady Flames assistant Calli Doan shattered the ASUN meet record with her winning 5K time of 16:21.0. Meanwhile, Kiprotich's 23:30.8 effort still stands as the fastest 8K of his career.
John Hunt Park is located about two miles south of Propst Arena, where Liberty swept the CUSA men's and women's basketball titles in March.
Women's Team Preview
The Liberty women's team enjoyed a dominating 66-point victory at the 2024 CUSA Cross Country Championships, marking the widest winning margin in meet history.
Seven Lady Flames finished among the top 14 runners a year ago, and four of those athletes will toe the starting line on Saturday (Allie Zealand – third place, Isabela Ross – sixth, Ava Gordon – ninth and Katrina Schlenker – 13th).
As a result, Liberty appears well positioned to battle for its first back-to-back conference titles since spring 2021 and fall 2021 in the ASUN Conference.
The last CUSA women's team to successfully defend its title was Middle Tennessee, which won three years in a row (2019-21).
The Lady Flames have run well this fall, recording top-10 finishes at the adidas XC Challenge (fourth), Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational (fifth) and Pre-National Invitational (ninth).
As a result, Liberty heads to Huntsville with the best regional ranking (No. 9 in Southeast Region) of any CUSA member.
Middle Tennessee placed second to the Lady Flames a year ago, marking its seventh straight top-two showing at the CUSA Championship. However, the Blue Raiders lost to conference foe Kennesaw State at the Louisville Classic and did not field a full team their last time out (Arturo Barrios Invitational).
Kennesaw State, which placed third in its CUSA debut a year ago and won this year's Louisville Classic blue race title, is expected to be one of Liberty's top competitors on Saturday.
CUSA newcomer Missouri State could also contend for a lofty finish. The Bears have placed inside the top five at each of their four races this season. They came in third in their most recent outing (Bradley Pink Classic) with Missouri State's top five runners being separated by just 35 seconds.
Women's Individual Preview
Liberty's Allie Zealand has experienced the opposite of a sophomore slump this fall. The three-time CUSA Women's Runner of the Week has crossed the line inside the top five in each of her four competitions.
Zealand has taken down Calli Doan's program records in each of her last two races, clocking a 15:54.7 5K at the Joe Piane Invitational and a 19:40.4 6K at the Pre-National Invitational.
Zealand made a late bid for the CUSA individual title a year ago as a freshman before ending up third, less than three seconds out of first. Could her first collegiate cross country title come on Saturday in Huntsville?
Doan was the most recent Lady Flame to take top honors in a conference cross country meet, racing to the ASUN crown in Huntsville in 2022.
Middle Tennessee's Odilia Jepchumba is back after racing to the CUSA individual title in 2024. However, teammate Faith Nyathi has served as the Blue Raiders' top performer thus far in 2025. Nyathi finished an impressive third at the Southern Showcase at John Hunt Park on Sept. 12.
Austria native Marie-Theres Gruber has excelled in her first year at CUSA newcomer Delaware with a trio of top-10 finishes to her record.
The Lady Flames' Isabela Ross is a three-time all-conference performer in cross country, beginning with 2022 and 2023 All-Sun Belt honors while she was competing for Southern Miss.
Teammates Ava Gordon and Katrina Schlenker have each earned a pair of all-conference notations in cross country.
However, it is fellow senior Jessica Palisca who has been Liberty's regular No. 2 runner this fall behind Zealand. Palisca has joined the sub-17:00 5K and sub-21:00 6K clubs this season and should be ready to shatter her best conference finish to date (19th at the 2023 CUSA Cross Country Championship).
Men's Team Preview
The Liberty men's squad captured its CUSA title in much different fashion than the Lady Flames in 2024, edging defending champion Middle Tennessee by two points (46-48). It marked the Flames' first conference championship trophy since 2013 (Big South Conference).
Three all-conference performers are back for the Flames, including Tristian Merchant (third place), Nicholas Kiprotich (seventh) and Andrew Schultz (20th).
Liberty has not gone back-to-back in men's cross country since winning nine straight Big South titles between 2005-13.
However, the Flames have finished either first or second at each of their last 22 conference cross country championships, beginning with the 2003 Big South meet.
UTEP was the last men's team to record back-to-back CUSA cross country titles, doing so in 2015 and 2016.
Liberty will look to replicate its tight front pack from the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. Only 7.5 seconds separated No. 1 runner Kiprotich and No. 4 runner Schultz as the Flames came in eighth.
Liberty enters the meet ranked No. 12 in the Southeast Region. The only CUSA team with a better regional ranking is Middle Tennessee (No. 5 in the South).
The Blue Raiders hope to continue a pattern which has seen them take home the CUSA men's cross country team title every other year for the last eight seasons (2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023).
Men's Individual Preview
Nicholas Kiprotich has been the Flames' top performer during his final collegiate cross country season.
The 2023 NCAA national qualifier has been a first team all-conference performer during each of his first three seasons as a Flame. Kiprotich came in third in the ASUN in 2022 before recording consecutive seventh-place CUSA showings in 2023 and 2024.
Kiprotich will attempt to become the seventh Liberty men's runner ever to collect four all-conference medals at the Division I level. The six members of that club include Josh Edmonds, Kyle Harkabus, Josh McDougal, Azaria Kirwa, Felix Kandie and Caleb Olson.
Kirwa was Liberty's most recent cross country individual conference champion, racing to victory at the 2018 ASUN meet.
Middle Tennessee's Allan Kiplagat is the defending CUSA champion, part of a remarkable freshman season which saw him take 19th place at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
He will try to become the first men's runner to claim consecutive CUSA individual crowns since Middle Tennessee's Jacob Choge in 2016 and 2017.
However, Kiplagat was defeated head to head by the Kennesaw State duo of Collins KipKemboi and Brian Limo at last month's Louisville Classic. KipKemboi came in second to Kiplagat a year ago at this meet.
Andrew Schultz and Ethan Pedersen have been two of the Flames' most impressive and consistent performers this season, each dipping under 24 minutes for the 8K for the first time. They will both aim to improve upon their performances from the 2024 CUSA meet, where Schultz came in 20th and Pedersen 23rd.
Liberty's Edwin Kiprop will race at the CUSA Cross Country Championships for the first time after missing last season's competition due to injury. He is a two-time CUSA champion on the track, winning the 2024 indoor 3K and 5K races.
Up Next
Liberty will compete at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships on Nov. 14. The meet, which will determine the team and individual qualifiers for the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, will take place at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va.
The women's 6K will get things started at 10 a.m. Eastern, while the gun will go off for the men's 8K at 11 a.m. Eastern.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Saturday's races and the awards ceremony will air live on ESPN+.
Live results will also be available, courtesy of Delta Timing.
Weather Report
Cloudy but dry conditions are expected in Huntsville Saturday morning. The weather should be cool, as Friday night's low could dip below 40 degrees.
About the Course
Liberty will race at John Hunt Park for the first time since the 2022 ASUN Cross Country Championships. Both the Flames and Lady Flames finished as team runners-up during their final year of ASUN membership.
Nicholas Kiprotich finished third in the men's race during his first year as a Flame. Ava Gordon (seventh place) and Katrina Schlenker (23rd) both made the women's ASUN All-Freshman Team with Gordon being named ASUN Freshman of the Year.
The John Hunt Park course yielded fast times that morning, as current Lady Flames assistant Calli Doan shattered the ASUN meet record with her winning 5K time of 16:21.0. Meanwhile, Kiprotich's 23:30.8 effort still stands as the fastest 8K of his career.
John Hunt Park is located about two miles south of Propst Arena, where Liberty swept the CUSA men's and women's basketball titles in March.
Women's Team Preview
The Liberty women's team enjoyed a dominating 66-point victory at the 2024 CUSA Cross Country Championships, marking the widest winning margin in meet history.
Seven Lady Flames finished among the top 14 runners a year ago, and four of those athletes will toe the starting line on Saturday (Allie Zealand – third place, Isabela Ross – sixth, Ava Gordon – ninth and Katrina Schlenker – 13th).
As a result, Liberty appears well positioned to battle for its first back-to-back conference titles since spring 2021 and fall 2021 in the ASUN Conference.
The last CUSA women's team to successfully defend its title was Middle Tennessee, which won three years in a row (2019-21).
The Lady Flames have run well this fall, recording top-10 finishes at the adidas XC Challenge (fourth), Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational (fifth) and Pre-National Invitational (ninth).
As a result, Liberty heads to Huntsville with the best regional ranking (No. 9 in Southeast Region) of any CUSA member.
Middle Tennessee placed second to the Lady Flames a year ago, marking its seventh straight top-two showing at the CUSA Championship. However, the Blue Raiders lost to conference foe Kennesaw State at the Louisville Classic and did not field a full team their last time out (Arturo Barrios Invitational).
Kennesaw State, which placed third in its CUSA debut a year ago and won this year's Louisville Classic blue race title, is expected to be one of Liberty's top competitors on Saturday.
CUSA newcomer Missouri State could also contend for a lofty finish. The Bears have placed inside the top five at each of their four races this season. They came in third in their most recent outing (Bradley Pink Classic) with Missouri State's top five runners being separated by just 35 seconds.
Women's Individual Preview
Liberty's Allie Zealand has experienced the opposite of a sophomore slump this fall. The three-time CUSA Women's Runner of the Week has crossed the line inside the top five in each of her four competitions.
Zealand has taken down Calli Doan's program records in each of her last two races, clocking a 15:54.7 5K at the Joe Piane Invitational and a 19:40.4 6K at the Pre-National Invitational.
Zealand made a late bid for the CUSA individual title a year ago as a freshman before ending up third, less than three seconds out of first. Could her first collegiate cross country title come on Saturday in Huntsville?
Doan was the most recent Lady Flame to take top honors in a conference cross country meet, racing to the ASUN crown in Huntsville in 2022.
Middle Tennessee's Odilia Jepchumba is back after racing to the CUSA individual title in 2024. However, teammate Faith Nyathi has served as the Blue Raiders' top performer thus far in 2025. Nyathi finished an impressive third at the Southern Showcase at John Hunt Park on Sept. 12.
Austria native Marie-Theres Gruber has excelled in her first year at CUSA newcomer Delaware with a trio of top-10 finishes to her record.
The Lady Flames' Isabela Ross is a three-time all-conference performer in cross country, beginning with 2022 and 2023 All-Sun Belt honors while she was competing for Southern Miss.
Teammates Ava Gordon and Katrina Schlenker have each earned a pair of all-conference notations in cross country.
However, it is fellow senior Jessica Palisca who has been Liberty's regular No. 2 runner this fall behind Zealand. Palisca has joined the sub-17:00 5K and sub-21:00 6K clubs this season and should be ready to shatter her best conference finish to date (19th at the 2023 CUSA Cross Country Championship).
Men's Team Preview
The Liberty men's squad captured its CUSA title in much different fashion than the Lady Flames in 2024, edging defending champion Middle Tennessee by two points (46-48). It marked the Flames' first conference championship trophy since 2013 (Big South Conference).
Three all-conference performers are back for the Flames, including Tristian Merchant (third place), Nicholas Kiprotich (seventh) and Andrew Schultz (20th).
Liberty has not gone back-to-back in men's cross country since winning nine straight Big South titles between 2005-13.
However, the Flames have finished either first or second at each of their last 22 conference cross country championships, beginning with the 2003 Big South meet.
UTEP was the last men's team to record back-to-back CUSA cross country titles, doing so in 2015 and 2016.
Liberty will look to replicate its tight front pack from the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. Only 7.5 seconds separated No. 1 runner Kiprotich and No. 4 runner Schultz as the Flames came in eighth.
Liberty enters the meet ranked No. 12 in the Southeast Region. The only CUSA team with a better regional ranking is Middle Tennessee (No. 5 in the South).
The Blue Raiders hope to continue a pattern which has seen them take home the CUSA men's cross country team title every other year for the last eight seasons (2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023).
Men's Individual Preview
Nicholas Kiprotich has been the Flames' top performer during his final collegiate cross country season.
The 2023 NCAA national qualifier has been a first team all-conference performer during each of his first three seasons as a Flame. Kiprotich came in third in the ASUN in 2022 before recording consecutive seventh-place CUSA showings in 2023 and 2024.
Kiprotich will attempt to become the seventh Liberty men's runner ever to collect four all-conference medals at the Division I level. The six members of that club include Josh Edmonds, Kyle Harkabus, Josh McDougal, Azaria Kirwa, Felix Kandie and Caleb Olson.
Kirwa was Liberty's most recent cross country individual conference champion, racing to victory at the 2018 ASUN meet.
Middle Tennessee's Allan Kiplagat is the defending CUSA champion, part of a remarkable freshman season which saw him take 19th place at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
He will try to become the first men's runner to claim consecutive CUSA individual crowns since Middle Tennessee's Jacob Choge in 2016 and 2017.
However, Kiplagat was defeated head to head by the Kennesaw State duo of Collins KipKemboi and Brian Limo at last month's Louisville Classic. KipKemboi came in second to Kiplagat a year ago at this meet.
Andrew Schultz and Ethan Pedersen have been two of the Flames' most impressive and consistent performers this season, each dipping under 24 minutes for the 8K for the first time. They will both aim to improve upon their performances from the 2024 CUSA meet, where Schultz came in 20th and Pedersen 23rd.
Liberty's Edwin Kiprop will race at the CUSA Cross Country Championships for the first time after missing last season's competition due to injury. He is a two-time CUSA champion on the track, winning the 2024 indoor 3K and 5K races.
Up Next
Liberty will compete at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships on Nov. 14. The meet, which will determine the team and individual qualifiers for the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, will take place at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va.
Players Mentioned
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