Saturday, December 6
Boston, Mass.
12:20 PM ET
Liberty University
at
Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener
Jack Cottrell will compete in the men's 3K, Saturday in Boston
5 Flames to Race in Boston on Saturday
12/4/2025 12:48:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Five of Liberty's top distance runners will head to Boston on Saturday for the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. All-American Allie Zealand, Ava Gordon, Katrina Schlenker, Jack Cottrell and Michael Long are all set to compete at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center.
Long will be the first Flame in action, with the opening heat of the men's mile slated for 12:20 p.m.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
The Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener will be televised on FloTrack.
Live results will be available throughout the meet, courtesy of Lancer Timing.
Fast Track
The Boston University Track & Tennis Center track annually yields many record-breaking peformances.
Liberty has certainly found this to be the case over the years, as nine of the Flames' current program records were set at this facility. They include the men's 1,000, 4 x 400, 4 x 800 and distance medley along with the women's 500, mile, 3K, 4 x 400 and 4 x 800.
Zealand was the Lady Flames' most recent record breaker at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center, clocking a program-record 9:07.33 3K during her collegiate track debut at the 2024 Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener.
Event Capsules (Organized Chronologically)
Michael Long – Men's Mile (First heat at 12:20 p.m.)
Long will step up from his normal 800-meter distance for his Flames debut and take aim at his 4:08.28 mile personal best. The Virginia native comes to Liberty as the two-time defending NAIA outdoor national champion in the men's 800 while competing for Ave Maria. He also clocked a personal-best 1:47.54 to capture the 2024 USATF U20 title.
Ava Gordon – Women's 3K (First heat at 12:55 p.m.)
Gordon will look to build upon last season's success at the 3K distance. Her 9:46.02 3K at the 2024 Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener marked Gordon's first-ever sub-10:00 effort. She went on to lower it to 9:26.62 at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational and then earned All-CUSA honors with a third-place 3K conference finish.
Jack Cottrell – Men's 3K (First heat at 1:40 p.m.)
Like Gordon, Cottrell enjoyed a breakthrough 2025 at the 3K distance. He won the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational 3K in a personal-best 8:06.00, two weeks prior to placing third in the CUSA men's 3K final.
Allie Zealand – Elite Women's 3K (3:28 p.m.)
Zealand will open her sophomore indoor track season two weeks after earning her first All-America recognition with a 21st-place finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. She will take part in the elite section of the women's 3K, part of the FloTrack Night in America coverage. Zealand will see some familiar faces on the starting line, including three other top-six finishers from last month's NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships (South Carolina's Salma Elbadra, North Carolina's Vera Sjoberg and NC State's Angelina Napoleon) and former high school rival Sadie Engelhardt, who is now an NC State freshman. Zealand has only contested the 3K distance twice thus far in college. She ran a program-record 9:07.33 at the 2024 Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener and later placed fourth in the CUSA 3K final.
Katrina Schlenker – Women's 5K (First heat at 4:30 p.m.)
Schlenker punctuated her collegiate cross country career in impressive fashion this year, recording her best-ever finishes at the CUSA meet (fifth) and NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships (47th). She will now look to carry that success onto the track and improve upon her 5K personal best of 17:11.50.
Up Next
Liberty will take a break from competition for Christmas and New Year's before returning to action at The Burg Open on Jan. 9. Hosted by the University of Lynchburg, the one-day meet will take place at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.
Long will be the first Flame in action, with the opening heat of the men's mile slated for 12:20 p.m.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
The Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener will be televised on FloTrack.
Live results will be available throughout the meet, courtesy of Lancer Timing.
Fast Track
The Boston University Track & Tennis Center track annually yields many record-breaking peformances.
Liberty has certainly found this to be the case over the years, as nine of the Flames' current program records were set at this facility. They include the men's 1,000, 4 x 400, 4 x 800 and distance medley along with the women's 500, mile, 3K, 4 x 400 and 4 x 800.
Zealand was the Lady Flames' most recent record breaker at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center, clocking a program-record 9:07.33 3K during her collegiate track debut at the 2024 Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener.
Event Capsules (Organized Chronologically)
Michael Long – Men's Mile (First heat at 12:20 p.m.)
Long will step up from his normal 800-meter distance for his Flames debut and take aim at his 4:08.28 mile personal best. The Virginia native comes to Liberty as the two-time defending NAIA outdoor national champion in the men's 800 while competing for Ave Maria. He also clocked a personal-best 1:47.54 to capture the 2024 USATF U20 title.
Ava Gordon – Women's 3K (First heat at 12:55 p.m.)
Gordon will look to build upon last season's success at the 3K distance. Her 9:46.02 3K at the 2024 Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener marked Gordon's first-ever sub-10:00 effort. She went on to lower it to 9:26.62 at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational and then earned All-CUSA honors with a third-place 3K conference finish.
Jack Cottrell – Men's 3K (First heat at 1:40 p.m.)
Like Gordon, Cottrell enjoyed a breakthrough 2025 at the 3K distance. He won the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational 3K in a personal-best 8:06.00, two weeks prior to placing third in the CUSA men's 3K final.
Allie Zealand – Elite Women's 3K (3:28 p.m.)
Zealand will open her sophomore indoor track season two weeks after earning her first All-America recognition with a 21st-place finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. She will take part in the elite section of the women's 3K, part of the FloTrack Night in America coverage. Zealand will see some familiar faces on the starting line, including three other top-six finishers from last month's NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships (South Carolina's Salma Elbadra, North Carolina's Vera Sjoberg and NC State's Angelina Napoleon) and former high school rival Sadie Engelhardt, who is now an NC State freshman. Zealand has only contested the 3K distance twice thus far in college. She ran a program-record 9:07.33 at the 2024 Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener and later placed fourth in the CUSA 3K final.
Katrina Schlenker – Women's 5K (First heat at 4:30 p.m.)
Schlenker punctuated her collegiate cross country career in impressive fashion this year, recording her best-ever finishes at the CUSA meet (fifth) and NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships (47th). She will now look to carry that success onto the track and improve upon her 5K personal best of 17:11.50.
Up Next
Liberty will take a break from competition for Christmas and New Year's before returning to action at The Burg Open on Jan. 9. Hosted by the University of Lynchburg, the one-day meet will take place at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and FieldCoach Zealand & Ryann Aycock Give An Update On The Cross Country Season
Wednesday, September 17
Emma Unger: Every Step of the Way
Wednesday, May 14
Follow the Leader: Lance Bingham
Tuesday, May 13
Beau Backes: Following God's Calling in Two Worlds
Friday, May 02