Saturday, December 6
Boston, Mass.
12:20 PM ET
Liberty University
at
Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener
Allie Zealand's 8:44.71 3K clocking set a program record and ranks No. 10 in NCAA history.
Zealand Opens Indoor Season with 8:44.71 3K, No. 10 in NCAA History
12/6/2025 5:10:00 PM | Track and Field
BOSTON, Mass. – Two weeks after earning All-America honors in cross country, Liberty's Allie Zealand got her sophomore indoor track & field season off to a sensational start at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center. She clocked an 8:44.71 3K at Saturday's Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, shattering her own program record and ranking No. 10 in NCAA history.
Zealand took down her own record of 9:07.33 from the 2024 Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. She finished third in the 3K invitational section after leading most of the race's second half.
The front of the pack turned into a reunion from last month's NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships, as the top four finishers were South Carolina's Salma Elbadra (8:41.76), North Carolina's Vera Sjoberg (8:43.06), Zealand and NC State's Angelina Napoleon (8:46.15).
Zealand sits third on the early-season NCAA Division I women's 3K list behind only Elbadra and Sjoberg. She is in a strong position to qualify for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships for the first time, as last year's 16th and final NCAA national qualifier ran 8:48.96.
Zealand joins Katelyn Tuohy, Olivia Markezich, Parker Valby, Karissa Schweizer, Elbadra, Doris Lemngole, Jenny Barringer, Sjoberg and Amy Bunnage on the newly updated NCAA all-time women's 3K top 10 list.
The first Flame to race in Boston on Saturday, Michael Long clocked a personal-best 4:05.46 mile during his Liberty debut. The two-time defending NAIA men's 800 outdoor national champion while competing for Ave Maria trimmed three seconds off his previous mile best and now ranks No. 7 in program history.
Long becomes the third current Flame who is part of the Liberty men's mile top 10 list, along with Tristian Merchant (No. 6, 4:05.12 in 2023) and Dale Hall (No. 9, 4:07.55 in 2025).
Jack Cottrell also left Beantown with a new personal best, thanks to his 8:05.86 effort at the 3K distance. He remains in the No. 8 spot in program history, directly behind teammates Edwin Kiprop (No. 6, 8:03.76 in 2024) and Merchant (No. 7, 8:04.97 in 2023).
Women's Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Allie Zealand – 3K Invitational – 8:44.71
Women's Record Breakers
Program Record – Allie Zealand – 3K – 8:44.71
Previous Record: 9:07.33 by Zealand at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Dec. 7, 2024
Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 7 – Mile – Michael Long – 4:05.46
No. 8 – 3K – Jack Cottrell – 8:05.86
Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 1 – 3K – Allie Zealand – 8:44.71
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.
Zealand took down her own record of 9:07.33 from the 2024 Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. She finished third in the 3K invitational section after leading most of the race's second half.
The front of the pack turned into a reunion from last month's NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships, as the top four finishers were South Carolina's Salma Elbadra (8:41.76), North Carolina's Vera Sjoberg (8:43.06), Zealand and NC State's Angelina Napoleon (8:46.15).
Zealand sits third on the early-season NCAA Division I women's 3K list behind only Elbadra and Sjoberg. She is in a strong position to qualify for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships for the first time, as last year's 16th and final NCAA national qualifier ran 8:48.96.
Zealand joins Katelyn Tuohy, Olivia Markezich, Parker Valby, Karissa Schweizer, Elbadra, Doris Lemngole, Jenny Barringer, Sjoberg and Amy Bunnage on the newly updated NCAA all-time women's 3K top 10 list.
The first Flame to race in Boston on Saturday, Michael Long clocked a personal-best 4:05.46 mile during his Liberty debut. The two-time defending NAIA men's 800 outdoor national champion while competing for Ave Maria trimmed three seconds off his previous mile best and now ranks No. 7 in program history.
Long becomes the third current Flame who is part of the Liberty men's mile top 10 list, along with Tristian Merchant (No. 6, 4:05.12 in 2023) and Dale Hall (No. 9, 4:07.55 in 2025).
Jack Cottrell also left Beantown with a new personal best, thanks to his 8:05.86 effort at the 3K distance. He remains in the No. 8 spot in program history, directly behind teammates Edwin Kiprop (No. 6, 8:03.76 in 2024) and Merchant (No. 7, 8:04.97 in 2023).
Women's Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Allie Zealand – 3K Invitational – 8:44.71
Women's Record Breakers
Program Record – Allie Zealand – 3K – 8:44.71
Previous Record: 9:07.33 by Zealand at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Dec. 7, 2024
Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 7 – Mile – Michael Long – 4:05.46
No. 8 – 3K – Jack Cottrell – 8:05.86
Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 1 – 3K – Allie Zealand – 8:44.71
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
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Mid-Distance
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