Saturday, February 15
Lynchburg, Va.
8:30 AM ET
Liberty University
vs
Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational
Reese Webster defended her Darius Dixon women's 60 title.
Webster, Liberty Sprinters Shine on Darius Dixon Day 2
2/15/2025 9:16:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty's Reese Webster raced to the women's 60 title, headlining a successful Saturday for the home team's sprint crew at the 11th annual Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational.
The sprinters' impressive showing was appropriate during a meet named for Dixon, a promising freshman sprinter from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, Va. He opened his Liberty track & field career by competing in the 200 and 400-meter dash events at the Liberty Kickoff on Dec. 5, 2013. Two days later, he was tragically killed in a car accident at the age of 18.
Women's Day 2 Recap
After lowering her own Liberty women's 60 dash record to 7.30 during Friday's semifinal round, Webster successfully defended her Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational 60-meter crown on Saturday in a time of 7.38.
The junior has now won six out of seven 60-meter finals she has contested in two seasons at Liberty, including two of three this year.
Webster was not finished, as she returned to the track about two hours later to clock a season-best time of 23.37 for third place in the women's 200.
The Lady Flames' 4 x 400 relay squad of Maddy Merritt, Patasha Bryan, Marianah Scott and Meredith Engle won its heat and finished third overall in a season-best 3:50.82.
Three of the five Lady Flames who broke 10:00 in the 3K on Friday were among the five Liberty women who dipped under 5:00 during Saturday's invitational mile. Leading the way were Marie Hostetler (4:46.70) and 800-meter champion Kate Goodyear (4:47.76), who finished second and third, respectively, and now rank No. 4 and No. 5 all-time at Liberty.
Jessica Palisca (4:51.57) followed in seventh place, while Ava Gordon (10th, 4:53.95) and Katrina Schlenker (16th, 4:55.54) joined Hostetler in completing the sub-10:00/sub-5:00 combo on consecutive days.
Men's Day 2 Recap
Eddy Vu kicked off ESPN+'s live afternoon coverage by clocking 6.84 for third place in the men's 60 final.
The Flames' Omari Lewis (21.55), Elijah Sherard (21.57) and Revell Webster (21.58) then went 6-7-8 in the invitational men's 200. It marked Lewis' season debut and the first 200 of Sherard's collegiate career.
One of Liberty's most exciting moments of the day came during heat three of the men's 4 x 400 relay. The squad of Simon Lamparelli, Sherard, Vu and Webster edged UNC Asheville by four hundredths of a second to win the section and place third overall. Sherard got the Flames rolling with a 47.55 carry on the second leg, and the Flames' final time of 3:15.36 was their fastest since a 3:13.70 performance at the 2022 ASUN Championship.
Sherard was not the only Flames freshman to excel on Saturday. Dale Hall finished a team-best fifth in the invitational men's mile, crossing the finish line in 4:08.53.
In the field, freshmen led the way in the men's shot put (Trevor Veenstra – fifth place, personal-best 53-7.75) and invitational men's pole vault (Todd Benhase – 11th, 15-11.75).
Women's Day 2 Event Winners
Reese Webster – 60 – 7.38
Day 2 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
Mile – No. 4 – Marie Hostetler – 4:46.70
Mile – No. 5 – Kate Goodyear – 4:47.76
Up Next
The Flames will now prepare to host the CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships for the second year in a row. The meet is scheduled for Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. Both days' events will be televised on ESPN+.
The sprinters' impressive showing was appropriate during a meet named for Dixon, a promising freshman sprinter from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, Va. He opened his Liberty track & field career by competing in the 200 and 400-meter dash events at the Liberty Kickoff on Dec. 5, 2013. Two days later, he was tragically killed in a car accident at the age of 18.
Women's Day 2 Recap
After lowering her own Liberty women's 60 dash record to 7.30 during Friday's semifinal round, Webster successfully defended her Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational 60-meter crown on Saturday in a time of 7.38.
The junior has now won six out of seven 60-meter finals she has contested in two seasons at Liberty, including two of three this year.
Webster was not finished, as she returned to the track about two hours later to clock a season-best time of 23.37 for third place in the women's 200.
The Lady Flames' 4 x 400 relay squad of Maddy Merritt, Patasha Bryan, Marianah Scott and Meredith Engle won its heat and finished third overall in a season-best 3:50.82.
Three of the five Lady Flames who broke 10:00 in the 3K on Friday were among the five Liberty women who dipped under 5:00 during Saturday's invitational mile. Leading the way were Marie Hostetler (4:46.70) and 800-meter champion Kate Goodyear (4:47.76), who finished second and third, respectively, and now rank No. 4 and No. 5 all-time at Liberty.
Jessica Palisca (4:51.57) followed in seventh place, while Ava Gordon (10th, 4:53.95) and Katrina Schlenker (16th, 4:55.54) joined Hostetler in completing the sub-10:00/sub-5:00 combo on consecutive days.
Men's Day 2 Recap
Eddy Vu kicked off ESPN+'s live afternoon coverage by clocking 6.84 for third place in the men's 60 final.
The Flames' Omari Lewis (21.55), Elijah Sherard (21.57) and Revell Webster (21.58) then went 6-7-8 in the invitational men's 200. It marked Lewis' season debut and the first 200 of Sherard's collegiate career.
One of Liberty's most exciting moments of the day came during heat three of the men's 4 x 400 relay. The squad of Simon Lamparelli, Sherard, Vu and Webster edged UNC Asheville by four hundredths of a second to win the section and place third overall. Sherard got the Flames rolling with a 47.55 carry on the second leg, and the Flames' final time of 3:15.36 was their fastest since a 3:13.70 performance at the 2022 ASUN Championship.
Sherard was not the only Flames freshman to excel on Saturday. Dale Hall finished a team-best fifth in the invitational men's mile, crossing the finish line in 4:08.53.
In the field, freshmen led the way in the men's shot put (Trevor Veenstra – fifth place, personal-best 53-7.75) and invitational men's pole vault (Todd Benhase – 11th, 15-11.75).
Women's Day 2 Event Winners
Reese Webster – 60 – 7.38
Day 2 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
Mile – No. 4 – Marie Hostetler – 4:46.70
Mile – No. 5 – Kate Goodyear – 4:47.76
Up Next
The Flames will now prepare to host the CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships for the second year in a row. The meet is scheduled for Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. Both days' events will be televised on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
Pole Vault
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Heptathlon
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Heptathlon
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Mid-distance
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Distance
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Mid-distance
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Mid-distance
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Sprints
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Sprints
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Sprints
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Mid-distance
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Distance
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Sprints
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Sprints
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Throws
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Sprints
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Sprints
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Sprints
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