Friday, May 16
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
10:30 AM ET/9:30 AM CT
Liberty University
at
Conference USA Outdoor Track Championships
Markus White and Coach Shawn Venable react to White's program-record 25-8 long jump.
Fairley, White Pace Flames on CUSA Opening Day
5/17/2025 12:30:00 AM | Track and Field
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – One of Liberty's most experienced veterans (Adelyn Fairley – women's 10K title) and one of the team's newest faces (Markus White – men's long jump program record of 25-8) provided two of the Flames' top performances on day one of the CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Friday at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium.
White recorded one of the men's squad's two runner-up finishes on the day (also Kellen Kimes in hammer), helping the Flames tally 27 team points for second place through three events. First-year conference member Kennesaw State owns the early lead with 47.5 tallies.
On the women's side, the Lady Flames sit in fifth place with 21.5 points but are just nine behind leader FIU (30.5 points through four events).
Men's Day 1 Recap
White wasted no time in the men's long jump, reaching 25-8 on his first attempt to shatter his previous personal best of 24-11 and take down a long-standing program record. Chad Wilson's winning mark of 25-6.75 from the 2004 IC4A Championship had stood for 21 years and one day prior to Friday.
White's impressive runner-up series also included another 25-8 effort in round six and additional marks of 25-6.75, 25-6 and 25-6. This marked just his fourth long jump competition in a Liberty uniform, and the fifth will come at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet in Jacksonville, Fla., in two weeks.
Kimes led for much of the men's hammer competition before being relegated to second place by a 203-5 effort from Louisiana Tech's Donald Lamp on the very last attempt of the afternoon. Kimes' top mark measured 202-3, enabling the sophomore to move up one place from his third-place CUSA showing in 2024.
The Flames' highest-scoring men's event of the day was the finale, the 10K. Defending champion Nicholas Kiprotich crossed the line in third (31:17.21), leading an 11-point discipline. Nathan Moore (fifth place, 31:42.75) and Jack Cottrell (eighth, 32:10.00) also finished among the scorers.
Liberty is in position for huge points in the decathlon, with Daniel Van Duren (3,695), Gabriel Willis (3,671) and Hunter Bleam (3,270) sitting 1-2-3 through Friday's five events.
Van Duren won both of the decathlon's Friday running events, clocking 11.06 for the 100 and a personal-best 50.12 for the 400. Willis won both jumps, including a 21-8.75 long jump and a 6-7.5 high jump (No. 4 all-time within a Liberty decathlon competition).
The Flames' top performance in qualifying came in the men's 400, as Elijah Sherard won his heat in 46.80 and Simon Lamparelli blazed a 46.71 (No. 6 in program history) to lop more than a second off his personal best and join Sherard in Sunday's final.
Women's Day 1 Recap
Fairley broke away with 800 meters remaining and ended up claiming her second career conference 10K crown (also 2023 ASUN) by 11 seconds in 35:55.45. She is now a 10-time conference champion overall, including two in cross country, five in indoor track and three in outdoor track. Isabela Ross added a sixth-place finish, crossing the line in 36:45.46.
The rest of the Lady Flames' points on Friday were scored by All-Americans, including a third-place effort in the women's hammer by Paola Bueno (200-2) and a share of fifth in the women's pole vault by Katie Urbine (12-2.5).
Like their male counterparts, the Lady Flames' multis got off to an outstanding start. Meredith Engle (3,269) and defending champion Patasha Bryan (3,240) rank 1-2 in the heptathlon standings through four events.
Engle won both field events, matching her best clearance within a heptathlon high jump (5-6.5) and recording the best shot put mark (44-0) ever by a Lady Flame inside a heptathlon. Engle bettered her own standard of 43-5.25 from last month's Duke Invitational.
Bryan finished off the day by winning the 200 in 25.23, ranking No. 4 all-time among Liberty heptathletes.
The Lady Flames went 6-for-6 in qualifying athletes to finals during Friday's four quartet of running event prelims (100, 400, 1,500 and 100 hurdles). Liberty will have two finalists apiece in both the 100 (Reese Webster and Akilah Lewis) and the 1,500 (Marie Hostetler and Allie Zealand).
Men's Team Scores (Through 3 of 21 Events)
1) Kennesaw State – 47.5
2) Liberty – 27
3) Louisiana Tech – 14
4) Sam Houston – 11.5
5) Western Kentucky – 9
6) UTEP – 6
7) Middle Tennessee – 2
Women's Team Scores (Through 4 of 21 Events)
1) FIU – 30.5
2) Kennesaw State – 27.5
T3) UTEP – 22
T3) Middle Tennessee – 22
5) Liberty – 21.5
6) Jacksonville State – 11
7) Western Kentucky – 10.5
8) Sam Houston – 10
9) New Mexico State – 1
Women's Day 1 CUSA Champions
Adelyn Fairley – 10K – 35:55.45
Men's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Kellen Kimes – Hammer – 202-3
2nd – Markus White – Long Jump – 25-8
3rd – Nicholas Kiprotich – 10K – 31:17.21
Other Women's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Paola Bueno – Hammer – 200-2
Men's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Record – Long Jump – Markus White – 25-8
Previous Record: 25-6.75 by Chad Wilson at the 2004 IC4A Championship (May 15, 2004)
Women's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Record – Heptathlon Shot Put – Meredith Engle – 44-0
Previous Record: 43-5.25 by Engle at the Duke Invitational on April 10
New Men's NCAA Division I East First Rounds Qualifiers
Markus White – Long Jump – 25-8
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 1 – Long Jump – Markus White – 25-8
No. 4 – Decathlon High Jump – Gabriel Willis – 6-7.5
No. 6 – 400 – Simon Lamparelli – 46.71
No. 10 – 100 – Eddy Vu – 10.36
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 1 – Heptathlon Shot Put – Meredith Engle – 44-0
No. 3 – 100 – Akilah Lewis – 11.44
No. 4 – Heptathlon 200 – Patasha Bryan – 25.23
Up Next
Saturday's action at the CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will commence with the decathlon 110 hurdles at 10 a.m. Eastern. Live coverage on ESPN+ will begin at 7:15 p.m. Eastern.
White recorded one of the men's squad's two runner-up finishes on the day (also Kellen Kimes in hammer), helping the Flames tally 27 team points for second place through three events. First-year conference member Kennesaw State owns the early lead with 47.5 tallies.
On the women's side, the Lady Flames sit in fifth place with 21.5 points but are just nine behind leader FIU (30.5 points through four events).
Men's Day 1 Recap
White wasted no time in the men's long jump, reaching 25-8 on his first attempt to shatter his previous personal best of 24-11 and take down a long-standing program record. Chad Wilson's winning mark of 25-6.75 from the 2004 IC4A Championship had stood for 21 years and one day prior to Friday.
White's impressive runner-up series also included another 25-8 effort in round six and additional marks of 25-6.75, 25-6 and 25-6. This marked just his fourth long jump competition in a Liberty uniform, and the fifth will come at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet in Jacksonville, Fla., in two weeks.
Kimes led for much of the men's hammer competition before being relegated to second place by a 203-5 effort from Louisiana Tech's Donald Lamp on the very last attempt of the afternoon. Kimes' top mark measured 202-3, enabling the sophomore to move up one place from his third-place CUSA showing in 2024.
The Flames' highest-scoring men's event of the day was the finale, the 10K. Defending champion Nicholas Kiprotich crossed the line in third (31:17.21), leading an 11-point discipline. Nathan Moore (fifth place, 31:42.75) and Jack Cottrell (eighth, 32:10.00) also finished among the scorers.
Liberty is in position for huge points in the decathlon, with Daniel Van Duren (3,695), Gabriel Willis (3,671) and Hunter Bleam (3,270) sitting 1-2-3 through Friday's five events.
Van Duren won both of the decathlon's Friday running events, clocking 11.06 for the 100 and a personal-best 50.12 for the 400. Willis won both jumps, including a 21-8.75 long jump and a 6-7.5 high jump (No. 4 all-time within a Liberty decathlon competition).
The Flames' top performance in qualifying came in the men's 400, as Elijah Sherard won his heat in 46.80 and Simon Lamparelli blazed a 46.71 (No. 6 in program history) to lop more than a second off his personal best and join Sherard in Sunday's final.
Women's Day 1 Recap
Fairley broke away with 800 meters remaining and ended up claiming her second career conference 10K crown (also 2023 ASUN) by 11 seconds in 35:55.45. She is now a 10-time conference champion overall, including two in cross country, five in indoor track and three in outdoor track. Isabela Ross added a sixth-place finish, crossing the line in 36:45.46.
The rest of the Lady Flames' points on Friday were scored by All-Americans, including a third-place effort in the women's hammer by Paola Bueno (200-2) and a share of fifth in the women's pole vault by Katie Urbine (12-2.5).
Like their male counterparts, the Lady Flames' multis got off to an outstanding start. Meredith Engle (3,269) and defending champion Patasha Bryan (3,240) rank 1-2 in the heptathlon standings through four events.
Engle won both field events, matching her best clearance within a heptathlon high jump (5-6.5) and recording the best shot put mark (44-0) ever by a Lady Flame inside a heptathlon. Engle bettered her own standard of 43-5.25 from last month's Duke Invitational.
Bryan finished off the day by winning the 200 in 25.23, ranking No. 4 all-time among Liberty heptathletes.
The Lady Flames went 6-for-6 in qualifying athletes to finals during Friday's four quartet of running event prelims (100, 400, 1,500 and 100 hurdles). Liberty will have two finalists apiece in both the 100 (Reese Webster and Akilah Lewis) and the 1,500 (Marie Hostetler and Allie Zealand).
Men's Team Scores (Through 3 of 21 Events)
1) Kennesaw State – 47.5
2) Liberty – 27
3) Louisiana Tech – 14
4) Sam Houston – 11.5
5) Western Kentucky – 9
6) UTEP – 6
7) Middle Tennessee – 2
Women's Team Scores (Through 4 of 21 Events)
1) FIU – 30.5
2) Kennesaw State – 27.5
T3) UTEP – 22
T3) Middle Tennessee – 22
5) Liberty – 21.5
6) Jacksonville State – 11
7) Western Kentucky – 10.5
8) Sam Houston – 10
9) New Mexico State – 1
Women's Day 1 CUSA Champions
Adelyn Fairley – 10K – 35:55.45
Men's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Kellen Kimes – Hammer – 202-3
2nd – Markus White – Long Jump – 25-8
3rd – Nicholas Kiprotich – 10K – 31:17.21
Other Women's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Paola Bueno – Hammer – 200-2
Men's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Record – Long Jump – Markus White – 25-8
Previous Record: 25-6.75 by Chad Wilson at the 2004 IC4A Championship (May 15, 2004)
Women's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Record – Heptathlon Shot Put – Meredith Engle – 44-0
Previous Record: 43-5.25 by Engle at the Duke Invitational on April 10
New Men's NCAA Division I East First Rounds Qualifiers
Markus White – Long Jump – 25-8
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 1 – Long Jump – Markus White – 25-8
No. 4 – Decathlon High Jump – Gabriel Willis – 6-7.5
No. 6 – 400 – Simon Lamparelli – 46.71
No. 10 – 100 – Eddy Vu – 10.36
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 1 – Heptathlon Shot Put – Meredith Engle – 44-0
No. 3 – 100 – Akilah Lewis – 11.44
No. 4 – Heptathlon 200 – Patasha Bryan – 25.23
Up Next
Saturday's action at the CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will commence with the decathlon 110 hurdles at 10 a.m. Eastern. Live coverage on ESPN+ will begin at 7:15 p.m. Eastern.
Players Mentioned
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Hammer
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Distance
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