Sunday, May 18
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
12:00 PM ET/11:00 AM CT
Liberty University
at
Conference USA Outdoor Track Championships
Liberty Women Claim CUSA Outdoor Title to Complete Triple Crown
5/19/2025 1:59:00 AM | Track and Field
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Liberty women's squad produced a dominating team victory at the 2025 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which concluded Sunday at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium. As a result, the Lady Flames completed a CUSA Triple Crown of women's cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field titles for the year. Meanwhile, the Liberty men's team finished a close second to Kennesaw State.
The Lady Flames racked up 178.5 points to win by 61.5 over runner-up UTEP, marking the largest margin of victory at this meet since UCF posted a 67.5-point triumph in 2013. Liberty also became the first CUSA women's team to win back-to-back outdoor championships since UCF earned four in a row between 2010-13.
The Lady Flames' Triple Crown was their first since 2016-17 (Big South) and the first by a CUSA women's squad since 2007-08 (Rice).
A late comeback by the Liberty men's team fell just short as Kennesaw State topped the Flames by 5.5 points (216.5 to 211) to snap Liberty's 17-year run of men's outdoor track & field titles. This was the tightest separation between first and second place at this meet since 2006, when UTEP topped Houston by 3.5 points.
The Flames collected four individual honors at the meet's conclusion, including Men's High Point Scorer of the Meet (Christian Hicks), Men's Freshman of the Meet (Elijah Sherard), Women's Freshman of the Meet (Bethany Tate) and Women's Coach of the Year (Lance Bingham).
Liberty won 11 events over the course of the three-day meet, including Sunday victories by Hicks (men's discus), Joshua Smith (men's triple jump), Josh Blalock (men's 400 hurdles), Allie Zealand (women's 1,500) and the quartet of Eddy Vu, Troy McKnight, Revell Webster and Omari Lewis (men's 4 x 100 relay).
Kate Goodyear (2:04.36 women's 800) and Addilae Watts (161-9 women's javelin) each broke their own program records on Sunday, joining Markus White (25-8 men's long jump) as program record setters.
Women's Day 3 Recap
Watts was the Lady Flames' first competitor of the day and set the tone by breaking the women's javelin program record in round one. Her 161-9 effort, which held up for second place, added an inch to Watts' previous mark of 161-8 from the 2024 CUSA meet. Watts now owns a full collection of conference women's javelin medals, including a gold (2023 Horizon League), silver (2025 CUSA) and bronze (2024 CUSA).
Zealand raced to the women's 1,500 victory in 4:19.54, going along with her CUSA indoor mile title. She became the first Lady Flame to capture a conference title in the women's 1,500 since 2019, when another freshman (Calli Doan – ASUN) did so.
Teammate Marie Hostetler followed in third place with a time of 4:22.67, less than 24 hours after claiming the women's steeplechase crown.
Goodyear was unable to defend her women's 800 title from a year ago. But she did cut a tenth of a second off her own program record from the 2024 Bryan Clay Invitational, and Goodyear's 2:04.36 effort ranks No. 2 in meet history. Jessica Palisca (personal-best 2:07.15) and Zealand (2:09.26) added fifth and sixth-place finishes, respectively.
The women's 5K crew later punctuated an outstanding meet by the Lady Flames' distance runners. Adelyn Fairley (16:52.96), Ava Gordon (17:06.54) and Isabela Ross (17:06.96) placed 2-7-8, giving the Lady Flames 11 points for the event and 81 total for the 800, 1,500, steeplechase, 5K and 10K.
Fairley, who had claimed the women's 10K championship on Friday, is now an 18-time all-conference performer between cross country and track & field, spanning two conferences (ASUN and CUSA).
On the opposite end of the experience spectrum, Tate complemented her shot put crown from Saturday with a team-best fourth-place showing in Sunday's women's discus competition (157-1). Her 15 points paced all women's freshmen. Sofia Mojica came in right behind Tate in fifth (152-0) in the final event of her collegiate career.
The Lady Flames enjoyed success on the straightaway, getting a 2-3 finish from Reese Webster (11.37) and Akilah Lewis (11.44) in the women's 100 final and a runner-up showing from Indea Cartwright (13.66) in the women's 100 hurdles final.
Mahogany Mobley wrapped up her first season as a Lady Flame in impressive fashion. She took fourth place in the women's 400 final in a personal-best 54.08, tying Erin Edmond for No. 5 in program history.
Mobley then anchored the Lady Flames' 4 x 400 relay team to sixth in the event and seventh in program history with a time of 3:41.91. She was preceded with the baton by Maddy Merritt, Goodyear and Palisca.
Men's Day 3 Recap
Two of the Flames' event titles on Sunday came in dramatic fashion. Smith catapulted from fourth place to first with a personal-best 50-11 leap on the final attempt of the men's triple jump competition, keeping Liberty on top of the men's team standings heading to the final two events.
Smith climbed to No. 4 in program history and became Liberty's first outdoor men's triple jump titlist since Darrel Jones in 2018 (Big South). Sunday marked the second time Smith has come from behind to win a men's triple jump conference title during round six (also 2023 ASUN indoor).
A couple hours earlier, Lewis had blazed down the final straightaway to move the Flames' 4 x 100 relay squad up from fifth place to first in a season-best time of 39.27. It marked the fastest 4 x 100 clocking at this meet since 2018 (Southern Miss – meet-record 38.89).
One day after winning the men's shot put title on his last attempt, Hicks added a discus championship. He took the lead for good with a third-round mark of 185-2, becoming the only men's athlete at the meet to win two individual events.
Trevor Veenstra (fourth place, 171-6) and Beau Backes (fifth, 170-8) made it three Flames in the top five, making the discus a 19-point event.
However, the Flames' highest-scoring event on Sunday was the men's 400 hurdles. Blalock (51.91) and Jacob Torres (51.94) finished 1-2 side-by-side with Luke Anderson chipping in a fifth-place finish (season-best 53.23). Liberty became the first CUSA team since UTSA in 2014 to sweep the men's 400 hurdles' top two positions.
Sherard totaled 12.25 points during a Sunday which saw him set two Liberty freshman records. He got things started by placing third in the men's 400 in a personal-best and Liberty freshman-record 46.02, a time which trails only All-Americans Alejandro Perlaza Zapata and Mike Decker in program history. Teammate Simon Lamparelli was seventh in 46.92.
Sherard was one of three Flames to place inside the top seven of the men's 200. Lewis led the way in third with a personal-best 20.53, Sherard followed in fourth in a personal-best 20.91 and Webster took seventh in 21.16. Sherard took down the Liberty freshman standard of 20.93 Lewis had established at the 2023 Vertklasse Meeting.
Sherard then posted a 45.42 anchor leg, helping the Flames' quartet of Lamparelli, Brendan Pitcher, Torres and himself come in fourth in 3:10.48.
Lewis earned medals of all three colors on Sunday, also including his second-place men's 100 finish (10.17 into a headwind).
Edwin Kiprop led the Flames in both the men's 1,500 (seventh, 3:53.31) and 5K (third, 14:24.41).
All four Liberty men who toed the starting line scored points in the men's 5K, the night's next-to-last event with significant team title implications. Following Kiprop across the finish line were Jack Cottrell (fourth, 14:27.75), Nicholas Kiprotich (seventh, 14:37.96) and Nathan Moore (eighth, 14:52.48). Moore completed the challenging 10K/steeplechase/5K triple by scoring points in all three races over the course of the meet.
The Flames' other Sunday points were scored by Isaiah Idore (fifth in the men's 110 hurdles final, 14.23) and the men's javelin duo of Ethan Mylin (fourth, 195-5) and Gabriel Willis (seventh, personal-best 187-1). For Willis, it marked the decathlon runner-up's 12th and final event of the meet.
Final Women's Team Scores
1) Liberty – 178.5
2) UTEP – 117
3) Kennesaw State – 104.5
4) FIU – 101
5) Middle Tennessee – 84
6) New Mexico State – 74
7) Louisiana Tech – 49
8) Jacksonville State – 46.5
9) Sam Houston – 38
10) Western Kentucky – 21.5
Final Men's Team Scores
1) Kennesaw State – 216.5
2) Liberty – 211
3) Middle Tennessee – 97
4) Sam Houston – 73.5
5) Western Kentucky – 71
6) UTEP – 58
7) Louisiana Tech – 56
8) FIU – 28
Women's High Point Scorer of the Meet
Rejoice Sule, UTEP
Men's High Point Scorer of the Meet
Christian Hicks, Liberty
Women's Freshman of the Meet
Bethany Tate, Liberty
Men's Freshman of the Meet
Elijah Sherard, Liberty
Women's Coach of the Year
Lance Bingham, Liberty
Men's Coach of the Year
Cale McDaniel, Kennesaw State
Women's Day 3 CUSA Champions
Allie Zealand – 1,500 – 4:19.54
Men's Day 3 CUSA Champions
Josh Blalock – 400 Hurdles – 51.91
Christian Hicks – Discus – 185-2
Joshua Smith – Triple Jump – 50-11
Eddy Vu, Troy McKnight, Revell Webster, Omari Lewis – 4 x 100 Relay – 39.27
Other Women's Day 3 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Indea Cartwright – 100 Hurdles – 13.66
2nd – Adelyn Fairley – 5K – 16:52.96
2nd – Kate Goodyear – 800 – 2:04.36
2nd – Addilae Watts – Javelin – 161-9
2nd – Reese Webster – 100 – 11.37
3rd – Marie Hostetler – 1,500 – 4:22.67
3rd – Akilah Lewis – 100 – 11.44
Other Men's Day 3 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Omari Lewis – 100 – 10.17
2nd – Jacob Torres – 400 Hurdles – 51.94
3rd – Edwin Kiprop – 5K – 14:24.41
3rd – Omari Lewis – 200 – 20.53
3rd – Elijah Sherard – 400 – 46.02
Women's Day 3 Record Breakers
Liberty Record – Kate Goodyear – 800 – 2:04.36
Previous Record: 2:04.46 by Goodyear at the 2024 Bryan Clay Invitational (April 12, 2024)
Liberty Record – Addilae Watts – Javelin – 161-9
Previous Record: 161-8 by Watts at the 2024 CUSA Championship (May 10, 2024)
Men's Day 3 Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – Elijah Sherard – 200 – 20.91
Previous Record: 20.93 by Omari Lewis at the 2024 Vertklasse Meeting (April 1, 2023)
Liberty Freshman Record – Elijah Sherard – 400 – 46.02
Previous Record: 46.65 by Sherard at the Florida Relays on April 5
New Women's NCAA Division I East First Rounds Qualifiers
Kate Goodyear – 800 – 2:04.36
New Men's NCAA Division I East First Rounds Qualifiers
Omari Lewis – 200 – 20.53
Elijah Sherard – 400 – 46.02
Day 3 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 1 – 800 – Kate Goodyear – 2:04.36
No. 1 – Javelin – Addilae Watts – 161-9
Tie for No. 5 – 400 – Mahogany Mobley – 54.08
No. 7 – 800 – Jessica Palisca – 2:07.15
No. 7 – 4 x 400 – Merritt, Goodyear, Palisca, Mobley – 3:41.91
Day 3 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 2 – 4 x 100 – Vu, McKnight, Webster, Lewis – 39.27
No. 2 – Omari Lewis – 200 – 20.53
No. 3 – Elijah Sherard – 400 – 46.02
No. 4 – Triple Jump – Joshua Smith – 50-11
No. 8 – Elijah Sherard – 200 – 20.91
Up Next
The NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet will be contested May 28-31 at Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
The official list of qualifiers for Jacksonville will be announced on Thursday on NCAA.com.
The Lady Flames racked up 178.5 points to win by 61.5 over runner-up UTEP, marking the largest margin of victory at this meet since UCF posted a 67.5-point triumph in 2013. Liberty also became the first CUSA women's team to win back-to-back outdoor championships since UCF earned four in a row between 2010-13.
The Lady Flames' Triple Crown was their first since 2016-17 (Big South) and the first by a CUSA women's squad since 2007-08 (Rice).
A late comeback by the Liberty men's team fell just short as Kennesaw State topped the Flames by 5.5 points (216.5 to 211) to snap Liberty's 17-year run of men's outdoor track & field titles. This was the tightest separation between first and second place at this meet since 2006, when UTEP topped Houston by 3.5 points.
The Flames collected four individual honors at the meet's conclusion, including Men's High Point Scorer of the Meet (Christian Hicks), Men's Freshman of the Meet (Elijah Sherard), Women's Freshman of the Meet (Bethany Tate) and Women's Coach of the Year (Lance Bingham).
Liberty won 11 events over the course of the three-day meet, including Sunday victories by Hicks (men's discus), Joshua Smith (men's triple jump), Josh Blalock (men's 400 hurdles), Allie Zealand (women's 1,500) and the quartet of Eddy Vu, Troy McKnight, Revell Webster and Omari Lewis (men's 4 x 100 relay).
Kate Goodyear (2:04.36 women's 800) and Addilae Watts (161-9 women's javelin) each broke their own program records on Sunday, joining Markus White (25-8 men's long jump) as program record setters.
Women's Day 3 Recap
Watts was the Lady Flames' first competitor of the day and set the tone by breaking the women's javelin program record in round one. Her 161-9 effort, which held up for second place, added an inch to Watts' previous mark of 161-8 from the 2024 CUSA meet. Watts now owns a full collection of conference women's javelin medals, including a gold (2023 Horizon League), silver (2025 CUSA) and bronze (2024 CUSA).
Zealand raced to the women's 1,500 victory in 4:19.54, going along with her CUSA indoor mile title. She became the first Lady Flame to capture a conference title in the women's 1,500 since 2019, when another freshman (Calli Doan – ASUN) did so.
Teammate Marie Hostetler followed in third place with a time of 4:22.67, less than 24 hours after claiming the women's steeplechase crown.
Goodyear was unable to defend her women's 800 title from a year ago. But she did cut a tenth of a second off her own program record from the 2024 Bryan Clay Invitational, and Goodyear's 2:04.36 effort ranks No. 2 in meet history. Jessica Palisca (personal-best 2:07.15) and Zealand (2:09.26) added fifth and sixth-place finishes, respectively.
The women's 5K crew later punctuated an outstanding meet by the Lady Flames' distance runners. Adelyn Fairley (16:52.96), Ava Gordon (17:06.54) and Isabela Ross (17:06.96) placed 2-7-8, giving the Lady Flames 11 points for the event and 81 total for the 800, 1,500, steeplechase, 5K and 10K.
Fairley, who had claimed the women's 10K championship on Friday, is now an 18-time all-conference performer between cross country and track & field, spanning two conferences (ASUN and CUSA).
On the opposite end of the experience spectrum, Tate complemented her shot put crown from Saturday with a team-best fourth-place showing in Sunday's women's discus competition (157-1). Her 15 points paced all women's freshmen. Sofia Mojica came in right behind Tate in fifth (152-0) in the final event of her collegiate career.
The Lady Flames enjoyed success on the straightaway, getting a 2-3 finish from Reese Webster (11.37) and Akilah Lewis (11.44) in the women's 100 final and a runner-up showing from Indea Cartwright (13.66) in the women's 100 hurdles final.
Mahogany Mobley wrapped up her first season as a Lady Flame in impressive fashion. She took fourth place in the women's 400 final in a personal-best 54.08, tying Erin Edmond for No. 5 in program history.
Mobley then anchored the Lady Flames' 4 x 400 relay team to sixth in the event and seventh in program history with a time of 3:41.91. She was preceded with the baton by Maddy Merritt, Goodyear and Palisca.
Men's Day 3 Recap
Two of the Flames' event titles on Sunday came in dramatic fashion. Smith catapulted from fourth place to first with a personal-best 50-11 leap on the final attempt of the men's triple jump competition, keeping Liberty on top of the men's team standings heading to the final two events.
Smith climbed to No. 4 in program history and became Liberty's first outdoor men's triple jump titlist since Darrel Jones in 2018 (Big South). Sunday marked the second time Smith has come from behind to win a men's triple jump conference title during round six (also 2023 ASUN indoor).
A couple hours earlier, Lewis had blazed down the final straightaway to move the Flames' 4 x 100 relay squad up from fifth place to first in a season-best time of 39.27. It marked the fastest 4 x 100 clocking at this meet since 2018 (Southern Miss – meet-record 38.89).
One day after winning the men's shot put title on his last attempt, Hicks added a discus championship. He took the lead for good with a third-round mark of 185-2, becoming the only men's athlete at the meet to win two individual events.
Trevor Veenstra (fourth place, 171-6) and Beau Backes (fifth, 170-8) made it three Flames in the top five, making the discus a 19-point event.
However, the Flames' highest-scoring event on Sunday was the men's 400 hurdles. Blalock (51.91) and Jacob Torres (51.94) finished 1-2 side-by-side with Luke Anderson chipping in a fifth-place finish (season-best 53.23). Liberty became the first CUSA team since UTSA in 2014 to sweep the men's 400 hurdles' top two positions.
Sherard totaled 12.25 points during a Sunday which saw him set two Liberty freshman records. He got things started by placing third in the men's 400 in a personal-best and Liberty freshman-record 46.02, a time which trails only All-Americans Alejandro Perlaza Zapata and Mike Decker in program history. Teammate Simon Lamparelli was seventh in 46.92.
Sherard was one of three Flames to place inside the top seven of the men's 200. Lewis led the way in third with a personal-best 20.53, Sherard followed in fourth in a personal-best 20.91 and Webster took seventh in 21.16. Sherard took down the Liberty freshman standard of 20.93 Lewis had established at the 2023 Vertklasse Meeting.
Sherard then posted a 45.42 anchor leg, helping the Flames' quartet of Lamparelli, Brendan Pitcher, Torres and himself come in fourth in 3:10.48.
Lewis earned medals of all three colors on Sunday, also including his second-place men's 100 finish (10.17 into a headwind).
Edwin Kiprop led the Flames in both the men's 1,500 (seventh, 3:53.31) and 5K (third, 14:24.41).
All four Liberty men who toed the starting line scored points in the men's 5K, the night's next-to-last event with significant team title implications. Following Kiprop across the finish line were Jack Cottrell (fourth, 14:27.75), Nicholas Kiprotich (seventh, 14:37.96) and Nathan Moore (eighth, 14:52.48). Moore completed the challenging 10K/steeplechase/5K triple by scoring points in all three races over the course of the meet.
The Flames' other Sunday points were scored by Isaiah Idore (fifth in the men's 110 hurdles final, 14.23) and the men's javelin duo of Ethan Mylin (fourth, 195-5) and Gabriel Willis (seventh, personal-best 187-1). For Willis, it marked the decathlon runner-up's 12th and final event of the meet.
Final Women's Team Scores
1) Liberty – 178.5
2) UTEP – 117
3) Kennesaw State – 104.5
4) FIU – 101
5) Middle Tennessee – 84
6) New Mexico State – 74
7) Louisiana Tech – 49
8) Jacksonville State – 46.5
9) Sam Houston – 38
10) Western Kentucky – 21.5
Final Men's Team Scores
1) Kennesaw State – 216.5
2) Liberty – 211
3) Middle Tennessee – 97
4) Sam Houston – 73.5
5) Western Kentucky – 71
6) UTEP – 58
7) Louisiana Tech – 56
8) FIU – 28
Women's High Point Scorer of the Meet
Rejoice Sule, UTEP
Men's High Point Scorer of the Meet
Christian Hicks, Liberty
Women's Freshman of the Meet
Bethany Tate, Liberty
Men's Freshman of the Meet
Elijah Sherard, Liberty
Women's Coach of the Year
Lance Bingham, Liberty
Men's Coach of the Year
Cale McDaniel, Kennesaw State
Women's Day 3 CUSA Champions
Allie Zealand – 1,500 – 4:19.54
Men's Day 3 CUSA Champions
Josh Blalock – 400 Hurdles – 51.91
Christian Hicks – Discus – 185-2
Joshua Smith – Triple Jump – 50-11
Eddy Vu, Troy McKnight, Revell Webster, Omari Lewis – 4 x 100 Relay – 39.27
Other Women's Day 3 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Indea Cartwright – 100 Hurdles – 13.66
2nd – Adelyn Fairley – 5K – 16:52.96
2nd – Kate Goodyear – 800 – 2:04.36
2nd – Addilae Watts – Javelin – 161-9
2nd – Reese Webster – 100 – 11.37
3rd – Marie Hostetler – 1,500 – 4:22.67
3rd – Akilah Lewis – 100 – 11.44
Other Men's Day 3 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Omari Lewis – 100 – 10.17
2nd – Jacob Torres – 400 Hurdles – 51.94
3rd – Edwin Kiprop – 5K – 14:24.41
3rd – Omari Lewis – 200 – 20.53
3rd – Elijah Sherard – 400 – 46.02
Women's Day 3 Record Breakers
Liberty Record – Kate Goodyear – 800 – 2:04.36
Previous Record: 2:04.46 by Goodyear at the 2024 Bryan Clay Invitational (April 12, 2024)
Liberty Record – Addilae Watts – Javelin – 161-9
Previous Record: 161-8 by Watts at the 2024 CUSA Championship (May 10, 2024)
Men's Day 3 Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – Elijah Sherard – 200 – 20.91
Previous Record: 20.93 by Omari Lewis at the 2024 Vertklasse Meeting (April 1, 2023)
Liberty Freshman Record – Elijah Sherard – 400 – 46.02
Previous Record: 46.65 by Sherard at the Florida Relays on April 5
New Women's NCAA Division I East First Rounds Qualifiers
Kate Goodyear – 800 – 2:04.36
New Men's NCAA Division I East First Rounds Qualifiers
Omari Lewis – 200 – 20.53
Elijah Sherard – 400 – 46.02
Day 3 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 1 – 800 – Kate Goodyear – 2:04.36
No. 1 – Javelin – Addilae Watts – 161-9
Tie for No. 5 – 400 – Mahogany Mobley – 54.08
No. 7 – 800 – Jessica Palisca – 2:07.15
No. 7 – 4 x 400 – Merritt, Goodyear, Palisca, Mobley – 3:41.91
Day 3 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 2 – 4 x 100 – Vu, McKnight, Webster, Lewis – 39.27
No. 2 – Omari Lewis – 200 – 20.53
No. 3 – Elijah Sherard – 400 – 46.02
No. 4 – Triple Jump – Joshua Smith – 50-11
No. 8 – Elijah Sherard – 200 – 20.91
Up Next
The NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet will be contested May 28-31 at Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
The official list of qualifiers for Jacksonville will be announced on Thursday on NCAA.com.
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