Tuesday, May 6
Lynchburg, Va.
11:30 AM ET
Liberty University
vs
Liberty Twilight Qualifier
Liberty honored 31 graduating seniors during Tuesday's meet.
Liberty Closes Regular Season With 8 Event Victories
5/6/2025 10:52:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The host team won eight events at Tuesday's Liberty Twilight Qualifier, the Flames' final regular-season contest. Two of the team's 31 seniors recognized were victorious during their last competition at the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex, including Luke Anderson (men's 110 hurdles) and Sofia Mojica (women's discus).
Liberty's other first-place finishes went to Josh Blalock (men's 400 hurdles), Christian Hicks (men's discus), Joshua Smith (men's triple jump), Markus White (men's long jump), Elle Bass (women's 100) and Marianah Scott (women's 400).
A picture-perfect day for track & field with a high in the low-70s under partly cloudy skies saw five facility records go down (men's 200, men's 800, women's 800, women's steeplechase and women's 5K).
Men's Meet Recap
Anderson (season-best 14.41) and Daniel Van Duren (third place, personal-best 14.56) both benefitted from a re-run of the men's 110 hurdles final.
Blalock later made it a sweep of the men's hurdle events, winning the 400 hurdles by more than two seconds in 52.60.
The Flames also swept the men's horizontal jump titles, courtesy of White (24-4.5 long jump) and Smith (49-6.25 triple jump). Smith added a third-place long jump finish, matching his personal best of 23-2.75, while Shane Wang (46-7.25) made it a 1-2 Liberty men's triple jump showing.
Liberty's best men's event of the day, however, was the men's discus. Hicks (185-7), Trevor Veenstra (personal-best 171-6) and Beau Backes (169-4) swept all three podium positions.
Eddy Vu placed second overall and first among collegiate athletes in a windy men's 100 final with a 10.58.
Brendan Pitcher took third in a fast 800 in a season-best 1:48.60, climbing to No. 3 on the CUSA performance list entering the conference meet.
Liberty also got a pair of strong mid-distance showings from Edwin Kiprop (4th in 1,500, 3:47.81) and Nathan Moore (8th in 1,500, personal-best 3:54.57), both coming off of 5K races at Duke two nights earlier.
In the evening's final field event, Gabriel Willis heaved the javelin a personal-best 172-4 for third overall and first among collegians.
Women's Meet Recap
Mojica (157-7) and freshman teammate Bethany Tate (146-4) got the day off to a fast start with a 1-2 women's discus finish.
Bass broke 12 seconds in the women's 100 for the first two times on Tuesday, clocking 11.86 in the prelims and then winning the final in 11.87.
Freshman Scott notched her first collegiate victory in the women's 400 with a time of 58.26.
The Lady Flames did not win the women's 200, but grabbed three of the top eight places, all in personal-best fashion. Bass was fourth in 24.24, followed by Amaryah White (seventh, 24.83) and Trinity Alexander (eighth, 25.08). White became the eighth Lady Flame to clock a sub-25.00 200 this season, continuing to add to a program single-season record.
Speaking of personal bests, Liberty picked up four of them in the women's 1,500, including two of their five sub-4:30 runners on the night. Kate Goodyear led the way in second place (4:19.84), followed by Marie Hostetler in third (4:20.87), Adelyn Fairley in fourth (4:24.27), Jessica Palisca in fifth (personal-best 4:25.04, No. 10 all-time for the Lady Flames) and Rachel Hill in eighth (personal-best 4:29.87). Other runners recording personal bests on the evening were Sophia Park (12th, 4:38.66) and Molly Lashley (19th, 4:45.52).
Seven of the top 10 women's 1,500 runners in program history are either coaches or athletes on this year's team, including Coach Heather (Sagan) Zealand (No. 1), Allie Zealand (No. 2), Coach Calli Doan (No. 3), Goodyear (No. 4), Hostetler (No. 5), Fairley (No. 7) and Palisca (No. 10).
Reagan Underwood continued a trend of improving her time with each passing 5K race this season. Dating back to the indoor season, the field hockey standout turned distance runner has clocked 17:35.59, 17:31.98, 17:22.91 and 17:16.32 for fourth place on Tuesday.
Tabby DeJong (44-6.75 women's shot put) and Kacy Cox (39-2.5 women's triple jump) notched runner-up finishes in their respective events. Cox was only defeated by assistant Makenzy Willis (40-1.5).
Heptathletes performed well in the women's long jump, including a third-place finish for Paige Greenhagel (personal-best 18-10) and a sixth-place effort by Patasha Bryan (outdoor personal-best 18-4.25).
Men's Event Winners
Luke Anderson – 110 Hurdles – 14.41
Josh Blalock – 400 Hurdles – 52.60
Christian Hicks – Discus – 185-7
Joshua Smith – Triple Jump – 49-6.25
Markus White – Long Jump – 24-4.5
Women's Event Winners
Elle Bass – 100 – 11.87
Sofia Mojica – Discus – 157-7
Marianah Scott – 400 – 58.26
Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
1,500 – No. 10 – Jessica Palisca – 4:25.04
Up Next
Liberty will attempt to defend its men's and women's team titles at the 2025 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The meet is scheduled for May 16-18 at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Liberty's other first-place finishes went to Josh Blalock (men's 400 hurdles), Christian Hicks (men's discus), Joshua Smith (men's triple jump), Markus White (men's long jump), Elle Bass (women's 100) and Marianah Scott (women's 400).
A picture-perfect day for track & field with a high in the low-70s under partly cloudy skies saw five facility records go down (men's 200, men's 800, women's 800, women's steeplechase and women's 5K).
Men's Meet Recap
Anderson (season-best 14.41) and Daniel Van Duren (third place, personal-best 14.56) both benefitted from a re-run of the men's 110 hurdles final.
Blalock later made it a sweep of the men's hurdle events, winning the 400 hurdles by more than two seconds in 52.60.
The Flames also swept the men's horizontal jump titles, courtesy of White (24-4.5 long jump) and Smith (49-6.25 triple jump). Smith added a third-place long jump finish, matching his personal best of 23-2.75, while Shane Wang (46-7.25) made it a 1-2 Liberty men's triple jump showing.
Liberty's best men's event of the day, however, was the men's discus. Hicks (185-7), Trevor Veenstra (personal-best 171-6) and Beau Backes (169-4) swept all three podium positions.
Eddy Vu placed second overall and first among collegiate athletes in a windy men's 100 final with a 10.58.
Brendan Pitcher took third in a fast 800 in a season-best 1:48.60, climbing to No. 3 on the CUSA performance list entering the conference meet.
Liberty also got a pair of strong mid-distance showings from Edwin Kiprop (4th in 1,500, 3:47.81) and Nathan Moore (8th in 1,500, personal-best 3:54.57), both coming off of 5K races at Duke two nights earlier.
In the evening's final field event, Gabriel Willis heaved the javelin a personal-best 172-4 for third overall and first among collegians.
Women's Meet Recap
Mojica (157-7) and freshman teammate Bethany Tate (146-4) got the day off to a fast start with a 1-2 women's discus finish.
Bass broke 12 seconds in the women's 100 for the first two times on Tuesday, clocking 11.86 in the prelims and then winning the final in 11.87.
Freshman Scott notched her first collegiate victory in the women's 400 with a time of 58.26.
The Lady Flames did not win the women's 200, but grabbed three of the top eight places, all in personal-best fashion. Bass was fourth in 24.24, followed by Amaryah White (seventh, 24.83) and Trinity Alexander (eighth, 25.08). White became the eighth Lady Flame to clock a sub-25.00 200 this season, continuing to add to a program single-season record.
Speaking of personal bests, Liberty picked up four of them in the women's 1,500, including two of their five sub-4:30 runners on the night. Kate Goodyear led the way in second place (4:19.84), followed by Marie Hostetler in third (4:20.87), Adelyn Fairley in fourth (4:24.27), Jessica Palisca in fifth (personal-best 4:25.04, No. 10 all-time for the Lady Flames) and Rachel Hill in eighth (personal-best 4:29.87). Other runners recording personal bests on the evening were Sophia Park (12th, 4:38.66) and Molly Lashley (19th, 4:45.52).
Seven of the top 10 women's 1,500 runners in program history are either coaches or athletes on this year's team, including Coach Heather (Sagan) Zealand (No. 1), Allie Zealand (No. 2), Coach Calli Doan (No. 3), Goodyear (No. 4), Hostetler (No. 5), Fairley (No. 7) and Palisca (No. 10).
Reagan Underwood continued a trend of improving her time with each passing 5K race this season. Dating back to the indoor season, the field hockey standout turned distance runner has clocked 17:35.59, 17:31.98, 17:22.91 and 17:16.32 for fourth place on Tuesday.
Tabby DeJong (44-6.75 women's shot put) and Kacy Cox (39-2.5 women's triple jump) notched runner-up finishes in their respective events. Cox was only defeated by assistant Makenzy Willis (40-1.5).
Heptathletes performed well in the women's long jump, including a third-place finish for Paige Greenhagel (personal-best 18-10) and a sixth-place effort by Patasha Bryan (outdoor personal-best 18-4.25).
Men's Event Winners
Luke Anderson – 110 Hurdles – 14.41
Josh Blalock – 400 Hurdles – 52.60
Christian Hicks – Discus – 185-7
Joshua Smith – Triple Jump – 49-6.25
Markus White – Long Jump – 24-4.5
Women's Event Winners
Elle Bass – 100 – 11.87
Sofia Mojica – Discus – 157-7
Marianah Scott – 400 – 58.26
Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
1,500 – No. 10 – Jessica Palisca – 4:25.04
Up Next
Liberty will attempt to defend its men's and women's team titles at the 2025 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The meet is scheduled for May 16-18 at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
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Hurdles
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Throws
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Sprints
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Hurdles
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Heptathlon
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Jumps
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Throws
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Distance
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Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
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Sprints
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Throws
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Sprints
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Jumps
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Sprints
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Jumps
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Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Distance
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