Meredith Engle was named to the Academic All-District Team for the third time in her career.
8 Flames Earn CSC Academic All-District® Honors
6/24/2025 12:01:00 PM | Cross Country, Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Eight Liberty academic standouts have been named to the 2024-25 CSC Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country teams, as announced on Tuesday.
The Flames' honorees include women's team members Paola Bueno, Meredith Engle, Marie Hostetler, Katrina Schlenker and Addilae Watts and the men's trio of Christian Hicks, Kellen Kimes and Joshua Smith.
Engle garnered this award for the third time (also 2022 and 2023), which is the most among any current Liberty track & field team member.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the 2024-25 CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced on July 15 (women's team) and 16 (men's team).
Paola Bueno (Nayarit, Mexico) – A finance major with a 3.89 GPA, Bueno earned second team All-America honors for the second year in a row thanks to a 16th-place women's hammer finish at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The first women's thrower in program history to earn multiple All-America honors, Bueno extended her own Liberty women's hammer record to 215-7 at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet. She was the CUSA women's weight throw runner-up and placed third in the women's hammer.
Meredith Engle (Dillsburg, Pa.) – A 4.0 student during both her undergraduate (computer science) and graduate (cybersecurity) studies, Engle collected athletic and academic awards at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. She finished 12th in the pentathlon for second team All-America honors and became the Lady Flames' first NCAA Elite 90 Award honoree. Engle won the CUSA pentathlon title with a meet and program-record 4,196 points and went on to capture the CUSA heptathlon crown as well.
Marie Hostetler (Wellman, Iowa) – Hostetler finished off her time at Liberty with a 3.83 GPA as an interior design major. She earned All-CUSA recognition during all three seasons as a redshirt senior, helping Liberty complete a women's Triple Crown. Hostetler raced to the CUSA women's steeplechase title in a personal-best 10:14.75, punctuating a year which also included an eighth-place cross country finish, a runner-up showing in the indoor mile and a third-place effort in the outdoor 1,500.
Katrina Schlenker (Batavia, Ill.) – Schlenker maintains a 3.92 GPA as a commercial aeronautics major. She came in 14th at the CUSA Cross Country Championships for second team All-CUSA recognition. Schlenker then enjoyed a big breakthrough season in the women's steeplechase. She finished as the CUSA runner-up before lowering her personal best to 10:15.75 (No. 3 in program history) during her NCAA Division I East First Rounds debut.
Addilae Watts (New Castle, Pa.) – A business administration and data analytics major with a 4.0 GPA, Watts pushed her own Liberty women's javelin record to 161-9 to finish as the CUSA runner-up. She then competed at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet for the third consecutive season.
Christian Hicks (Romney, W.Va.) – After graduating with a 3.54 GPA in business finance and economics, Hicks owns a 3.56 GPA as he works toward an MBA. Hicks was named CUSA Men's Field Performer of the Meet and Men's High Point Scorer of the Meet after sweeping the men's shot put and discus titles at the CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He then placed 13th in the men's discus at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet, falling just one spot shy of advancing to Eugene.
Kellen Kimes (Ludington, Mich.) – A biomedical sciences major with a 4.0 GPA, Kimes placed 24th in the men's hammer during his debut at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Kimes was recently voted CUSA Men's Field Athlete of the Year after winning the men's weight throw title and placing second in the men's hammer. His 70-5.75 weight throw at the Liberty Open shattered the previous program record and ranked No. 1 nationally among freshmen.
Joshua Smith (South Fulton, Ga.) – Smith, an interdisciplinary studies major with a 3.67 GPA, won the CUSA outdoor men's triple jump title with a personal-best 50-11 leap in round six. As a result, he triple jumped at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet for the first time in his career. Smith also finished as the CUSA men's triple jump runner-up indoors.
The Flames' honorees include women's team members Paola Bueno, Meredith Engle, Marie Hostetler, Katrina Schlenker and Addilae Watts and the men's trio of Christian Hicks, Kellen Kimes and Joshua Smith.
Engle garnered this award for the third time (also 2022 and 2023), which is the most among any current Liberty track & field team member.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the 2024-25 CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced on July 15 (women's team) and 16 (men's team).
Paola Bueno (Nayarit, Mexico) – A finance major with a 3.89 GPA, Bueno earned second team All-America honors for the second year in a row thanks to a 16th-place women's hammer finish at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The first women's thrower in program history to earn multiple All-America honors, Bueno extended her own Liberty women's hammer record to 215-7 at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet. She was the CUSA women's weight throw runner-up and placed third in the women's hammer.
Meredith Engle (Dillsburg, Pa.) – A 4.0 student during both her undergraduate (computer science) and graduate (cybersecurity) studies, Engle collected athletic and academic awards at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. She finished 12th in the pentathlon for second team All-America honors and became the Lady Flames' first NCAA Elite 90 Award honoree. Engle won the CUSA pentathlon title with a meet and program-record 4,196 points and went on to capture the CUSA heptathlon crown as well.
Marie Hostetler (Wellman, Iowa) – Hostetler finished off her time at Liberty with a 3.83 GPA as an interior design major. She earned All-CUSA recognition during all three seasons as a redshirt senior, helping Liberty complete a women's Triple Crown. Hostetler raced to the CUSA women's steeplechase title in a personal-best 10:14.75, punctuating a year which also included an eighth-place cross country finish, a runner-up showing in the indoor mile and a third-place effort in the outdoor 1,500.
Katrina Schlenker (Batavia, Ill.) – Schlenker maintains a 3.92 GPA as a commercial aeronautics major. She came in 14th at the CUSA Cross Country Championships for second team All-CUSA recognition. Schlenker then enjoyed a big breakthrough season in the women's steeplechase. She finished as the CUSA runner-up before lowering her personal best to 10:15.75 (No. 3 in program history) during her NCAA Division I East First Rounds debut.
Addilae Watts (New Castle, Pa.) – A business administration and data analytics major with a 4.0 GPA, Watts pushed her own Liberty women's javelin record to 161-9 to finish as the CUSA runner-up. She then competed at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet for the third consecutive season.
Christian Hicks (Romney, W.Va.) – After graduating with a 3.54 GPA in business finance and economics, Hicks owns a 3.56 GPA as he works toward an MBA. Hicks was named CUSA Men's Field Performer of the Meet and Men's High Point Scorer of the Meet after sweeping the men's shot put and discus titles at the CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He then placed 13th in the men's discus at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet, falling just one spot shy of advancing to Eugene.
Kellen Kimes (Ludington, Mich.) – A biomedical sciences major with a 4.0 GPA, Kimes placed 24th in the men's hammer during his debut at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Kimes was recently voted CUSA Men's Field Athlete of the Year after winning the men's weight throw title and placing second in the men's hammer. His 70-5.75 weight throw at the Liberty Open shattered the previous program record and ranked No. 1 nationally among freshmen.
Joshua Smith (South Fulton, Ga.) – Smith, an interdisciplinary studies major with a 3.67 GPA, won the CUSA outdoor men's triple jump title with a personal-best 50-11 leap in round six. As a result, he triple jumped at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet for the first time in his career. Smith also finished as the CUSA men's triple jump runner-up indoors.
Players Mentioned
Hammer
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Javelin
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