Friday, October 2
Bethlehem, Pa.
9:30 AM ET
Liberty University
at
Paul Short Run
The Lady Flames celebrate their first-ever Paul Short Run women's 6K gold race team title.
Lady Flames Race to 1st-Ever Paul Short Run Team Title
10/2/2026 2:48:00 PM | Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Liberty Flames women's cross country team brought the heat on an unseasonably hot, humid October Friday in Pennsylvania, winning the Paul Short Run women's gold 6K team title for the school's first-ever team championship at the 52nd running of the historic meet. Meanwhile, the Liberty men's squad notched a strong eighth-place showing in the men's gold 8K.
Allie Zealand crossed the line fourth in the women's 6K, marking the best individual placement by a Lady Flame in meet history. The junior All-American led four other teammates across the finish line inside the top 50 as Liberty defeated Penn by 29 points (115-144) atop the 37-team women's field (which included 21 regionally ranked squads).
On the men's side, Ethan Pedersen came in 14th to serve as Liberty's No. 1 finisher for the first time in his four-year career. The Flames ended up eighth of 35 teams overall with 269 points. Wingate, which is ranked No. 1 nationally in NCAA Division II, took home the men's team championship trophy with 58 points, far outdistancing runner-up Penn State (129).
Race Reactions
Liberty will wrap up the regular season in two weeks, sending runners to a pair of meets.
The Flames will get the weekend started at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational, Oct. 16 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
Liberty will also have runners in action at the Roanoke XC Invitational, scheduled for Oct. 17 at Green Hill Park in Salem, Va.
Allie Zealand crossed the line fourth in the women's 6K, marking the best individual placement by a Lady Flame in meet history. The junior All-American led four other teammates across the finish line inside the top 50 as Liberty defeated Penn by 29 points (115-144) atop the 37-team women's field (which included 21 regionally ranked squads).
On the men's side, Ethan Pedersen came in 14th to serve as Liberty's No. 1 finisher for the first time in his four-year career. The Flames ended up eighth of 35 teams overall with 269 points. Wingate, which is ranked No. 1 nationally in NCAA Division II, took home the men's team championship trophy with 58 points, far outdistancing runner-up Penn State (129).
Race Reactions
- Prior to Friday, the Lady Flames' best team and individual performance in the Paul Short Run's top seeded race had both come in 2000. Then a junior, current women's head coach Heather (Sagan) Zealand came in 10th individually to lead her team to a sixth-place showing.
- A Liberty "B" squad had come in third in a lower seeded race at the Paul Short Run in 2024. Three of those competitors raced for the Lady Flames on Friday, including two of the team's top five (Rachel Hill and Raini Mayo) along with Sophia Park.
- Allie Zealand clocked 20:15.1 for fourth place of 315 women's finishers. It marked her second top-10 finish in as many races this season and the 11th top-10 showing in 15 career collegiate races.
- Hill (19th place, 21:11.6), Ryann Aycock (24th, 21:18.5), Kate Loescher (26th, 21:21.1) and Mayo (42nd, personal-best 21:34.4) rounded out the Lady Flames' five scorers.
- Mayo notched the fastest split of any Lady Flame between the three-mile mark and the 6K finish line (3:44.2). That impressive close enabled the junior to pass 14 runners, slice 13 seconds off her 6K personal best and seal the Lady Flames' historic team title.
- Like Mayo, Eden Alexander made a significant move forward through the field while clocking a 6K personal best (22:12.5). The sophomore improved from 228th place one mile into the race to 107th at the end.
- The Liberty men's team recorded its fifth consecutive top-10 finish when racing at the Paul Short Run (2008 – 10th, 2010 – 8th, 2017 – 6th, 2023 – 4th, 2026 – 8th).
- Pedersen, the lone holdover from the Flames' team which raced in Bethlehem three years ago, went from 129th that day to 14th out of 302 men's finishers on Friday. The senior's official 8K time was 24:19.8.
- The Flames' other four scorers consisted of Andrew Schultz (33rd, 24:46.6), Malachi Burnett (47th, 24:57.7), Grattan O'Neill (87th, 25:26.7) and Eli Julian (93rd, 25:29.8).
- Burnett was the ninth-fastest freshman in the men's gold 8K.
- Competing in just his second collegiate race, O'Neill progressed from 153rd place at the one-mile pole to 87th at the finish line.
- Returning All-CUSA performers Tristian Merchant (121st, 25:43.8) and Edwin Kiprop (126th, 25:46.8) both made their season debuts on Friday, serving as the Flames' No. 6 and 7 runners, respectively.
- Freshman Michael Fritz was the Flames' lone entrant in the morning's opening race, the open men's 8K. Competing in his home state, Fritz ran 25:08.3 for seventh place out of 587 competitors. A year ago, Fritz had finished third in the Paul Short Run high school boys' gold 5K.
- Due to the hot weather, the women's gold 6K (which began at 11:45 a.m.) turned out to be Friday's final race. The six races scheduled for the afternoon were all cancelled.
Liberty will wrap up the regular season in two weeks, sending runners to a pair of meets.
The Flames will get the weekend started at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational, Oct. 16 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
Liberty will also have runners in action at the Roanoke XC Invitational, scheduled for Oct. 17 at Green Hill Park in Salem, Va.
Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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