Friday, November 13
Spartanburg, S.C.
10:00 AM ET
Liberty University
at
NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships
Allie Zealand finished 15th in the women's 6K for her third All-Region honor.
11/13/2026 1:33:00 PM | Cross Country
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Liberty All-American Allie Zealand added to her resume with a 15th-place finish at Friday's NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships, earning All-Region honors. Her performance helped the Lady Flames finish 13th in the team standings, matching the Liberty men's team showing at the Milliken Research Park.
Zealand clocked 19:40.5 for the 6K course, collecting her third career All-Region medal and putting herself in the mix for a possible trip to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. The full field of team and individual qualifiers to the Nov. 21 meet in Terre Haute, Ind., will be announced Saturday at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
The Lady Flames totaled 359 points to finish 13th of 38 in a deep women's field featuring seven nationally ranked teams. No. 2 NC State claimed its 10th straight regional crown with a final score of 71, while No. 9 South Carolina came in second (100 points) to capture the other automatic berth to the national meet.
In the men's 10K, Andrew Schultz finished 39th in 29:51.0, becoming the seventh Flame ever to dip under 30:00 for a cross country 10K. The Flames' point total of 377 edged Clemson by a single tally for 13th place among the 35-team field. Up front, it was No. 9 Wake Forest (72 points) and No. 18 Eastern Kentucky (104) who grabbed the two automatic bids to Terre Haute.
Liberty Women's All-Region Finisher
Allie Zealand (15th place)
Race Reactions
The 2026 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will take place on Nov. 21 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind. Both races will be televised live on ESPNU, beginning with the women's 6K at 10:20 a.m.
Zealand clocked 19:40.5 for the 6K course, collecting her third career All-Region medal and putting herself in the mix for a possible trip to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. The full field of team and individual qualifiers to the Nov. 21 meet in Terre Haute, Ind., will be announced Saturday at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
The Lady Flames totaled 359 points to finish 13th of 38 in a deep women's field featuring seven nationally ranked teams. No. 2 NC State claimed its 10th straight regional crown with a final score of 71, while No. 9 South Carolina came in second (100 points) to capture the other automatic berth to the national meet.
In the men's 10K, Andrew Schultz finished 39th in 29:51.0, becoming the seventh Flame ever to dip under 30:00 for a cross country 10K. The Flames' point total of 377 edged Clemson by a single tally for 13th place among the 35-team field. Up front, it was No. 9 Wake Forest (72 points) and No. 18 Eastern Kentucky (104) who grabbed the two automatic bids to Terre Haute.
Liberty Women's All-Region Finisher
Allie Zealand (15th place)
Race Reactions
- Zealand became the third Lady Flame ever to earn three All-Region honors at the Division I level, joining Jennifer Klugh and Adelyn Fairley. Zealand previously finished 20th at this meet in 2024 and took fifth a year ago.
- Ava Gordon closed out her collegiate cross country career by placing 57th with a season-best 20:38.3. It marked her third time finishing inside the top 60 at this meet.
- Eden Alexander continued an impressive close to her sophomore campaign by placing 88th in 21:23.7 to serve as the Lady Flames' No. 3 finisher in her regional meet debut. Two weeks ago, she had come in 20th at the CUSA Cross Country Championships to garner an unexpected All-CUSA honor.
- Rachel Hill made it four Lady Flames in the top 100, placing a career-best 98th in 21:36.6.
- Liberty's other three competitors on Friday were each racing at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships for the first time, including Raini Mayo (101st, 21:37.6), Sophia Park (111th, 21:47.5) and Mackenzie Babcock (22:07.4). Park was one of the race's fastest finishers, moving up 12 spots during the final kilometer.
- The Liberty men's squad came in 13th at this meet for the second year in a row. The Flames have now finished inside the top 15 each of the last 21 times they have fielded a full team at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships, dating back to 2004.
- Schultz continued an impressive career progression at this meet. He placed 108th as a freshman in 2024 before improving to 58th a year ago and 39th on Friday. His 29:51.0 clocking ranks No. 6 in program history behind only Sam Chelanga, Azaria Kirwa, Josh McDougal, Nicholas Kiprotich and Josh MacDonald.
- Ethan Pedersen was not far off joining the sub-30:00 club himself, crossing the line in a personal-best 30:13.0 to come in a career-best 62nd.
- Tristian Merchant's final cross country race in a Flames uniform marked his second career top-100 showing at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships. He took 77th place in a personal-best 30:44.1.
- The remaining three Flames capped off their first collegiate cross country campaigns with their first 10Ks on the grass. Grattan O'Neill placed 95th in 31:02.5 followed by true freshmen Malachi Burnett (116th, 31:26.1) and Eric Duncan (128th, 31:39.6).
The 2026 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will take place on Nov. 21 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind. Both races will be televised live on ESPNU, beginning with the women's 6K at 10:20 a.m.
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