Saturday, February 14
Lynchburg, Va.
8:30 AM ET
Liberty University
vs
Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational
Katrina Schlenker clocked a personal-best 4:44.09 to win the women's mile on Saturday.
Schlenker’s Mile Triumph Paces Flames on Darius Dixon Day 2
2/14/2026 9:04:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty's Katrina Schlenker clocked a huge personal-best 4:44.09 to win the women's mile invite, providing the host team's biggest highlight on Saturday, the second and final day of the 12th annual Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational.
Women's Day 2 Recap
Schlenker closed her final two laps in 69.26 seconds to overtake Virginia's Katie Payne for the win and shatter her previous best of 4:55.54 from last year's Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational.
The senior now ranks No. 4 in program history, trailing only a who's who of Liberty women's distance running in Allie Zealand, Calli Doan and her coach, Heather (Sagan) Zealand. It marked Schlenker's second personal best in less than 24 hours, following her 9:35.63 3K Friday evening.
Jessica Palisca's season-best 4:50.53 mile was good for third place, while freshman Eden Alexander (seventh, 4:55.75) became the eighth Lady Flame to clock a sub-5:00 mile this season.
Iyana Sherard (24.25) and Maddy Merritt (24.65) went 1-2 in their heat of the women's 200 invite with each setting an indoor personal best in the process. Sherard's time was the fastest by a Lady Flame this season and sits No. 6 in program history.
Merritt and Sherard then bookended the Lady Flames' fifth-place 4 x 400 relay (3:47.33) with Patasha Bryan and Marianah Scott toting the baton for legs No. 2 and 3.
Eva Whiteman recorded a fifth-place effort of her own, thanks to a season-best 5-6.5 clearance in the women's high jump invite section.
Men's Day 2 Recap
Arguably the men's team's best event on Saturday came at the end in the 4 x 400 relay. The quartet of Simon Lamparelli, Gabriel Willis, Jake Nicholson and Michael Long clocked a big season-best of 3:13.92 for a heat victory and second place to North Carolina overall.
Lamparelli, who had posted the No. 3 400 time in program history (47.24) on Friday, recorded Saturday's fastest leadoff split of any team (47.92). That helped Liberty post a time just outside the 3:13.70 required to make the program's top 10 list.
Long split 48.06 on the anchor leg in his third event of the meet. He had previously lowered the 800 school record to 1:48.72 on Friday and ran a 4:06.98 mile for fifth place on Saturday.
Dale Hall paced the Flames with a third-place mile showing in a personal-best 4:05.71 (No. 8 in program history). Program record holder Ryan Drew, now racing for the Greenville Track Club, finished right between Hall and Long in fourth place (4:05.91).
In the second heat, Liberty's Jack Cottrell (4:11.07) and Jack Holub (4:11.73) both clocked new personal bests.
Todd Benhase and Chase Johnson each made it over 16-5.5 to finish fifth and tied for seventh, respectively, in the men's pole vault invite section. Liberty alum Carson Waters put on a show in his return to Lynchburg, winning the event at 18-5.25 for one of the meet's most impressive performances.
Women's Day 2 Event Winners
Katrina Schlenker – Mile Invite – 4:44.09
Other Day 2 Women's Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Jessica Palisca – Mile Invite – 4:50.53
Day 2 Men's Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Simon Lamparelli, Gabriel Willis, Jake Nicholson, Michael Long – 4 x 400 – 3:13.92
3rd – Dale Hall – Mile Invite – 4:05.71
Day 2 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 4 – Mile – Katrina Schlenker – 4:44.09
No. 6 – 200 – Iyana Sherard – 24.25
Day 2 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 8 – Mile – Dale Hall – 4:05.71
Up Next
The CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships will return to the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex, Feb. 27-28. The Lady Flames will aim for their fifth consecutive indoor conference title, while the Flames will attempt to reclaim the crown after finishing second to Kennesaw State a year ago. Portions of both days' action will air on ESPN+.
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— Liberty XC & TF (@Liberty_XCTF) February 14, 2026
Katrina Schlenker wins the women's mile in a huge PR time of 4:44.09 (No. 4 in program history!)
?? @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/jOvWReG4il
Women's Day 2 Recap
Schlenker closed her final two laps in 69.26 seconds to overtake Virginia's Katie Payne for the win and shatter her previous best of 4:55.54 from last year's Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational.
The senior now ranks No. 4 in program history, trailing only a who's who of Liberty women's distance running in Allie Zealand, Calli Doan and her coach, Heather (Sagan) Zealand. It marked Schlenker's second personal best in less than 24 hours, following her 9:35.63 3K Friday evening.
Jessica Palisca's season-best 4:50.53 mile was good for third place, while freshman Eden Alexander (seventh, 4:55.75) became the eighth Lady Flame to clock a sub-5:00 mile this season.
Iyana Sherard (24.25) and Maddy Merritt (24.65) went 1-2 in their heat of the women's 200 invite with each setting an indoor personal best in the process. Sherard's time was the fastest by a Lady Flame this season and sits No. 6 in program history.
Merritt and Sherard then bookended the Lady Flames' fifth-place 4 x 400 relay (3:47.33) with Patasha Bryan and Marianah Scott toting the baton for legs No. 2 and 3.
Eva Whiteman recorded a fifth-place effort of her own, thanks to a season-best 5-6.5 clearance in the women's high jump invite section.
Men's Day 2 Recap
Arguably the men's team's best event on Saturday came at the end in the 4 x 400 relay. The quartet of Simon Lamparelli, Gabriel Willis, Jake Nicholson and Michael Long clocked a big season-best of 3:13.92 for a heat victory and second place to North Carolina overall.
Lamparelli, who had posted the No. 3 400 time in program history (47.24) on Friday, recorded Saturday's fastest leadoff split of any team (47.92). That helped Liberty post a time just outside the 3:13.70 required to make the program's top 10 list.
Long split 48.06 on the anchor leg in his third event of the meet. He had previously lowered the 800 school record to 1:48.72 on Friday and ran a 4:06.98 mile for fifth place on Saturday.
Dale Hall paced the Flames with a third-place mile showing in a personal-best 4:05.71 (No. 8 in program history). Program record holder Ryan Drew, now racing for the Greenville Track Club, finished right between Hall and Long in fourth place (4:05.91).
In the second heat, Liberty's Jack Cottrell (4:11.07) and Jack Holub (4:11.73) both clocked new personal bests.
Todd Benhase and Chase Johnson each made it over 16-5.5 to finish fifth and tied for seventh, respectively, in the men's pole vault invite section. Liberty alum Carson Waters put on a show in his return to Lynchburg, winning the event at 18-5.25 for one of the meet's most impressive performances.
Women's Day 2 Event Winners
Katrina Schlenker – Mile Invite – 4:44.09
Other Day 2 Women's Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Jessica Palisca – Mile Invite – 4:50.53
Day 2 Men's Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Simon Lamparelli, Gabriel Willis, Jake Nicholson, Michael Long – 4 x 400 – 3:13.92
3rd – Dale Hall – Mile Invite – 4:05.71
Day 2 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 4 – Mile – Katrina Schlenker – 4:44.09
No. 6 – 200 – Iyana Sherard – 24.25
Day 2 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 8 – Mile – Dale Hall – 4:05.71
Up Next
The CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships will return to the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex, Feb. 27-28. The Lady Flames will aim for their fifth consecutive indoor conference title, while the Flames will attempt to reclaim the crown after finishing second to Kennesaw State a year ago. Portions of both days' action will air on ESPN+.
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