Friday, February 27
Lynchburg, Va.
9:30 AM ET
Liberty University
vs
Conference USA Indoor Track Championships
The Lady Flames celebrate their CUSA women's distance medley relay title.
Liberty Wins 4 Events on CUSA Day 1
2/27/2026 9:54:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty got off to a successful start on day one of the 2026 CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Friday at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. The host Flames won four of the 11 events contested, helping Liberty build a lead in the men's team standings and putting the Lady Flames a close second on the women's side.
Liberty owns a 28-point advantage (71-43) over defending champion Kennesaw State through five of 17 men's events. Kellen Kimes (weight throw – 69-7) and Markus White (long jump – 25-4) dominated their respective events, while Tahj Brown lowered his men's 60 hurdles freshman record to 7.85 during prelims.
The two-time defending CUSA indoor champion Lady Flames are in a tight three-way battle atop the women's ledger through six of 17 disciplines. FIU leads with 50 points, just ahead of Liberty (47.5) and Kennesaw State (46.5). Patasha Bryan (pentathlon – 3,942 points) and the distance medley relay quartet of Jessica Palisca, Marianah Scott, Eden Alexander and Allie Zealand (11:34.61) bookended the Lady Flames' day with event titles. Meanwhile, Liberty set a pair of freshman records, including Alivia Rivera-Norman's 8.42 60 hurdles and Lara DeFazio's 19-5.25 long jump.
Men's Day 1 Recap
The Flames tallied 10 or more points in four of Friday's five event finals, paced by a 23-point haul in the weight throw. Kimes successfully defended his title by more than five feet with a mark of 69-7, giving Liberty six men's weight throw conference championship in the last seven years.
John Hicks captured the first four of those crowns, and younger brother Christian Hicks was Friday's runner-up. A 64-5.75 effort in round six catapulted him from fourth place to second in the final standings.
Trevor Veenstra (fifth, 61-3.5) and Beau Backes (eighth, 56-11.5) also scored points in the weight throw, with Backes competing in the event for the first time this season.
White notched the top four marks of the men's long jump competition, including his winning 25-4 effort in round five. That made him the Flames' first indoor men's long jump champion since Quinten Clay in 2022 (ASUN).
Liberty only needed three total attempts to collect six more points in the long jump, thanks to Joshua Smith (fifth, personal-best 23-8) and Gilles Ouedrago (seventh, 23-5.25), both of whom are best known for their triple jump exploits.
Chase Johnson and Todd Benhase each cleared 16-10.75 to finish second and third, respectively, in the men's pole vault. Benhase, who added two inches to his previous personal best, made the CUSA podium for the second year in a row following a tie for second place in 2025.
Ethan Stansbury, Jake Nicholson, Brendan Pitcher and Dale Hall closed out the evening with a runner-up showing in the men's distance medley relay. Their 10:01.06 clocking ranks No. 7 in program history and was the fastest by a Liberty quartet in four years.
Jack Cottrell clocked 14:21.14 for the second indoor conference 5K third-place showing of his career (also 2023 ASUN). Teammates Edwin Kiprop (sixth, 14:41.70) and Nicholas Kiprotich (eighth, 14:46.28) chipped in points as well.
Liberty is in line for big points in the heptathlon following Friday's quartet of disciplines. A year after going 1-2-3-4 in this event, the Flames sit 1-2-3-4-6 heading to Saturday. Defending champion Gabriel Willis (3,094) and Nicholson (2,964) lead the way after combining to win three of Friday's four events. Willis took the long jump (21-9) and high jump (6-8), while Nicholson recorded the top shot put (43-3.25).
Of note, Patrick Adams III sits in fourth place with 2,580 during his heptathlon debut. He opened the morning with a 60 victory in 7.06.
The Liberty men's squad went eight-for-eight in sending athletes from Friday's running event prelims into Saturday's finals. Brown (7.85) lowered the Liberty freshman standard for the men's 60 hurdles for the fourth meet in a row. He and teammate Isaiah Idore (7.95) recorded the event's top two times during prelims.
The Flames will also have multiple finalists in the men's 800 (Michael Long and Pitcher) and mile (Long, Hall and Stansbury) on Saturday.
Women's Day 1 Recap
Bryan closed out her second CUSA pentathlon crown in three years by winning the 800 in 2:18.48. That enabled her to overtake FIU's Itsaso Madariaga Huegun to win by 31 points, 3,942 to 3,911. Bryan and teammate Meredith Engle have now combined to win five straight conference pentathlon competitions, dating back to Engle's 2022 ASUN triumph.
Paige Greenhagel finished seventh with 3,444 points to move up one spot from last year.
The Lady Flames raced to victory in the distance medley relay for the second time in three seasons in the third-fastest time in program history, 11:34.61. Palisca, who had run the 800-meter leg of the two fastest DMR squads all-time for the Lady Flames, opened things up with Liberty's all-time fastest 1,200-meter carry, 3:27.81. Zealand then outdueled Akshana of defending DMR champion Kennesaw State on the final lap of the 1,600-meter anchor leg to secure the win.
Paola Bueno became a four-time all-conference performer in the women's weight throw with her season-best 64-10 effort standing up for third place. Sophie Gonzalez added a fifth-place finish with a personal-best 61-9 performance.
DeFazio's freshman-record 19-5.25 long jump came on her very first attempt, resulting in fourth place in the event and third all-time for the Lady Flames. She eclipsed the previous standard of 19-1.5 set by current director of operations Makenzy (Mizera) Willis at the 2019 ASUN Championship.
Katie Urbine cleared a big season-best 13-3.75 to share fourth place in the women's pole vault.
Ava Gordon (sixth place, 16:55.26), Katie Sigerud (seventh, 16:57.35) and Ryann Aycock (eighth, 17:08.52) nabbed the final three scoring places in the women's 5K. Gordon and Sigerud became the ninth and 10th Lady Flames ever to dip under 17 minutes for an indoor 5K.
Rivera-Norman's 8.42 time in the women's 60 hurdles prelims was the fastest of the day, shattered her own Liberty freshman standard of 8.56 and moved her up to No. 3 all-time at Liberty.
The Lady Flames will have four finalists in Saturday's first running event final, the women's mile, including Palisca, Zealand, Rachel Hill and Katrina Schlenker.
Mahogany Mobley advanced to a pair of running event finals (women's 200 and 400), with her personal-best 200 clocking ranking No. 3 on the Lady Flames' all-time chart.
Men's Team Scores (Through 5 of 17 Events)
1) Liberty – 71
2) Kennesaw State – 43
3) Western Kentucky – 27
4) Middle Tennessee – 26
5) Louisiana Tech – 11
6) Sam Houston – 9
7) UTEP – 5
Women's Team Scores (Through 6 of 17 Events)
1) FIU – 50
2) Liberty – 47.5
3) Kennesaw State – 46.5
4T) Middle Tennessee – 27
4T) Western Kentucky – 27
6) UTEP – 11
7) Delaware – 9
8) Missouri State – 6
9) Sam Houston – 4
10) Jacksonville State – 3
11) Louisiana Tech – 2
12) New Mexico State – 1
Men's Day 1 CUSA Champions
Kellen Kimes – Weight Throw – 69-7
Markus White – Long Jump – 25-4
Women's Day 1 CUSA Champions
Patasha Bryan – Pentathlon – 3,942
Jessica Palisca, Marianah Scott, Eden Alexander, Allie Zealand – DMR – 11:34.61
Other Men's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Ethan Stansbury, Jake Nicholson, Brendan Pitcher, Dale Hall – DMR – 10:01.06
2nd – Chase Johnson – Pole Vault – 16-10.75
2nd – Christian Hicks – Weight Throw – 64-5.75
3rd – Jack Cottrell – 5K – 14:21.14
3rd – Todd Benhase – Pole Vault – 16-10.75
Other Women's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Paola Bueno – Weight Throw – 64-10
Men's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – 60 Hurdles – Tahj Brown – 7.85
Previous Record: 7.91 by Brown at the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 13
Women's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – 60 Hurdles – Alivia Rivera-Norman – 8.42
Previous Record: 8.56 by Rivera-Norman at the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 13
Liberty Freshman Record – Long Jump – Lara DeFazio – 19-5.25
Previous Record: 19-1.5 by Makenzy Mizera at the ASUN Championship on Feb. 22, 2019
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
Tie for No. 2 – 60 Hurdles – Tahj Brown – 7.85
No. 6 – Pole Vault – Todd Benhase – 16-10.75
No. 7 – DMR – Stansbury, Nicholson, Pitcher, Hall – 10:01.06
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 3 – 200 – Mahogany Mobley – 24.00
No. 3 – 60 Hurdles – Alivia Rivera-Norman – 8.42
No. 3 – DMR – Palisca, Scott, Alexander, Zealand – 11:34.61
No. 3 – Long Jump – Lara DeFazio – 19-5.25
No. 7 – 60 – Marianah Scott – 7.59
No. 9 – 400 – Maddy Merritt – 55.40
No. 9 – 5K – Ava Gordon – 16:55.26
No. 9 – Weight Throw – Sophie Gonzalez – 61-9
No. 10 – 5K – Katie Sigerud – 16:57.35
Up Next
The meet will conclude with a busy day of activity on Saturday. First up will be the heptathlon 60 hurdles at 10:30 a.m. Field events will commence at Noon with the women's shot put, men's triple jump and women's high jump, while the women's mile final will get running events going at 2 p.m. ESPN+ will provide live coverage from 2 p.m. through the conclusion of the post-meet awards ceremony.
Liberty owns a 28-point advantage (71-43) over defending champion Kennesaw State through five of 17 men's events. Kellen Kimes (weight throw – 69-7) and Markus White (long jump – 25-4) dominated their respective events, while Tahj Brown lowered his men's 60 hurdles freshman record to 7.85 during prelims.
The two-time defending CUSA indoor champion Lady Flames are in a tight three-way battle atop the women's ledger through six of 17 disciplines. FIU leads with 50 points, just ahead of Liberty (47.5) and Kennesaw State (46.5). Patasha Bryan (pentathlon – 3,942 points) and the distance medley relay quartet of Jessica Palisca, Marianah Scott, Eden Alexander and Allie Zealand (11:34.61) bookended the Lady Flames' day with event titles. Meanwhile, Liberty set a pair of freshman records, including Alivia Rivera-Norman's 8.42 60 hurdles and Lara DeFazio's 19-5.25 long jump.
Men's Day 1 Recap
The Flames tallied 10 or more points in four of Friday's five event finals, paced by a 23-point haul in the weight throw. Kimes successfully defended his title by more than five feet with a mark of 69-7, giving Liberty six men's weight throw conference championship in the last seven years.
John Hicks captured the first four of those crowns, and younger brother Christian Hicks was Friday's runner-up. A 64-5.75 effort in round six catapulted him from fourth place to second in the final standings.
Trevor Veenstra (fifth, 61-3.5) and Beau Backes (eighth, 56-11.5) also scored points in the weight throw, with Backes competing in the event for the first time this season.
White notched the top four marks of the men's long jump competition, including his winning 25-4 effort in round five. That made him the Flames' first indoor men's long jump champion since Quinten Clay in 2022 (ASUN).
Liberty only needed three total attempts to collect six more points in the long jump, thanks to Joshua Smith (fifth, personal-best 23-8) and Gilles Ouedrago (seventh, 23-5.25), both of whom are best known for their triple jump exploits.
Chase Johnson and Todd Benhase each cleared 16-10.75 to finish second and third, respectively, in the men's pole vault. Benhase, who added two inches to his previous personal best, made the CUSA podium for the second year in a row following a tie for second place in 2025.
Ethan Stansbury, Jake Nicholson, Brendan Pitcher and Dale Hall closed out the evening with a runner-up showing in the men's distance medley relay. Their 10:01.06 clocking ranks No. 7 in program history and was the fastest by a Liberty quartet in four years.
Jack Cottrell clocked 14:21.14 for the second indoor conference 5K third-place showing of his career (also 2023 ASUN). Teammates Edwin Kiprop (sixth, 14:41.70) and Nicholas Kiprotich (eighth, 14:46.28) chipped in points as well.
Liberty is in line for big points in the heptathlon following Friday's quartet of disciplines. A year after going 1-2-3-4 in this event, the Flames sit 1-2-3-4-6 heading to Saturday. Defending champion Gabriel Willis (3,094) and Nicholson (2,964) lead the way after combining to win three of Friday's four events. Willis took the long jump (21-9) and high jump (6-8), while Nicholson recorded the top shot put (43-3.25).
Of note, Patrick Adams III sits in fourth place with 2,580 during his heptathlon debut. He opened the morning with a 60 victory in 7.06.
The Liberty men's squad went eight-for-eight in sending athletes from Friday's running event prelims into Saturday's finals. Brown (7.85) lowered the Liberty freshman standard for the men's 60 hurdles for the fourth meet in a row. He and teammate Isaiah Idore (7.95) recorded the event's top two times during prelims.
The Flames will also have multiple finalists in the men's 800 (Michael Long and Pitcher) and mile (Long, Hall and Stansbury) on Saturday.
Women's Day 1 Recap
Bryan closed out her second CUSA pentathlon crown in three years by winning the 800 in 2:18.48. That enabled her to overtake FIU's Itsaso Madariaga Huegun to win by 31 points, 3,942 to 3,911. Bryan and teammate Meredith Engle have now combined to win five straight conference pentathlon competitions, dating back to Engle's 2022 ASUN triumph.
Paige Greenhagel finished seventh with 3,444 points to move up one spot from last year.
The Lady Flames raced to victory in the distance medley relay for the second time in three seasons in the third-fastest time in program history, 11:34.61. Palisca, who had run the 800-meter leg of the two fastest DMR squads all-time for the Lady Flames, opened things up with Liberty's all-time fastest 1,200-meter carry, 3:27.81. Zealand then outdueled Akshana of defending DMR champion Kennesaw State on the final lap of the 1,600-meter anchor leg to secure the win.
Paola Bueno became a four-time all-conference performer in the women's weight throw with her season-best 64-10 effort standing up for third place. Sophie Gonzalez added a fifth-place finish with a personal-best 61-9 performance.
DeFazio's freshman-record 19-5.25 long jump came on her very first attempt, resulting in fourth place in the event and third all-time for the Lady Flames. She eclipsed the previous standard of 19-1.5 set by current director of operations Makenzy (Mizera) Willis at the 2019 ASUN Championship.
Katie Urbine cleared a big season-best 13-3.75 to share fourth place in the women's pole vault.
Ava Gordon (sixth place, 16:55.26), Katie Sigerud (seventh, 16:57.35) and Ryann Aycock (eighth, 17:08.52) nabbed the final three scoring places in the women's 5K. Gordon and Sigerud became the ninth and 10th Lady Flames ever to dip under 17 minutes for an indoor 5K.
Rivera-Norman's 8.42 time in the women's 60 hurdles prelims was the fastest of the day, shattered her own Liberty freshman standard of 8.56 and moved her up to No. 3 all-time at Liberty.
The Lady Flames will have four finalists in Saturday's first running event final, the women's mile, including Palisca, Zealand, Rachel Hill and Katrina Schlenker.
Mahogany Mobley advanced to a pair of running event finals (women's 200 and 400), with her personal-best 200 clocking ranking No. 3 on the Lady Flames' all-time chart.
Men's Team Scores (Through 5 of 17 Events)
1) Liberty – 71
2) Kennesaw State – 43
3) Western Kentucky – 27
4) Middle Tennessee – 26
5) Louisiana Tech – 11
6) Sam Houston – 9
7) UTEP – 5
Women's Team Scores (Through 6 of 17 Events)
1) FIU – 50
2) Liberty – 47.5
3) Kennesaw State – 46.5
4T) Middle Tennessee – 27
4T) Western Kentucky – 27
6) UTEP – 11
7) Delaware – 9
8) Missouri State – 6
9) Sam Houston – 4
10) Jacksonville State – 3
11) Louisiana Tech – 2
12) New Mexico State – 1
Men's Day 1 CUSA Champions
Kellen Kimes – Weight Throw – 69-7
Markus White – Long Jump – 25-4
Women's Day 1 CUSA Champions
Patasha Bryan – Pentathlon – 3,942
Jessica Palisca, Marianah Scott, Eden Alexander, Allie Zealand – DMR – 11:34.61
Other Men's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Ethan Stansbury, Jake Nicholson, Brendan Pitcher, Dale Hall – DMR – 10:01.06
2nd – Chase Johnson – Pole Vault – 16-10.75
2nd – Christian Hicks – Weight Throw – 64-5.75
3rd – Jack Cottrell – 5K – 14:21.14
3rd – Todd Benhase – Pole Vault – 16-10.75
Other Women's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Paola Bueno – Weight Throw – 64-10
Men's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – 60 Hurdles – Tahj Brown – 7.85
Previous Record: 7.91 by Brown at the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 13
Women's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – 60 Hurdles – Alivia Rivera-Norman – 8.42
Previous Record: 8.56 by Rivera-Norman at the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 13
Liberty Freshman Record – Long Jump – Lara DeFazio – 19-5.25
Previous Record: 19-1.5 by Makenzy Mizera at the ASUN Championship on Feb. 22, 2019
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
Tie for No. 2 – 60 Hurdles – Tahj Brown – 7.85
No. 6 – Pole Vault – Todd Benhase – 16-10.75
No. 7 – DMR – Stansbury, Nicholson, Pitcher, Hall – 10:01.06
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 3 – 200 – Mahogany Mobley – 24.00
No. 3 – 60 Hurdles – Alivia Rivera-Norman – 8.42
No. 3 – DMR – Palisca, Scott, Alexander, Zealand – 11:34.61
No. 3 – Long Jump – Lara DeFazio – 19-5.25
No. 7 – 60 – Marianah Scott – 7.59
No. 9 – 400 – Maddy Merritt – 55.40
No. 9 – 5K – Ava Gordon – 16:55.26
No. 9 – Weight Throw – Sophie Gonzalez – 61-9
No. 10 – 5K – Katie Sigerud – 16:57.35
Up Next
The meet will conclude with a busy day of activity on Saturday. First up will be the heptathlon 60 hurdles at 10:30 a.m. Field events will commence at Noon with the women's shot put, men's triple jump and women's high jump, while the women's mile final will get running events going at 2 p.m. ESPN+ will provide live coverage from 2 p.m. through the conclusion of the post-meet awards ceremony.
Players Mentioned
Hurdles
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Mid-Distance
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Distance
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Throws
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Pole Vault
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Hurdles
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Heptathlon
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Hammer
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Distance
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Jumps
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Heptathlon
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Hammer
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Distance
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Heptathlon
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Mid-distance
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Throws
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Mid-distance
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Hurdles
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Pole Vault
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Throws
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Distance
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Distance
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Mid-Distance
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Sprints
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Sprints
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Decathlon
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Mid-distance
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Mid-distance
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Hurdles
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Distance
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Sprints
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Mid-distance
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Jumps
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Distance
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Pole Vault
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Throws
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Jumps
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Decathlon
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Mid-Distance
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