(L-R): Gilles Ouedraogo, Coach Lance Bingham, Allie Zealand
Ouedraogo, Zealand & Bingham Collect CUSA Awards
3/10/2026 2:00:00 PM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – After Liberty's successful showing at the CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships, the Flames earned three top conference honors. NCAA national qualifiers Gilles Ouedraogo (Men's Field Performer of the Meet) and Allie Zealand (Women's Track Performer of the Meet) were recognized, as was Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lance Bingham (Men's Coach of the Year).
First-year Flame Ouedraogo becomes Liberty's third consecutive Men's Field Performer of the Meet for the CUSA indoor championship, following in the footsteps of Warren Barrett (2024) and Gabriel Willis (2025).
The Burkina Faso native won the CUSA men's triple jump title at 53-1, breaking the program record for the fourth meet in a row and falling just a centimeter shy of the facility record. Ouedraogo's mark ranks No. 17 nationally this season and was the longest indoor triple jump by a CUSA athlete since 2019.
Ouedraogo, who led a 1-2-3 Liberty sweep of the men's triple jump podium, also long jumped for the first time as a Flame. He took one attempt, measuring 23-5.25 for a seventh-place finish.
A sophomore from Forest, Va., Zealand becomes the Lady Flames' first CUSA Women's Track Performer of the Meet. She was previously honored as Women's High Point Scorer of the Meet (22.5 points) after becoming the only athlete at this year's championship to win three events.
Zealand was the first women's runner at this meet to sweep the mile (4:37.83) and 3K (9:35.37) titles since 2022 and also anchored the Lady Flames' distance medley relay squad to victory in 11:34.61.
Zealand's second straight CUSA mile victory saw the All-American just miss the meet record of 4:37.53 and win the event by eight seconds. She then outdueled 5K champion Faith Nyathi of Middle Tennessee to claim the 3K crown.
Bingham coached the Liberty men's squad to a 37-point victory over defending champion Kennesaw State for the Flames' second title in three years competing at this meet. He is now a 16-time conference coach of the year (six CUSA, 10 ASUN) during six years at the helm.
Ouedraogo (men's triple jump) and Zealand (women's 3K) will each make their debuts at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Ouedraogo will get things started for the Flames in the men's triple jump at 6 p.m. Eastern. Meanwhile, Zealand's 3K race will take place at 7:10 p.m. Eastern at the Randal Tyson Track Center. Both events will air live on ESPN+.
First-year Flame Ouedraogo becomes Liberty's third consecutive Men's Field Performer of the Meet for the CUSA indoor championship, following in the footsteps of Warren Barrett (2024) and Gabriel Willis (2025).
The Burkina Faso native won the CUSA men's triple jump title at 53-1, breaking the program record for the fourth meet in a row and falling just a centimeter shy of the facility record. Ouedraogo's mark ranks No. 17 nationally this season and was the longest indoor triple jump by a CUSA athlete since 2019.
Ouedraogo, who led a 1-2-3 Liberty sweep of the men's triple jump podium, also long jumped for the first time as a Flame. He took one attempt, measuring 23-5.25 for a seventh-place finish.
A sophomore from Forest, Va., Zealand becomes the Lady Flames' first CUSA Women's Track Performer of the Meet. She was previously honored as Women's High Point Scorer of the Meet (22.5 points) after becoming the only athlete at this year's championship to win three events.
Zealand was the first women's runner at this meet to sweep the mile (4:37.83) and 3K (9:35.37) titles since 2022 and also anchored the Lady Flames' distance medley relay squad to victory in 11:34.61.
Zealand's second straight CUSA mile victory saw the All-American just miss the meet record of 4:37.53 and win the event by eight seconds. She then outdueled 5K champion Faith Nyathi of Middle Tennessee to claim the 3K crown.
Bingham coached the Liberty men's squad to a 37-point victory over defending champion Kennesaw State for the Flames' second title in three years competing at this meet. He is now a 16-time conference coach of the year (six CUSA, 10 ASUN) during six years at the helm.
Ouedraogo (men's triple jump) and Zealand (women's 3K) will each make their debuts at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Ouedraogo will get things started for the Flames in the men's triple jump at 6 p.m. Eastern. Meanwhile, Zealand's 3K race will take place at 7:10 p.m. Eastern at the Randal Tyson Track Center. Both events will air live on ESPN+.
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