Thursday, May 14
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
10:30 AM ET/9:30 AM CT
Liberty University
at
Conference USA Outdoor Track Championships
Todd Benhase finished third in the men's pole vault while joining the 17-foot club.
Liberty Tops CUSA Standings After Successful Opening Day
5/15/2026 12:09:00 AM | Track and Field
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Liberty got off to a strong start at the 2026 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Thursday at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium. The Flames top the men's team standings, while the Lady Flames share the women's lead with Kennesaw State.
The Flames posted All-CUSA performances in five of seven event finals contested on the meet's opening day. They also enjoyed a banner evening during the running event prelims, headlined by Tahj Brown's Liberty freshman record 13.75 men's 110 hurdles effort.
Through four of 21 men's events, Liberty owns a 14-point lead (54-40) over defending champion Kennesaw State.
On the women's side, the top four teams are separated by a single point after three events have been scored. Two-time defending champion Liberty and Kennesaw State are tied with 20 points apiece, while FIU and Sam Houston each sit one point back at 19.
Men's Day 1 Recap
The men's pole vaulters collected 19 points for the Flames, with Reagan Wise (second place, 17-0.75) and Todd Benhase (third, personal-best 17-0.75) both making the podium and freshman Chase Johnson following in fifth (16-2.75).
Benhase shattered his previous outdoor best of 16-8, becoming the eighth Flame ever to go over 17 feet. The sophomore will join fellow 17-footers Wise and Johnson at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet later this month.
Markus White led for nearly all of the men's long jump competition before being overtaken by Louisiana Tech's Cobe Johnson in round six. White repeated last year's runner-up finish at this meet with a top mark of 25-8.25.
Kellen Kimes also placed second in his event (men's hammer) for the second year in a row, thanks to a 204-1 heave. Trevor Veenstra (186-7) and Beau Backes (166-0) came in fifth and seventh, respectively, with this marking Backes' first hammer competition since 2022.
On a picture-perfect night for distance running (low humidity and temperature in the high 50s), all four Flames placed among the men's 10K's top seven. Andrew Schultz lopped nearly 40 seconds off his previous best to cross the line fourth in 30:02.62. The next three finishers were also from Liberty, including Tristian Merchant (fifth, 30:07.26), Nicholas Kiprotich (sixth, 30:12.34) and Jack Cottrell (seventh, 30:13.19).
Brown's 13.75 effort improved upon the Bahamas native's own Liberty freshman standard of 13.78 from the Liberty Twilight Qualifier and was the day's fastest 110 hurdles time by a quarter second. It also leapfrogged All-American Jovaine Atkinson for No. 2 in program history.
Liberty is in line for major points in the decathlon, as Flames sit No. 1 (Gabriel Willis – 4,007), 2 (Jake Nicholson – 3,799), 4 (Hunter Bleam – 3,442) and 5 (Samuel O'Regan – 3,362) through Thursday's five disciplines.
Willis led the way in three events, including the 100 (personal-best 10.74), long jump (23-1.25) and high jump (6-8.25). His 100 clocking ties Daniel Newell's posting from the 2009 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships for second fastest within a Liberty decathlon all-time.
Women's Day 1 Recap
Sophie Gonzalez earned her first all-conference medal thanks to a 196-6 performance for third place in the women's hammer. Meanwhile, freshman Ellie Stine celebrated her 19th birthday with a fourth-place showing and a new personal best of 180-7.
A pair of seniors combined to tally nine team points in Thursday night's final race, the women's 10K. Isabela Ross clocked 36:06.70 for third place and a trip to the podium, while Katie Sigerud came in an impressive sixth with a 36:14.26 in her 10K debut.
The Lady Flames went six-for-six in advancing runners to finals of the 1,500, 100 hurdles, 400 and 100. Alivia Rivera-Norman (13.60 100 hurdles) and Iyana Sherard (personal-best 11.60 100) each notched the fastest qualifying time in their respective events.
Patasha Bryan (second place, 3,267 points) and Paige Greenhagel (fifth, 2,963) both put together their best-ever heptathlon day one scores. Bryan's personal-best 25.16 200 to close out her day ranks No. 3 on the Lady Flames' all-time heptathlon chart.
Defending heptathlon champion Meredith Engle also made a gutsy return to the event following a series of injuries which sidelined her from competition for nearly a full year. She recovered from a fall in the 100 hurdles to climb back to seventh in the overall standings with 2,828 points. Engle led all heptathletes in the high jump (5-5.25) and shot put (41-1.5).
Men's Team Scores (Through 4 of 21 Events)
1) Liberty – 54
2) Kennesaw State – 40
3) Western Kentucky – 20.5
4) Middle Tennessee – 19
5) Louisiana Tech – 10
6) Sam Houston – 6
7) FIU – 5.5
8) UTEP – 1
Women's Team Scores (Through 3 of 21 Events)
1T) Liberty - 20
1T) Kennesaw State – 20
3T) FIU – 19
3T) Sam Houston – 19
5) Middle Tennessee – 10
6T) Missouri State – 8
6T) Western Kentucky – 8
8) New Mexico State – 7
9) Delaware – 4
10) Jacksonville State – 2
Men's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Kellen Kimes – Hammer – 204-1
2nd – Markus White – Long Jump – 25-8.25
2nd – Reagan Wise – Pole Vault – 17-0.75
3rd – Todd Benhase – Pole Vault – 17-0.75
Women's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Sophie Gonzalez – Hammer – 196-6
3rd – Isabela Ross – 10K – 36:06.70
Men's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – 110 Hurdles – Tahj Brown – 13.75
Previous Record: 13.78 by Brown at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier on May 6
New Men's NCAA Division I East First Rounds Qualifiers
Todd Benhase – Pole Vault – 17-0.75
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 2 – 110 Hurdles – Tahj Brown – 13.75
Tie for No. 2 – 100 – Gabriel Willis – 10.74
Tie for No. 7 – Pole Vault – Todd Benhase – 17-0.75
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 3 – Heptathlon 200 – Patasha Bryan – 25.16
No. 5 – 100 – Iyana Sherard – 11.60
Up Next
Friday's action at the CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will commence with the decathlon 110 hurdles at 10 a.m. Eastern. Live coverage on ESPN+ will begin at 7:15 p.m. Eastern, in time for the first running event (men's 800 prelims) at 7:30.
The Flames posted All-CUSA performances in five of seven event finals contested on the meet's opening day. They also enjoyed a banner evening during the running event prelims, headlined by Tahj Brown's Liberty freshman record 13.75 men's 110 hurdles effort.
Through four of 21 men's events, Liberty owns a 14-point lead (54-40) over defending champion Kennesaw State.
On the women's side, the top four teams are separated by a single point after three events have been scored. Two-time defending champion Liberty and Kennesaw State are tied with 20 points apiece, while FIU and Sam Houston each sit one point back at 19.
Men's Day 1 Recap
The men's pole vaulters collected 19 points for the Flames, with Reagan Wise (second place, 17-0.75) and Todd Benhase (third, personal-best 17-0.75) both making the podium and freshman Chase Johnson following in fifth (16-2.75).
Benhase shattered his previous outdoor best of 16-8, becoming the eighth Flame ever to go over 17 feet. The sophomore will join fellow 17-footers Wise and Johnson at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet later this month.
Markus White led for nearly all of the men's long jump competition before being overtaken by Louisiana Tech's Cobe Johnson in round six. White repeated last year's runner-up finish at this meet with a top mark of 25-8.25.
Kellen Kimes also placed second in his event (men's hammer) for the second year in a row, thanks to a 204-1 heave. Trevor Veenstra (186-7) and Beau Backes (166-0) came in fifth and seventh, respectively, with this marking Backes' first hammer competition since 2022.
On a picture-perfect night for distance running (low humidity and temperature in the high 50s), all four Flames placed among the men's 10K's top seven. Andrew Schultz lopped nearly 40 seconds off his previous best to cross the line fourth in 30:02.62. The next three finishers were also from Liberty, including Tristian Merchant (fifth, 30:07.26), Nicholas Kiprotich (sixth, 30:12.34) and Jack Cottrell (seventh, 30:13.19).
Brown's 13.75 effort improved upon the Bahamas native's own Liberty freshman standard of 13.78 from the Liberty Twilight Qualifier and was the day's fastest 110 hurdles time by a quarter second. It also leapfrogged All-American Jovaine Atkinson for No. 2 in program history.
Liberty is in line for major points in the decathlon, as Flames sit No. 1 (Gabriel Willis – 4,007), 2 (Jake Nicholson – 3,799), 4 (Hunter Bleam – 3,442) and 5 (Samuel O'Regan – 3,362) through Thursday's five disciplines.
Willis led the way in three events, including the 100 (personal-best 10.74), long jump (23-1.25) and high jump (6-8.25). His 100 clocking ties Daniel Newell's posting from the 2009 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships for second fastest within a Liberty decathlon all-time.
Women's Day 1 Recap
Sophie Gonzalez earned her first all-conference medal thanks to a 196-6 performance for third place in the women's hammer. Meanwhile, freshman Ellie Stine celebrated her 19th birthday with a fourth-place showing and a new personal best of 180-7.
A pair of seniors combined to tally nine team points in Thursday night's final race, the women's 10K. Isabela Ross clocked 36:06.70 for third place and a trip to the podium, while Katie Sigerud came in an impressive sixth with a 36:14.26 in her 10K debut.
The Lady Flames went six-for-six in advancing runners to finals of the 1,500, 100 hurdles, 400 and 100. Alivia Rivera-Norman (13.60 100 hurdles) and Iyana Sherard (personal-best 11.60 100) each notched the fastest qualifying time in their respective events.
Patasha Bryan (second place, 3,267 points) and Paige Greenhagel (fifth, 2,963) both put together their best-ever heptathlon day one scores. Bryan's personal-best 25.16 200 to close out her day ranks No. 3 on the Lady Flames' all-time heptathlon chart.
Defending heptathlon champion Meredith Engle also made a gutsy return to the event following a series of injuries which sidelined her from competition for nearly a full year. She recovered from a fall in the 100 hurdles to climb back to seventh in the overall standings with 2,828 points. Engle led all heptathletes in the high jump (5-5.25) and shot put (41-1.5).
Men's Team Scores (Through 4 of 21 Events)
1) Liberty – 54
2) Kennesaw State – 40
3) Western Kentucky – 20.5
4) Middle Tennessee – 19
5) Louisiana Tech – 10
6) Sam Houston – 6
7) FIU – 5.5
8) UTEP – 1
Women's Team Scores (Through 3 of 21 Events)
1T) Liberty - 20
1T) Kennesaw State – 20
3T) FIU – 19
3T) Sam Houston – 19
5) Middle Tennessee – 10
6T) Missouri State – 8
6T) Western Kentucky – 8
8) New Mexico State – 7
9) Delaware – 4
10) Jacksonville State – 2
Men's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Kellen Kimes – Hammer – 204-1
2nd – Markus White – Long Jump – 25-8.25
2nd – Reagan Wise – Pole Vault – 17-0.75
3rd – Todd Benhase – Pole Vault – 17-0.75
Women's Day 1 Top 3 Finishers
3rd – Sophie Gonzalez – Hammer – 196-6
3rd – Isabela Ross – 10K – 36:06.70
Men's Day 1 Record Breakers
Liberty Freshman Record – 110 Hurdles – Tahj Brown – 13.75
Previous Record: 13.78 by Brown at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier on May 6
New Men's NCAA Division I East First Rounds Qualifiers
Todd Benhase – Pole Vault – 17-0.75
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 2 – 110 Hurdles – Tahj Brown – 13.75
Tie for No. 2 – 100 – Gabriel Willis – 10.74
Tie for No. 7 – Pole Vault – Todd Benhase – 17-0.75
Day 1 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Women's Top 10 List
No. 3 – Heptathlon 200 – Patasha Bryan – 25.16
No. 5 – 100 – Iyana Sherard – 11.60
Up Next
Friday's action at the CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will commence with the decathlon 110 hurdles at 10 a.m. Eastern. Live coverage on ESPN+ will begin at 7:15 p.m. Eastern, in time for the first running event (men's 800 prelims) at 7:30.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Hammer
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Mid-distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Decathlon
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
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