Friday, May 29
Lexington, Ky.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
at
NCAA Division I East First Rounds
(L-R): Coach Luke Johnson, Christian Hicks, Coach Shawn Venable and Gilles Ouedraogo celebrate two more Eugene tickets being punched on Friday.
Hicks, Ouedraogo Qualify to Eugene on Friday
5/29/2026 10:07:00 PM | Track and Field
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Liberty doubled the size of its Eugene travel party on Friday at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet, as Christian Hicks (men's discus) and Gilles Ouedraogo (men's triple jump) each punched their NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships tickets.
Hicks and Ouedraogo will join Ben Shughart (men's javelin) and Markus White (men's long jump) on the plane to Oregon. This marks the Flames' most men's entries since four men combined to earn five total entries to the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas.
Hicks punched his first national ticket during his fourth NCAA Division I East First Rounds appearance, placing 11th in the men's discus at 189-5. The redshirt senior sat in second place with one flight remaining before hanging onto one of the coveted top 12 positions in the final standings.
Friday's result marked a bit of redemption for Hicks, who had been pushed from 12th place to 13th on the very final throw of the 2025 NCAA Division I East First Rounds men's discus competition in Jacksonville, Fla.
Hicks' qualification will give the Flames a men's discus thrower at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the third time in five years. He also follows in the footsteps of older brother John (who was in attendance on Friday), who similarly earned his first NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships berth as a senior during an NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet contested in Lexington (2024 men's hammer).
Hicks will begin his men's discus competition in Eugene on June 12 at 5:15 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+.
For the fourth time in five years, Liberty had a trio of men's discus competitors at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet. Like Hicks, Beau Backes threw the discus at this meet for the fourth time on Friday, wrapping up his career with a 29th-place finish (176-1). Sophomore Trevor Veenstra reached 169-8 for 40th in his NCAA Division I East First Rounds debut.
Ouedraogo continued his incredible first semester at Liberty, adding an NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships qualification to his NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships appearance from March.
The Burkina Faso native jumped 52-3.75 on his second attempt of the day and just the eighth triple jump attempt of his outdoor season to date. That stood up for seventh place among the 12 Eugene qualifiers from Friday's competition.
On June 12 at 8:10 p.m. Eastern, Ouedraogo will become Liberty's first men's triple jumper since 2018 (Darrel Jones) to compete at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, live on ESPN+.
Freshman Tahj Brown, who joined Liberty's roster in January along with Ouedraogo, closed out an incredible rookie season on Friday. The indoor and outdoor CUSA hurdles champion and 110 hurdles program record holder clocked 14.04 for eighth place in his quarterfinal heat and 23rd overall.
Men's NCAA Division I National Qualifiers
Christian Hicks – Discus – 189-5
Gilles Ouedraogo – Triple Jump – 52-3.75
Up Next
A pair of women's distance runners will close out Liberty's stay in Lexington on Saturday. Allie Zealand will race the women's 1,500 quarterfinals at 5:15 p.m., while Katrina Schlenker will contest the women's steeplechase quarterfinals at 5:40.
Hicks and Ouedraogo will join Ben Shughart (men's javelin) and Markus White (men's long jump) on the plane to Oregon. This marks the Flames' most men's entries since four men combined to earn five total entries to the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas.
Hicks punched his first national ticket during his fourth NCAA Division I East First Rounds appearance, placing 11th in the men's discus at 189-5. The redshirt senior sat in second place with one flight remaining before hanging onto one of the coveted top 12 positions in the final standings.
Friday's result marked a bit of redemption for Hicks, who had been pushed from 12th place to 13th on the very final throw of the 2025 NCAA Division I East First Rounds men's discus competition in Jacksonville, Fla.
Hicks' qualification will give the Flames a men's discus thrower at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the third time in five years. He also follows in the footsteps of older brother John (who was in attendance on Friday), who similarly earned his first NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships berth as a senior during an NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet contested in Lexington (2024 men's hammer).
Hicks will begin his men's discus competition in Eugene on June 12 at 5:15 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+.
For the fourth time in five years, Liberty had a trio of men's discus competitors at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet. Like Hicks, Beau Backes threw the discus at this meet for the fourth time on Friday, wrapping up his career with a 29th-place finish (176-1). Sophomore Trevor Veenstra reached 169-8 for 40th in his NCAA Division I East First Rounds debut.
Ouedraogo continued his incredible first semester at Liberty, adding an NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships qualification to his NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships appearance from March.
The Burkina Faso native jumped 52-3.75 on his second attempt of the day and just the eighth triple jump attempt of his outdoor season to date. That stood up for seventh place among the 12 Eugene qualifiers from Friday's competition.
On June 12 at 8:10 p.m. Eastern, Ouedraogo will become Liberty's first men's triple jumper since 2018 (Darrel Jones) to compete at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, live on ESPN+.
Freshman Tahj Brown, who joined Liberty's roster in January along with Ouedraogo, closed out an incredible rookie season on Friday. The indoor and outdoor CUSA hurdles champion and 110 hurdles program record holder clocked 14.04 for eighth place in his quarterfinal heat and 23rd overall.
Men's NCAA Division I National Qualifiers
Christian Hicks – Discus – 189-5
Gilles Ouedraogo – Triple Jump – 52-3.75
Up Next
A pair of women's distance runners will close out Liberty's stay in Lexington on Saturday. Allie Zealand will race the women's 1,500 quarterfinals at 5:15 p.m., while Katrina Schlenker will contest the women's steeplechase quarterfinals at 5:40.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
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