Friday, June 12
Eugene, Ore.
5:15 PM ET/2:15 PM PT
Liberty University
at
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track Championships
Christian Hicks became a second team All-American by placing 10th in the men's discus with a personal-best throw of 197-1. (Photo by Kim Spir/AthleticsPix)
Hicks Becomes All-American with 10th-Place Discus Finish
6/12/2026 10:48:00 PM | Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. – Liberty redshirt senior Christian Hicks closed out his collegiate career and Liberty's stay at the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in style on Friday. He heaved the discus a personal-best 197-1 for 10th place, becoming an All-American (second team) for the first time in his collegiate finale.
Hicks was the fifth Flame to garner All-America honors in Eugene this week, eclipsing the previous program record of four All-Americans at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas. Markus White (fifth place in men's long jump, first team), Ben Shughart (ninth in men's javelin, second team), Katrina Schlenker (13th in women's steeplechase, second team) and Allie Zealand (16th in women's 1,500, second team) preceded Hicks as All-Americans during the previous two days of competition at Hayward Field.
All but Zealand collected their first career NCAA Division I All-America honors this week in Oregon, while White (26-0.25 long jump) and Schlenker (9:45.90 steeplechase) each did so in program record-breaking fashion.
White's long jump effort on Wednesday earned four team points for Liberty. That put the Flames in a tie for 47th place with Appalachian State, Samford and Wisconsin in the final men's team standings. Arkansas took home the men's team championship trophy with 56 points.
Hicks reached 197-1 on the second attempt of his NCAA national debut, adding 2.5 feet to his previous personal best and becoming the fourth Flame ever to throw the discus over 60 meters (60.09, to be exact). The Romney, W.Va., native nearly made the final but was bumped out of ninth place by USC's Mico Lampinen on the penultimate throw of Flight 2.
Hicks ended up in 10th place on Friday after having finished 11th at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet in Lexington two weeks earlier. He joined Clendon Henderson and Kevin Nedrick as Liberty men's discus throwers who have earned NCAA Division I All-America honors and became CUSA's first men's discus All-American since 2021 (Charlotte's Terrell Adams).
The Burkina Faso native finishes his first year at Liberty as an indoor triple jump All-American, the CUSA indoor and outdoor triple jump champion and the indoor (53-1) and outdoor (52-4.5) program record holder for the event.
Men's Day 3 All-Americans
Christian Hicks – Discus – 2nd Team
Day 3 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 4 – Discus – Christian Hicks – 197-1
Up Next
Liberty's 2026 outdoor track & field season is officially complete, but a number of current and future Flames will participate in meets this summer.
One of the first meets on the summer docket is the 2026 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, slated for June 18-19 at Hayward Field.
Hicks was the fifth Flame to garner All-America honors in Eugene this week, eclipsing the previous program record of four All-Americans at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Austin, Texas. Markus White (fifth place in men's long jump, first team), Ben Shughart (ninth in men's javelin, second team), Katrina Schlenker (13th in women's steeplechase, second team) and Allie Zealand (16th in women's 1,500, second team) preceded Hicks as All-Americans during the previous two days of competition at Hayward Field.
All but Zealand collected their first career NCAA Division I All-America honors this week in Oregon, while White (26-0.25 long jump) and Schlenker (9:45.90 steeplechase) each did so in program record-breaking fashion.
White's long jump effort on Wednesday earned four team points for Liberty. That put the Flames in a tie for 47th place with Appalachian State, Samford and Wisconsin in the final men's team standings. Arkansas took home the men's team championship trophy with 56 points.
Hicks reached 197-1 on the second attempt of his NCAA national debut, adding 2.5 feet to his previous personal best and becoming the fourth Flame ever to throw the discus over 60 meters (60.09, to be exact). The Romney, W.Va., native nearly made the final but was bumped out of ninth place by USC's Mico Lampinen on the penultimate throw of Flight 2.
Hicks ended up in 10th place on Friday after having finished 11th at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds meet in Lexington two weeks earlier. He joined Clendon Henderson and Kevin Nedrick as Liberty men's discus throwers who have earned NCAA Division I All-America honors and became CUSA's first men's discus All-American since 2021 (Charlotte's Terrell Adams).
Gilles Ouedraogo also competed on Friday, triple jumping 51-2.25 for 20th place, the best-ever finish by a Liberty men's triple jumper at this meet. He topped Darrel Jones' 21st-place showing in 2018 at the old Hayward Field.
The Burkina Faso native finishes his first year at Liberty as an indoor triple jump All-American, the CUSA indoor and outdoor triple jump champion and the indoor (53-1) and outdoor (52-4.5) program record holder for the event.
Men's Day 3 All-Americans
Christian Hicks – Discus – 2nd Team
Day 3 Updates to Liberty's All-Time Men's Top 10 List
No. 4 – Discus – Christian Hicks – 197-1
Up Next
Liberty's 2026 outdoor track & field season is officially complete, but a number of current and future Flames will participate in meets this summer.
One of the first meets on the summer docket is the 2026 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, slated for June 18-19 at Hayward Field.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and FieldFriday, June 05
Wednesday, June 03
Thursday, May 21
Thursday, January 29