Meredith Engle made the CSC Academic All-District® Team for the fourth time in her career.
Dozen Flames Earn CSC Academic All-District® Honors
6/23/2026 1:26:00 PM | Cross Country, Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – A program-record 12 Liberty Flames have been named to the 2025-26 CSC Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country teams, as announced on Tuesday.
The Flames' honorees include women's team members Patasha Bryan, Paola Bueno, Meredith Engle, Katrina Schlenker, Katie Urbine and Allie Zealand and men's team members Beau Backes, Todd Benhase, Christian Hicks, Kellen Kimes, Ben Shughart and Joshua Smith.
Engle earns this award four times (also 2022, 2023 and 2025), the most of any current team member. Meanwhile, Bueno, Shughart and Smith each made it for the third time.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the 2025-26 CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced on July 14 (men's team) and 15 (women's team).
Liberty's 2025-26 CSC Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Team Members
Patasha Bryan
Event: Heptathlon
Hometown/High School: Santa Rosa Beach, Fla./South Walton High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Sport Management/3.80
Graduate Major/GPA: Leadership/3.81
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Paola Bueno
Event: Hammer
Hometown/High School: Nayarit, Mexico/Colegio de Ciencias y Letras de Tepic
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Finance/3.88
Graduate Major/GPA: International Business/3.88
Academic All-District® Appearances: 3 (2024, 2025, 2026)
Meredith Engle
Event: Heptathlon
Hometown/High School: Dillsburg, Pa./Northern High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Computer Science/4.0
Graduate Major/GPA: Cybersecurity/4.0
Academic All-District® Appearances: 4 (2022, 2023, 2025, 2026)
Academic All-America® Appearances: 1 (2025 – First Team)
Katrina Schlenker
Event: Distance
Hometown/High School: Batavia, Ill./Batavia High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Commercial Aeronautics/3.92
Academic All-District® Appearances: 2 (2025, 2026)
Katie Urbine
Event: Pole Vault
Hometown/High School: Quarryville, Pa./Solanco High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Mechanical Engineering/3.94
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Allie Zealand
Event: Distance
Hometown/High School: Forest, Va./Home Schooled
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Civil Engineering/3.82
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Beau Backes
Event: Throws
Hometown/High School: Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Business/3.57
Graduate Major/GPA: Biology Education/3.63
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Todd Benhase
Event: Pole Vault
Hometown/High School: Hanover, Va./Hanover High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Computer Engineering/3.83
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Christian Hicks
Event: Throws
Hometown/High School: Romney, W.Va./Hampshire High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Business Finance and Economics/3.53
Graduate Major/GPA: MBA/3.56
Academic All-District® Appearances: 2 (2025, 2026)
Kellen Kimes
Event: Hammer
Hometown/High School: Ludington, Mich./Hart High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Biomedical Sciences/4.0
Academic All-District® Appearances: 2 (2025, 2026)
Ben Shughart
Event: Javelin
Hometown/High School: Shippensburg, Pa./Big Spring High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Sport Management/4.0
Graduate Major/GPA: MBA/3.61
Academic All-District® Appearances: 3 (2023, 2024, 2026)
Academic All-America® Appearances: 1 (2024 – Third Team)
Joshua Smith
Event: Jumps
Hometown/High School: South Fulton, Ga./Landmark Christian School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Interdisciplinary Studies/3.67
Graduate Major/GPA: Human Performance/3.91
Academic All-District® Appearances: 3 (2024, 2025, 2026)
The Flames' honorees include women's team members Patasha Bryan, Paola Bueno, Meredith Engle, Katrina Schlenker, Katie Urbine and Allie Zealand and men's team members Beau Backes, Todd Benhase, Christian Hicks, Kellen Kimes, Ben Shughart and Joshua Smith.
Engle earns this award four times (also 2022, 2023 and 2025), the most of any current team member. Meanwhile, Bueno, Shughart and Smith each made it for the third time.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the 2025-26 CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced on July 14 (men's team) and 15 (women's team).
Liberty's 2025-26 CSC Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Team Members
Patasha Bryan
Event: Heptathlon
Hometown/High School: Santa Rosa Beach, Fla./South Walton High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Sport Management/3.80
Graduate Major/GPA: Leadership/3.81
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Paola Bueno
Event: Hammer
Hometown/High School: Nayarit, Mexico/Colegio de Ciencias y Letras de Tepic
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Finance/3.88
Graduate Major/GPA: International Business/3.88
Academic All-District® Appearances: 3 (2024, 2025, 2026)
Meredith Engle
Event: Heptathlon
Hometown/High School: Dillsburg, Pa./Northern High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Computer Science/4.0
Graduate Major/GPA: Cybersecurity/4.0
Academic All-District® Appearances: 4 (2022, 2023, 2025, 2026)
Academic All-America® Appearances: 1 (2025 – First Team)
Katrina Schlenker
Event: Distance
Hometown/High School: Batavia, Ill./Batavia High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Commercial Aeronautics/3.92
Academic All-District® Appearances: 2 (2025, 2026)
Katie Urbine
Event: Pole Vault
Hometown/High School: Quarryville, Pa./Solanco High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Mechanical Engineering/3.94
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Allie Zealand
Event: Distance
Hometown/High School: Forest, Va./Home Schooled
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Civil Engineering/3.82
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Beau Backes
Event: Throws
Hometown/High School: Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Business/3.57
Graduate Major/GPA: Biology Education/3.63
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Todd Benhase
Event: Pole Vault
Hometown/High School: Hanover, Va./Hanover High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Computer Engineering/3.83
Academic All-District® Appearances: 1 (2026)
Christian Hicks
Event: Throws
Hometown/High School: Romney, W.Va./Hampshire High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Business Finance and Economics/3.53
Graduate Major/GPA: MBA/3.56
Academic All-District® Appearances: 2 (2025, 2026)
Kellen Kimes
Event: Hammer
Hometown/High School: Ludington, Mich./Hart High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Biomedical Sciences/4.0
Academic All-District® Appearances: 2 (2025, 2026)
Ben Shughart
Event: Javelin
Hometown/High School: Shippensburg, Pa./Big Spring High School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Sport Management/4.0
Graduate Major/GPA: MBA/3.61
Academic All-District® Appearances: 3 (2023, 2024, 2026)
Academic All-America® Appearances: 1 (2024 – Third Team)
Joshua Smith
Event: Jumps
Hometown/High School: South Fulton, Ga./Landmark Christian School
Undergraduate Major/GPA: Interdisciplinary Studies/3.67
Graduate Major/GPA: Human Performance/3.91
Academic All-District® Appearances: 3 (2024, 2025, 2026)
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Hammer
/ Track and Field
Heptathlon
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Javelin
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
/ Cross Country
Friday, June 05
Wednesday, June 03
Thursday, May 21
Thursday, January 29