Women’s Track & Field’s Engle Wins 2026 Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award
7/9/2026 11:00:00 AM | Track and Field
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Meredith Engle of the Liberty women's track & field program has been named the 2026 Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award winner.
This is the latest in a series of prestigious honors Engle has garnered during her time as a Lady Flame. She earned both All-America and CSC Academic All-America® honors in 2025, while also becoming Liberty women's track & field's first NCAA Elite 90 Award winner.
In 1974, the Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award was established to honor the top senior student-athlete at Liberty University who best exemplifies the standards and lives of both of these great Christian men.
Rock Royer was Liberty's first football coach in 1973. Mac Rivera was a member of Liberty's men's basketball team from 1972 until 1975. Both men tragically died at a young age, with Royer dying in a plane crash and Rivera passing away after a fall.
This award encompasses more than just athletic ability. It recognizes the Liberty University graduating senior student-athlete who has maintained an exemplary testimony on the playing field, in the classroom and among the student body.
"Meredith served as a captain for the last three years and has been instrumental in the spiritual growth and development of our team," stated Liberty Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lance Bingham. "Meredith came back from multiple injuries to perform at the highest level. She is an example for anyone to follow."
After arriving at Liberty as a walk-on rehabbing an ACL injury, the Dillsburg, Pa., native developed into one of the top multi-event athletes in program history. The pinnacle of her athletic achievements came at the 2025 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, where Engle placed 12th in the pentathlon for second team All-America honors.
Engle was a four-time individual conference champion (2022 ASUN pentathlon, 2023 ASUN pentathlon, 2025 CUSA pentathlon and 2025 CUSA heptathlon) among eight total all-conference honors (six ASUN, two CUSA). She contributed points to seven team conference titles (2021 ASUN outdoor, 2022 ASUN indoor, 2023 ASUN indoor and outdoor, 2025 CUSA indoor and outdoor and 2026 CUSA outdoor).
Engle owns the Liberty pentathlon record of 4,196 points, a meet-record mark which earned her CUSA Women's Field Performer of the Meet honors at the 2025 CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships. She also ranks among the top five in program history for the indoor shuttle hurdles relay (second, 34.92 in 2023), heptathlon (third, 5,414 in 2025), indoor high jump (fourth, 5-8.5 in 2022) and outdoor high jump (tie for fifth, 5-8 in 2023).
Engle was tabbed ASUN Most Valuable Female Performer at the 2022 ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships after racking up a meet-high 23 points. She also claimed the first of back-to-back ASUN Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer accolades at the same event.
Inside the classroom, Engle maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her undergraduate (computer science) and graduate (cybersecurity) studies. As a result, she became the program's first-ever NCAA Elite 90 Award winner at the 2025 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships and the Lady Flames' first CSC Academic All-America® first team honoree in 20 years, following the 2025 season.
Engle's extensive academic resume also features four CSC Academic All-District® honors, four USTFCCCA All-Academic Team awards, a pair of VaSID Academic All-State nods, two ASUN All-Academic Team appearances and a spot on the 2025 CUSA All-Academic Team. She was additionally voted the 2023 ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's indoor track & field, becoming the first Lady Flame to earn that distinction.
Engle was named the 2023 ASUN Winter Winer for Life, honoring a campus citizen who shares and/or demonstrates the ASUN Core Values of education, honesty, student-athlete experience, fairness, health, ambition, respect, diversity, inclusion, leadership, responsibility and sportsmanship.
"For me, Liberty has been a forge: instrumental in refining me into the person God created me to be," said Engle. "The privileges of being a member, and later, a captain of the track team have been some of the greatest blessings of my life."
After spending the past six years as a Liberty track & field student-athlete, Engle will remain a part of the program in 2026-27 as she joins Bingham's staff as an assistant coach.
Engle is the 60th overall recipient of this distinguished award, and this is the 53rd year Liberty Athletics has presented its top athletics honor to a well-deserving senior student-athlete.
Engle is the 10th women's track & field student-athlete to earn the Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award and the third heptathlete to do so (previously, Danielle McNaney in 2005 and Arlene Zelinskas in 2007).
Rock Royer Award
1974 – Rick Herceg – Football
1975 - Sling Patterson – Football
1976 - David Neff – Football
1977 - Scott Goetz – Football
Mac Rivera Award
1977 - Paul Dalton - Men's Basketball
Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award
1978 - Gary Avila – Wrestling
1979 - Dave Anderson – Football
1980 - Karl Hess - Men's Basketball
1981 - David "D.J." Hertzler – Football
1982 - Sharon Snodgrass - Women's Basketball
1983 - Bill Gillespie - Football/Men's Track & Field
1984 - Rick Sielhamer - Wrestling
1985 - Sue Andrew - Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
1985 - Dave Bream - Baseball
1986 - Ron Stamer - Men's Soccer
1987 - Pam Wilder - Women's Basketball
1988 – Annie Hunt Fairchild – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
1988 – Andre Sims – Football
1989 - Kathy Guetterman - Volleyball
1990 - Lynn Attwood – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field/Women's Basketball
1991 - Craig Holiday - Wrestling
1992 - Mike Coleman - Men's Basketball
1993 - Theresa Bream - Volleyball/Women's Basketball
1994 - James Downey - Football
1994 - Matt Hildebrand - Men's Basketball
1995 - Todd Setsma - Men's Golf
1996 - Ryan Werner – Men's Track & Field
1997 - Michael Prettyman – Men's Track & Field
1998 - Ben Anderson - Football
1999 - Jarrod Everson - Football
2000 - Elena Kisseleva - Women's Basketball
2001 - Andrea Wildrick – Women's Track & Field
2001 - Nathan Day - Men's Basketball
2002 - Heather Sagan – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2003 - Collin Mascagni - Men's Soccer
2004 - Tatiana Tkachuk - Volleyball
2005 - Sam Gado – Football
2005 - Danielle McNaney - Women's Track & Field
2006 - Sonia Rodriguez - Women's Soccer
2006 - Phillip Thompson - Baseball
2007 - Arlene Zelinskas – Women's Track & Field
2008 - Allyson Fasnacht - Women's Basketball
2009 - Beth Bennett - Softball
2010 - Chris Rocco - Football
2011 - Zach Duke - Football
2012 - Jesse Sanders - Men's Basketball
2013 - Jennifer Klugh – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2014 - Trey Lambert – Baseball
2015 – Alex Close – Baseball
2016 – Ashley Rininger – Women's Basketball
2017 – Holly Van Noord – Women's Soccer
2018 – Evangeline Crist – Women's Tennis
2019 – Alicia Finnigan – Women's Swimming & Diving
2020 – Hannah Baker – Women's Swimming & Diving
2021 – Kieran Vincent – Men's Golf
2022 – Jill Bolton – Field Hockey
2023 – Jonathan Yaun – Men's Golf
2024 – Calli Doan – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2025 – Taiva Reinertson – Women's Lacrosse
2026 – Meredith Engle – Women's Track & Field
This is the latest in a series of prestigious honors Engle has garnered during her time as a Lady Flame. She earned both All-America and CSC Academic All-America® honors in 2025, while also becoming Liberty women's track & field's first NCAA Elite 90 Award winner.
In 1974, the Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award was established to honor the top senior student-athlete at Liberty University who best exemplifies the standards and lives of both of these great Christian men.
Rock Royer was Liberty's first football coach in 1973. Mac Rivera was a member of Liberty's men's basketball team from 1972 until 1975. Both men tragically died at a young age, with Royer dying in a plane crash and Rivera passing away after a fall.
This award encompasses more than just athletic ability. It recognizes the Liberty University graduating senior student-athlete who has maintained an exemplary testimony on the playing field, in the classroom and among the student body.
"Meredith served as a captain for the last three years and has been instrumental in the spiritual growth and development of our team," stated Liberty Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lance Bingham. "Meredith came back from multiple injuries to perform at the highest level. She is an example for anyone to follow."
After arriving at Liberty as a walk-on rehabbing an ACL injury, the Dillsburg, Pa., native developed into one of the top multi-event athletes in program history. The pinnacle of her athletic achievements came at the 2025 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, where Engle placed 12th in the pentathlon for second team All-America honors.
Engle was a four-time individual conference champion (2022 ASUN pentathlon, 2023 ASUN pentathlon, 2025 CUSA pentathlon and 2025 CUSA heptathlon) among eight total all-conference honors (six ASUN, two CUSA). She contributed points to seven team conference titles (2021 ASUN outdoor, 2022 ASUN indoor, 2023 ASUN indoor and outdoor, 2025 CUSA indoor and outdoor and 2026 CUSA outdoor).
Engle owns the Liberty pentathlon record of 4,196 points, a meet-record mark which earned her CUSA Women's Field Performer of the Meet honors at the 2025 CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships. She also ranks among the top five in program history for the indoor shuttle hurdles relay (second, 34.92 in 2023), heptathlon (third, 5,414 in 2025), indoor high jump (fourth, 5-8.5 in 2022) and outdoor high jump (tie for fifth, 5-8 in 2023).
Engle was tabbed ASUN Most Valuable Female Performer at the 2022 ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships after racking up a meet-high 23 points. She also claimed the first of back-to-back ASUN Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer accolades at the same event.
Inside the classroom, Engle maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her undergraduate (computer science) and graduate (cybersecurity) studies. As a result, she became the program's first-ever NCAA Elite 90 Award winner at the 2025 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships and the Lady Flames' first CSC Academic All-America® first team honoree in 20 years, following the 2025 season.
Engle's extensive academic resume also features four CSC Academic All-District® honors, four USTFCCCA All-Academic Team awards, a pair of VaSID Academic All-State nods, two ASUN All-Academic Team appearances and a spot on the 2025 CUSA All-Academic Team. She was additionally voted the 2023 ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's indoor track & field, becoming the first Lady Flame to earn that distinction.
Engle was named the 2023 ASUN Winter Winer for Life, honoring a campus citizen who shares and/or demonstrates the ASUN Core Values of education, honesty, student-athlete experience, fairness, health, ambition, respect, diversity, inclusion, leadership, responsibility and sportsmanship.
"For me, Liberty has been a forge: instrumental in refining me into the person God created me to be," said Engle. "The privileges of being a member, and later, a captain of the track team have been some of the greatest blessings of my life."
After spending the past six years as a Liberty track & field student-athlete, Engle will remain a part of the program in 2026-27 as she joins Bingham's staff as an assistant coach.
Engle is the 60th overall recipient of this distinguished award, and this is the 53rd year Liberty Athletics has presented its top athletics honor to a well-deserving senior student-athlete.
Engle is the 10th women's track & field student-athlete to earn the Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award and the third heptathlete to do so (previously, Danielle McNaney in 2005 and Arlene Zelinskas in 2007).
Rock Royer Award
1974 – Rick Herceg – Football
1975 - Sling Patterson – Football
1976 - David Neff – Football
1977 - Scott Goetz – Football
Mac Rivera Award
1977 - Paul Dalton - Men's Basketball
Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award
1978 - Gary Avila – Wrestling
1979 - Dave Anderson – Football
1980 - Karl Hess - Men's Basketball
1981 - David "D.J." Hertzler – Football
1982 - Sharon Snodgrass - Women's Basketball
1983 - Bill Gillespie - Football/Men's Track & Field
1984 - Rick Sielhamer - Wrestling
1985 - Sue Andrew - Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
1985 - Dave Bream - Baseball
1986 - Ron Stamer - Men's Soccer
1987 - Pam Wilder - Women's Basketball
1988 – Annie Hunt Fairchild – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
1988 – Andre Sims – Football
1989 - Kathy Guetterman - Volleyball
1990 - Lynn Attwood – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field/Women's Basketball
1991 - Craig Holiday - Wrestling
1992 - Mike Coleman - Men's Basketball
1993 - Theresa Bream - Volleyball/Women's Basketball
1994 - James Downey - Football
1994 - Matt Hildebrand - Men's Basketball
1995 - Todd Setsma - Men's Golf
1996 - Ryan Werner – Men's Track & Field
1997 - Michael Prettyman – Men's Track & Field
1998 - Ben Anderson - Football
1999 - Jarrod Everson - Football
2000 - Elena Kisseleva - Women's Basketball
2001 - Andrea Wildrick – Women's Track & Field
2001 - Nathan Day - Men's Basketball
2002 - Heather Sagan – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2003 - Collin Mascagni - Men's Soccer
2004 - Tatiana Tkachuk - Volleyball
2005 - Sam Gado – Football
2005 - Danielle McNaney - Women's Track & Field
2006 - Sonia Rodriguez - Women's Soccer
2006 - Phillip Thompson - Baseball
2007 - Arlene Zelinskas – Women's Track & Field
2008 - Allyson Fasnacht - Women's Basketball
2009 - Beth Bennett - Softball
2010 - Chris Rocco - Football
2011 - Zach Duke - Football
2012 - Jesse Sanders - Men's Basketball
2013 - Jennifer Klugh – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2014 - Trey Lambert – Baseball
2015 – Alex Close – Baseball
2016 – Ashley Rininger – Women's Basketball
2017 – Holly Van Noord – Women's Soccer
2018 – Evangeline Crist – Women's Tennis
2019 – Alicia Finnigan – Women's Swimming & Diving
2020 – Hannah Baker – Women's Swimming & Diving
2021 – Kieran Vincent – Men's Golf
2022 – Jill Bolton – Field Hockey
2023 – Jonathan Yaun – Men's Golf
2024 – Calli Doan – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2025 – Taiva Reinertson – Women's Lacrosse
2026 – Meredith Engle – Women's Track & Field
Players Mentioned
Heptathlon
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