Liberty University
ASUN Indoor Track Championships
Liberty Men Win 25th Straight Conference Title, Women Complete ASUN Sweep
2/26/2022 7:54:31 PM | Track and Field
The Liberty men’s and women’s squads swept the team titles at the 2022 ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships, which concluded Saturday at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex, but the results came in much different ways.
The men’s team dominated the competition, outdistancing runner-up Kennesaw State by 90 points (254-164) for the Flames’ largest margin of victory since joining the ASUN Conference. The Flames picked up their fourth consecutive ASUN indoor title and their 25th straight indoor conference crown overall, dating back to the inaugural Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships in 1998. Liberty has never lost a men’s indoor track & field conference meet at the NCAA Division I level.
Meanwhile, the Lady Flames found themselves locked in a tight duel with Kennesaw State for the second year in a row. This time, Liberty pulled out an eight-point victory (165.5 to 157.5) after the Owls had prevailed by five tallies in 2021. This is the Lady Flames’ third championship in four all-time appearances at the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Second-year head coach Lance Bingham was voted ASUN Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year. Quinten Clay (Most Valuable Male Performer) and Meredith Engle (Most Valuable Female Performer) swept the individual awards by virtue of their point totals.
Clay led all athletes with 28 points, thanks to victories in the men’s long jump and triple jump and a runner-up finish in the high jump. Engle’s 23 points were the most of any female athlete, as she captured first place in the pentathlon, second in the women’s high jump and fourth in the women’s triple jump.
Clay (triple jump, 48-11.75) was one of Liberty’s six event winners on Saturday, bringing the Flames’ total to 13 first-place finishes at the two-day meet. Ryan Drew (men’s mile, 4:02.10) and Naomi Mojica (women’s shot put, 52-4.75) each broke meet records. Christian Lyon (60, 6.72) and Diamantae Griffin (200, 21.15) won the two shortest men’s sprints. Griffin, Ally Kipchirchir, Michael Rose and Felix Lawrence then put an exclamation point on the Flames’ performance by winning the 4 x 400 relay in 3:13.70.
Men’s Day 2 Recap
The Liberty men’s squad finished with 10 or more points in every event except the 400 over the course of the two-day meet, including three 20+ point events on Saturday.
The Flames raked in 23 points in the 60 final, thanks to a 1-2-4 finish by Lyon (6.72), Brandon Letts (6.75) and Griffin (6.85). Lyon became the first Flame ever to win three consecutive men’s 60 conference titles at the Division I level.
Another 20 points came in the triple jump, an event Kennesaw State was projected to dominate. Clay (48-11.75) and Jeremiah McCants (47-10) produced a 1-2 Liberty finish. Clay added 11 inches to his personal best in just the third triple jump competition of his career.
Liberty’s final 20-point event was the 60 hurdles final, where third-place Lawrence (8.14) paced five Flames inside the top seven finishers.
Drew’s second men’s mile title in three years saw him clock 4:02.10 to lop 5.62 seconds off the previous meet record. Drew had to defeat said record holder (Lipscomb’s Jonathan Schwind) and ASUN cross country champion Ahmed Jaziri of Eastern Kentucky to do so.
After winning the ASUN men’s outdoor 200 crown a year ago, Griffin added an indoor crown to his resume with his winning time of 21.15.
A gutsy anchor leg by Felix Lawrence enabled the Flames to hold off Kennesaw State and Central Arkansas for their third men’s 4 x 400 title in four years and a sweep of the men’s relay crowns at this meet. The Flames’ time was a season-best 3:13.70.
Anthony Bryan was not able to defend his ASUN heptathlon title from a year ago. However, he did become the ninth member of Liberty’s 5,000-point club with his personal-best 5,016 point total.
Women’s Day 2 Recap
For the second consecutive year, the women’s team title was not decided until the 4 x 400 relay. Clinging to a six-point lead, Liberty’s quartet of Nimeesha Coleman, Annamarie McKenzie, Naomi Armstrong and Janai Scott clocked a season-best 3:48.49 to defeat KSU head-to-head and finish third overall, sealing the team victory.
Several favorable results late in the meet put Liberty into good position. Engle’s second event of the day and her seventh of the meet was her maiden attempt at the triple jump. She reached 38-8.75 for an improbable fourth-place showing and five big team points.
Shortly thereafter, the duo of Adelyn Ackley (9:38.30) and Anna Hostetler (9:38.42) placed 2-3 in the women’s 3K, an event where the Lady Flames outscored the Owls, 14-4. Ackley finished the meet one point behind Engle with 22 tallies, courtesy of a 5K victory, 3K runner-up finish and a fifth-place showing in the mile.
The final event prior to the 4 x 400 relay was a re-run of the women’s 60 hurdles final due to an earlier timing malfunction. Amani Hankton made the most of her second opportunity, blazing a personal-best time of 8.80 for fourth place, helping negate Kennesaw State’s team strength in the event.
Liberty collected 17 big points in the women’s shot put, led by the all-conference duo of Mojica (first place, 52-4.75) and Megan Mann (third, 45-0.25). Mojica demolished her own ASUN meet and all-time records of 51-5 from last year’s ASUN Championship. She also collected her fifth consecutive indoor conference title in her specialty event, including one in the Big South and four straight in the ASUN.
After high jumping a huge personal-best 5-8.5 during Friday’s pentathlon competition, Engle made it over 5-6.5 on her first attempt Saturday afternoon to garner a runner-up medal.
Final Men’s Team Scores
1) Liberty – 254
2) Kennesaw State – 164
3) Lipscomb – 65
4) Central Arkansas – 64
5) North Florida – 52
6) Eastern Kentucky – 50
7) Bellarmine – 10
Final Women’s Team Scores
1) Liberty – 165.5
2) Kennesaw State – 157.5
3) Jacksonville – 124
4) Eastern Kentucky – 97
5) Lipscomb – 70
6) Central Arkansas – 30
7) Jacksonville State – 9
8T) Bellarmine – 4
8T) North Florida – 4
Most Valuable Male Performer
Quinten Clay, Liberty
Most Valuable Female Performer
Meredith Engle, Liberty
Men’s Coach of the Year
Lance Bingham, Liberty
Women’s Coach of the Year
Lance Bingham, Liberty
Men’s Day 2 ASUN Champions
Quinten Clay – Triple Jump – 48-11.75
Ryan Drew – Mile – 4:02.10
Diamantae Griffin – 200 – 21.15
Christian Lyon – 60 – 6.72
Diamantae Griffin, Ally Kipchirchir, Michael Rose, Felix Lawrence – 4 x 400 – 3:13.70
Women’s Day 2 ASUN Champions
Naomi Mojica – Shot Put – 52-4.75
Other Men’s Day 2 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Brandon Letts – 60 – 6.75
2nd – Ally Kipchirchir – 800 – 1:50.48
2nd – Jeremiah McCants – Triple Jump – 47-10
2nd – Anthony Bryan – Heptathlon – 5,016
3rd – Felix Lawrence – 60 Hurdles – 8.14
Other Women’s Day 2 Top 3 Finishers
2nd – Adelyn Ackley – 3K – 9:38.30
2nd – Meredith Engle – High Jump – 5-6.5
3rd – Anna Hostetler – 3K – 9:38.42
3rd – Megan Mann – Shot Put – 45-0.25
3rd – Nimeesha Coleman, Annamarie McKenzie, Naomi Armstrong, Janai Scott – 4 x 400 – 3:48.49
Men’s Day 2 Record Breakers
Meet Record – Mile – Ryan Drew – 4:02.10
Previous Record: 4:07.62 by Lipscomb’s Jonathan Schwind in 2021
Women’s Day 2 Record Breakers
ASUN Meet and All-Time Record – Shot Put – Naomi Mojica – 52-4.75
Previous Record: 51-5 by Mojica at the 2021 ASUN meet
Day 2 Updates to Liberty’s All-Time Men’s Top 10 List
Triple Jump – No. 5 – Quinten Clay – 48-11.75
400 – No. 8 – Michael Rose – 48.19
800 – No. 8 – Isaiah Schulties – 1:51.96
3K – No. 8 – Caleb Olson – 8:10.39
4 x 400 – Tie for No. 8 – Griffin, Kipchirchir, Rose, Lawrence – 3:13.70
Mile – No. 9 – Kyle Harkabus – 4:09.88
3K – No. 9 – Will Jefferson – 8:11.43
Heptathlon – No. 9 – Anthony Bryan – 5,016
Day 2 Updates to Liberty’s All-Time Women’s Top 10 List
Shot Put – No. 2 – Naomi Mojica – 52-4.75
800 – No. 5 – Naomi Armstrong – 2:09.80
60 Hurdles – No. 10 – Amani Hankton – 8.80
Up Next
The 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships are slated for March 11-12 at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. The full field of participants will be announced Tuesday evening on NCAA.com, and Liberty freshman Kennedy Sauder (men’s high jump) is expected to be included.
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