Friday, August 29
Lynchburg, Va.
6:30 PM ET
Liberty University
vs
Liberty Challenge
Nicholas Kiprotich is the two-time defending Liberty Challenge men's 6K champion.
Season-Opening Liberty Challenge Set for Friday
8/27/2025 9:43:00 AM | Cross Country
LYNCHBURG, Va. – For the second year in a row, the defending CUSA men's and women's cross country champion Liberty Flames will begin the season at home. The low-key Liberty Challenge is set for Friday evening at the Flames' home course, located adjacent to the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.
The meet, which will also feature competitors from Lynchburg and Radford, will begin with the women's 4K at 6:30 p.m. The men's 6K will follow at 7:15.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Live results will be provided by Blue Ridge Timing.
Weather Report
Friday's weather forecast calls for unseasonably cool temperatures in Lynchburg, with the high only reaching the low 80s under mostly sunny skies.
King Kiprotich
Nicholas Kiprotich will begin his fourth and final season with the Flames as the two-time defending Liberty Challenge men's 6K champion. The 2023 NCAA Division I national qualifier took top honors on his home course in both 2022 and 2024.
Looking Back
Both the Liberty men's and women's squads captured their first CUSA titles in 2024. It marked the Flames' first conference championship since 2013 (Big South), while the Lady Flames recorded the largest margin of victory (66 points) in CUSA meet history.
The men's team returns a trio of All-CUSA performers from 2024, including Tristian Merchant (third place), Kiprotich (seventh) and Andrew Schultz (20th). Edwin Kiprop is also back after the two-time CUSA Freshman of the Week's rookie season was cut short due to injury.
Meanwhile, five of the top 14 finishers from the 2024 CUSA meet are part of this year's Liberty women's roster. These include Allie Zealand (third place), Isabela Ross (sixth), Ava Gordon (ninth), Molly Lashley (13th) and Katrina Schlenker (14th).
Liberty also excelled at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships a year ago. Led by national qualifier Adelyn Fairley, the Lady Flames matched their best-ever regional finish (fifth place). Meanwhile, the Flames' eighth-place showing was their top regional performance since 2018.
Zealand is Liberty's top returnee from the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships, as she came in 20th as a freshman to garner an all-region medal. She then went on to reach the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the women's 1,500 in June.
Up Next
Liberty will not return to the course for three weeks. For the second consecutive season, the Flames and Lady Flames will compete in the adidas XC Challenge, Sept. 19 in Cary, N.C. Liberty captured the men's team title at this meet in 2024.
The meet, which will also feature competitors from Lynchburg and Radford, will begin with the women's 4K at 6:30 p.m. The men's 6K will follow at 7:15.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
Live results will be provided by Blue Ridge Timing.
Weather Report
Friday's weather forecast calls for unseasonably cool temperatures in Lynchburg, with the high only reaching the low 80s under mostly sunny skies.
King Kiprotich
Nicholas Kiprotich will begin his fourth and final season with the Flames as the two-time defending Liberty Challenge men's 6K champion. The 2023 NCAA Division I national qualifier took top honors on his home course in both 2022 and 2024.
Looking Back
Both the Liberty men's and women's squads captured their first CUSA titles in 2024. It marked the Flames' first conference championship since 2013 (Big South), while the Lady Flames recorded the largest margin of victory (66 points) in CUSA meet history.
The men's team returns a trio of All-CUSA performers from 2024, including Tristian Merchant (third place), Kiprotich (seventh) and Andrew Schultz (20th). Edwin Kiprop is also back after the two-time CUSA Freshman of the Week's rookie season was cut short due to injury.
Meanwhile, five of the top 14 finishers from the 2024 CUSA meet are part of this year's Liberty women's roster. These include Allie Zealand (third place), Isabela Ross (sixth), Ava Gordon (ninth), Molly Lashley (13th) and Katrina Schlenker (14th).
Liberty also excelled at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships a year ago. Led by national qualifier Adelyn Fairley, the Lady Flames matched their best-ever regional finish (fifth place). Meanwhile, the Flames' eighth-place showing was their top regional performance since 2018.
Zealand is Liberty's top returnee from the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships, as she came in 20th as a freshman to garner an all-region medal. She then went on to reach the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the women's 1,500 in June.
Up Next
Liberty will not return to the course for three weeks. For the second consecutive season, the Flames and Lady Flames will compete in the adidas XC Challenge, Sept. 19 in Cary, N.C. Liberty captured the men's team title at this meet in 2024.
Players Mentioned
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