Liberty University
ECAC/IC4A Indoor Track Championships
Lady Flames Top ECAC Standings Through 2 Days
3/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Aided by top-three finishes from Jocelyn Williams (weight throw) and Ednah Kurgat (5K) and a 200-meter dash school record by Abigail Flower on Saturday, Liberty tops the ECAC standings through two days of action at the 2015 IC4A and ECAC Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. Meanwhile, the Flames sit fourth in the IC4A standings in the meet being contested at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center.
The Lady Flames scored 14 points on Saturday, matching the 14 tallies runner-up Riley Brandon and third-place Erika Jackson scored during Friday's ECAC pentathlon competition. Liberty's two-day total of 28 points gives the Lady Flames an eight-point advantage over second-place William & Mary. Last season, Liberty recorded its highest-ever finish at this meet, placing third in the final ECAC standings.
On the men's side, Aklesso Agama finished as the IC4A long jump runner-up, accounting for eight of the Flames' 14 points. Northeastern sits in first place with 18 points through the first five IC4A events. The Flames are seeking their sixth top-five finish in the last eight years at this meet.
Women's ECAC Day Two Recap
Williams threw the weight 59-9.75 to garner ECAC runner-up honors for the second straight year. She also captured the 2012 ECAC weight throw championship.
Running the 5K for just the second time in her career, Kurgat clocked a time of 16:39.30 for third place.
The Lady Flames nearly scored points in the pole vault, but Jessie Glynn's personal-best 12-3.5 clearance left her in ninth place. She became the sixth Lady Flame ever to eclipse the 12-foot barrier and now ranks third on Liberty's indoor pole vault list.
Flower's 200 dash time of 24.24 broke the program record of 24.37, set by teammate Oasis Hernandez at the 2014 Big South meet. The senior's effort was part of a successful day that saw her qualify for both the 60 (7.55) and 200 finals.
Sister Kate Flower failed to reach the 200 final, but did climb to No. 3 in program history with a 24.69 effort in the prelims.
Ansley Gebben sped to a season-best 400 time of 55.72 but missed out on Sunday's final by one spot.
Men's IC4A Day Two Recap
One week after sweeping the Big South men's long jump and triple jump titles, Agama long jumped 22-10 for second place in the IC4A.
The Flames added five points in the heptathlon, as Zach Davis came in sixth with 5,013 points and Tevan McIntire was seventh with 4,919. Zach Gilroy added an 11th-place finish with a season-best score of 4,709.
Davis' strong second day included a personal-best 13-11.25 pole vault clearance and a personal-best 1,000-meter time of 2:51.87. Those marks helped the sophomore score over 5,000 points for the second time this season.
McIntire recorded the fifth-fastest 60 hurdles time (8.60) among the heptathletes on Saturday, while Gilroy pole vaulted a season-best 14-11.
David Scouten scored points in the IC4A weight throw for the second year in a row, reaching a season-best 62-2.25 in round six to end up eighth.
At the 2014 IC4A Indoor Track & Field Championships, Liberty's 4 x 800 quartet of Jacob Onifer, Colin Schultz, Trevor Hope and John Sherret clocked a program-record time of 7:29.15. On Saturday, Onifer, Hope and Sherret were joined by freshman Andrew Crowell for another successful run in Boston, qualifying for the final and becoming the second-fastest quartet in Liberty annals at 7:32.91.
Sophomore Stephen Racanelli also earned the right to compete on Sunday, thanks to his 21.85 effort in the 200 dash prelims.
Later in the day, Racanelli teamed up with Ryan Davis, Ryan Versen and Levi Mack for a season-best 4 x 400 time of 3:17.07. However, the Flames failed to reach the final.
Davis posted a personal-best 400 time of 49.46, while Titus Koech's personal-best 5K clocking (14:35.98) was good for 15th place in the event.
The meet will conclude on Sunday with a full slate of events, beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the IC4A triple jump and ECAC shot put.
