Liberty Track to Compete at Duke, Virginia
4/19/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Virginia Challenge Meet Information
Virginia Challenge Schedule
Virginia Challenge Live Results
Virginia Challenge Video Streaming (Friday)
Virginia Challenge Video Streaming (Saturday)
Charlottesville Weather
Duke Invitational Meet Information
Duke Invitational Schedule
Duke Invitational Live Results
Duke Invitational Video Streaming
Durham Weather
This weekend will see Liberty divide its men's and women's track & field team for the final time this season, as some Flames compete at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C., and others take part in the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, Va. Both meets will feature events on Friday and Saturday.
The Duke Invitational gets started with sections of the men's 5K Friday at 9 a.m. at Morris Williams Stadium. Meanwhile, the men's discus is scheduled as the Virginia Challenge's opening event, Friday at 11 a.m. at Lannigan Field.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
ACC Network Extra/ESPN3 will televise the Virginia Challenge, beginning at 7 p.m. each evening.
ACC Network Extra/ESPN3 will also provide coverage during the Duke Invitational.
Live results will be available for both meets, courtesy of Flash Results.
Weather Report
Charlottesville is expected to see abundant sunshine and high temperatures in the 60s during both days of the Virginia Challenge. After some breeze out of the north on Friday, very little wind appears in Saturday's forecast.
Durham's forecast looks similar, with quite a bit of sunshine and highs in the mid-to-upper 60s this weekend. Like Charlottesville, wind will be more of a factor Friday than on Saturday.
Scouting the Competition
The Virginia Challenge has quickly become one of the region's most competitive meets, and this year's edition should be no different. The entry list features athletes from Georgetown, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Wake Forest, West Virginia and many other high-level programs.
The Duke Invitational will provide something of a Big South Championship preview, with athletes from Campbell, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Liberty, Radford, UNC Asheville and Winthrop all scheduled to compete in Durham.
Looking Back
Liberty also competed in the Duke Invitational and Virginia Challenge a year ago. Dasiana Larson performed well at Duke, placing third in the women's hammer and fourth in the women's shot put. She set what were then personal bests in both events, including 196-3 in the hammer and 46-1.5 in the shot put.
The 2017 Virginia Challenge featured a new school record in the men's 800 (1:49.56 by Michael Todd). Other impressive marks included Kylie Polsgrove's personal-best heptathlon score of 5,184, Azaria Kirwa's personal-best 14:00.29 5K, Darrel Jones' wind-aided 51-3 triple jump and Tanner Ealum's Liberty freshman-record 400 time of 54.33.
Record Watch
Liberty has set school records in three different events this season (men's 110 hurdles, men's sprint medley relay and women's javelin). That number has a chance to grow this weekend, with the following events' records possibly being challenged at Duke and Virginia.
Women's Hammer at Duke (Friday, 10 a.m.) - Dasiana Larson boosted her personal best to 198-2 at the Texas Relays on March 29, leaving her just four and a half feet shy of Melinda Bendik's program record (202-7) from 2012.
Women's Discus at Duke (Friday, 4 p.m.) - Patria Vaimaona's 162-10 discus at the Gamecock Invitational two weeks ago has put the junior from Hawaii within striking distance of Mychelle Cumings' 167-0 program record, set in 2012.
Men's 400 at Virginia (Friday, 8:26 p.m.) - Alejandro Perlaza Zapata broke Mike Decker's program record in the indoor 400 last month. Now the Olympian will shoot for Decker's outdoor 400 standard of 45.59 which has stood since 2000. Perlaza Zapata owns a lifetime best of 45.45.
Men's 800 at Virginia (Friday, 8:57 p.m.) - Michael Todd set the program record of 1:49.56 at last year's Virginia Challenge, with teammate Bradley Prentice clocking a personal-best 800 time of 1:50.38. Both juniors could challenge Todd's record Friday evening.
Men's Javelin at Duke (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.) - Denzel Pratt already owns the Bahamas national record at 232-0. Next on the junior's radar is former teammate Steve Feister's program record (234-11) from the 2016 season.
Women's Shot Put at Duke (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.) - Freshman Naomi Mojica reached 51-3 during the indoor season, a mark superior to Mychelle Cumings' outdoor program record of 51-2.75 from 2012.
Women's 400 Hurdles at Virginia (Saturday, 7:10 p.m.) - Kimone Green clocked a 400 hurdles time of 1:00.18 at the Gamecock Invitational two weeks ago, and her lifetime best (57.78) is superior to Mary Witmer's program-record 59.84 from last year's Big South meet.
Men's 1,500 at Virginia (Saturday, 7:45 p.m.) - Colin Schultz's last 1,500 saw him win the Raleigh Relays title in 3:44.78, less than a second off of Isaac Wendland's Liberty-record time of 3:43.91 from the 2013 season.
Women's 4 x 400 Relay at Virginia (Saturday, 8:38 p.m.) - Olivia Behymer and Tanner Ealum are back from the 4 x 400 squad which ran a Liberty-record time of 3:40.32 at the 2017 Penn Relays. Add in talented newcomers Ty'Asia Dansbury, Cortney Dowling and Kimone Green, and a new record is certainly possible.
Pole Vault Prowess
Liberty's senior pole vaulting duo of Carson Waters and Jessie Glynn has enjoyed considerable success to date this season. Waters has won three of his four men's pole vault competitions, while Glynn has yet to lose to a collegiate opponent in her three women's pole vault outings.
Both Waters and Glynn will vault at the Virginia Challenge Friday at 7 p.m. and will face some stiff competition.
Waters, who owns a personal best of 17-0.75 and a season best of 16-10.75, will square off against Michigan State's Noah Gary. At last year's Virginia Challenge, Gary was the only vaulter to defeat Waters, clearing a personal-best 17-6.5 to Waters' 16-10. Gary went on to earn second team All-America honors with a 14th-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Glynn, who made it over a personal-best 13-3.5 at the FSU Relays on March 23, is one of 12 vaulters in the 13-member field who have been over 13 feet during their collegiate careers. West Virginia's Maddie Gardner has vaulted 14-4 and placed ninth at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. Meanwhile, Virginia's Bridget Guy joined the 14-foot club (14-1.25) earlier this season at the Miami Hurricane Invitational and is currently tied for No. 7 nationally.
On a Rolle
Freshman Branson Rolle's collegiate career is off to a flying start in the men's 400 hurdles. The Bahamas native won the event at the CSU Spring Break Invitational and FSU Relays before placing second overall (first among collegiate performers) at the Gamecock Invitational.
Rolle, who has lowered Liberty's freshman record to 52.22 seconds and ranks No. 1 in the Big South, will square off against fellow talented freshman Alfred Shirley of host Virginia, Friday at 7:22 p.m. Shirley has clocked a time of 51.66 this season.
Welcome Back
All-American Azaria Kirwa is slated to make his long-awaited return to the track on Saturday at 9:28 p.m., as the junior is entered in the Virginia Challenge 10K. He has not competed since racing in the 5K at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 9, due to injury.
Kirwa has traditionally performed well in meets hosted by UVA, beginning with his very first collegiate competition when he placed second at the 2015 UVA Duals cross country meet.
Last season, Kirwa raced to a personal-best 5K time of 14:00.29 at the Virginia Challenge.
Most recently, Kirwa placed third at the 2017 NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships just outside Charlottesville, punching his ticket to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
Big South Throws Preview
The Duke Invitational will feature most of the Big South's top throwers. The meet's throwing events are listed chronologically below with entrants currently ranked among the Big South's top five highlighted.
Women's Hammer (Friday, 10 a.m.) - No. 1 Dasiana Larson (Liberty), No. 2 Petra Jakelijic (Gardner-Webb), No. 4 Holly Arey (Liberty) and No. 5 Chelsea Igberaese (Liberty). The field also includes former Liberty All-American Jocelyn Williams and defending Big South champion Natasha Akbarizadeh of Gardner-Webb, both of whom will compete unattached.
Men's Hammer (Friday, 1 p.m.) - No. 3 William Partridge (Liberty) and No. 4 Ross Lucia (Gardner-Webb).
Women's Discus (Friday, 4 p.m.) - No. 1 Makenzi Holmes-DiGiovine (High Point), No. 2 Patria Vaimaona (Liberty), No. 3 Chelsea Igberaese (Liberty) and No. 4 Holly Arey (Liberty).
Men's Shot Put (Friday, 4:30 p.m.) - No. 1 Jordan Smith (Gardner-Webb), No. 2 William Partridge (Liberty) and No. 5 Britton Mann (High Point).
Men's Discus (Saturday, 10 a.m.) - No. 1 Jordan Smith (Gardner-Webb) and No. 2 David Ward (Campbell).
Men's Javelin (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.) - No. 1 Denzel Pratt (Liberty), No. 2 Samuel Arter (Liberty), No. 3 Caleb Hart (Liberty) and No. 4 Alexander Hoffsmith (Liberty).
Women's Shot Put (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.) - No. 1 Naomi Mojica (Liberty), No. 2 Sarah Mitchell (Gardner-Webb), No. 3 Dasiana Larson (Liberty) and No. 5 Holly Arey (Liberty).
Women's Javelin (Saturday, 5 p.m.) - No. 1 Brenna Smith (Liberty), No. 2 Paige Demetriades (Liberty) and No. 4 Kemi Moore (Liberty).
Big South's Best
About three weeks before the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Liberty ranks No. 1 in the Big South Conference in the following events.
Men's 200 - Alejandro Perlaza Zapata (21.13)
Men's 400 - Alejandro Perlaza Zapata (46.68)
Men's 800 - Bradley Prentice (1:50.52)
Men's 110 Hurdles - Jovaine Atkinson (13.77)
Men's 400 Hurdles - Branson Rolle (52.22)
Men's 4 x 100 Relay - Henderson, Perlaza Zapata, Edwards, Smalley (41.29)
Men's 4 x 400 Relay - Durham, Todd, Rolle, Perlaza Zapata (3:11.24)
Men's Pole Vault - Carson Waters (16-10.75)
Men's Triple Jump - Darrel Jones (51-1)
Men's Javelin - Denzel Pratt (216-4)
Men's Decathlon - Markus Ballengee (7,537)
Women's 400 - Tanner Ealum (55.91)
Women's 800 - Tanner Ealum (2:08.36)
Women's 10K - Noel Palmer (34:47.26)
Women's 400 Hurdles - Kimone Green (1:00.18)
Women's 4 x 100 Relay - Wilson, Green, Dansbury, Dowling (46.19)
Women's 4 x 400 Relay - Dansbury, Green, Dowling, Ealum (3:44.57)
Women's Pole Vault - Jessie Glynn (13-3.5)
Women's Shot Put - Naomi Mojica (50-0)
Women's Hammer - Dasiana Larson (198-2)
Women's Javelin - Brenna Smith (159-3)
Women's Heptathlon - Kylie Polsgrove (4,932)
Punching Tickets to Tampa
The 2018 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet will be contested at USF Track & Field Stadium, May 24-26 in Tampa, Fla. The East Region's top 48 performers in each event (other than the heptathlon and decathlon) will compete at the meet, looking to qualify for the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Based upon what it took to qualify for last year's NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet, the following Flames and Lady Flames have posted 2018 marks which could send them to Tampa in May.
Jovaine Atkinson - Men's 110 Hurdles (13.77)
Paige Demetriades - Women's Javelin (156-4)
Jessie Glynn - Women's Pole Vault (13-3.5)
Darrel Jones - Men's Triple Jump (51-1)
Dasiana Larson - Women's Hammer (198-2)
Naomi Mojica - Women's Shot Put (50-0)
Noel Palmer - Women's 10K (34:47.26)
Alejandro Perlaza Zapata - Men's 400 (46.68)
Denzel Pratt - Men's Javelin (216-4)
Branson Rolle - Men's 400 Hurdles (52.22)
Colin Schultz - Men's 1,500 (3:44.78)
Brenna Smith - Women's Javelin (159-3)
Patria Vaimaona - Women's Discus (162-10)
Carson Waters - Men's Pole Vault (16-10.75)
En Route to Eugene
The only events which are not contested at the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet are the decathlon and heptathlon. The nation's top 24 performers in each of the multi events advance straight to the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, set for June 6-9 in Eugene, Ore.
It appears that sophomore Markus Ballengee will compete in the decathlon in Eugene, thanks to his score of 7,537 at the Texas Relays. He currently ranks No. 7 nationally and is well ahead of last season's cutoff for national qualification, 7,471 points.
If Ballengee makes it to Eugene, he would be the Flames' 10th decathlete to compete at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships but the first since Daniel Newell in 2009.
Up Next
Liberty will send athletes to Lannigan Field for the second straight weekend. The Virginia Grand Prix is scheduled for April 28, with the day's first event tentatively slated for an 11 a.m. start.
