Clendon Henderson became the second Liberty athlete in as many days to set a new Big South Conference record at the 113th Penn Relays, doing so in the men's discus, Friday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. 

Henderson's (Jr., Meadow, Texas) heave of 186-3 highlighted the Liberty men's efforts on the middle day of the meet. Meanwhile, the Lady Flames' 4 x 200 relay quartet of Andrea Beckles (So., Lynchburg, Va.), Charlene Hibbert (Jr., Mississauga, Ontario), Tra' Screen (So., Lynchburg, Va.) and Arlene Zelinskas (Sr., Dayton, Ohio) qualified for Saturday afternoon's ECAC final with the second-best time in program history, a 1:39.06. 

Henderson's mark enabled him to place fourth in an event which featured a quartet of discus throwers ranked in the Top 10 on the national performance list, including event champion, Adam Kuehl of Arizona, who is listed third nationally. Kuehl's victorious throw measured 195-8. Henderson improved upon his existing Big South and program record of 181-9, achieved April 6 at the Texas Relays, jumping into the national Top 25 himself. Carol Jefferson (Jr., Schwenksville, Pa.) had been the first Liberty athlete to establish a conference record during the meet, setting a new standard in the women's 10,000 meters, late Thursday night. 

Earlier in the day, which was hindered by a pair of lightning delays, Henderson had thrown the shot put 51-0 to finish 12th in the college men's section. Classmate Jon Hart (Wyomissing, Pa.), participating in the championship section of the event, placed sixth with a throw of 54-2. 

Another Liberty field event athlete who kept busy on Friday was Matt Parker (So., Rome, N.Y.). He opened his day by leaping to a third-place finish in the "Eastern" section of the men's high jump. Parker's top clearance was 6-8.25. Parker then went on to long jump a season-best 22-7.75, a distance good for ninth place in the college men's section of the discipline. 

On the track, the Lady Flames' 4 x 200 unit fell just .12 shy of the school record in the event, achieved at the 2000 Penn Relays. The team placed fifth in its heat and was 23rd overall in the preliminary round. The same quartet notched a conference record in the 4 x 100 relay, last Saturday at the Big South Outdoor Track Championships. 

In another women's relay race, the sprint medley, Liberty finished 17th out of 43 teams with a time of 4:02.15. Hibbert, Zelinskas, Chenoa Freeman (Fr., Lincoln, Del.) and Jaime Watson (So., Ravenna, Mich.) teamed up for the fourth-fastest mark in program history, and the fastest clocking in six years. 

The Liberty men's sprint medley unit of Phil Leineweber (So., New Freedom, Pa.), Josh Gilreath (Jr., Reidsville, N.C.), Travis Campbell (Sr., Candler, N.C.) and Oronde Vassell (So., New York, N.Y.) clocked a 3:27.92 in the next-to-last race of the evening. The team finished third in its heat and 23rd overall. 

Tim O'Donnell (Jr., Hurst, Texas) was also in action during the middle day of the meet. He ran one of the day's initial races, the 400-meter hurdles, and placed 22nd of 58 entrants with a time of 54.37. 

The 2007 edition of the Penn Relays will come to a close Saturday, with events beginning as early as 7 a.m. In addition to the women's 4 x 200 relay squad's final, Hart and Henderson will throw the hammer during the meet's third and final day of action.