5 Liberty Multis to Compete in California
4/11/2022 4:49:54 PM | Track and Field
For the third week in a row, Liberty track & field athletes will compete in California. Decathletes Anthony Bryan, Daniel Van Duren and Zach Wendt and heptathletes Meredith Engle and Myiah Scott will all be in action at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Wednesday and Thursday in Azusa, Calif.
Scott will be Liberty’s first athlete in action each day, beginning the heptathlon Wednesday at 11 a.m. Eastern and starting day two Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
FloTrack will provide live video streaming throughout the Bryan Clay Invitational. At least the running event portions of the decathlon and heptathlon are expected to be included within FloTrack’s coverage.
Live results will also be provided by Finished Results.
Weather Report
Wednesday and Thursday’s forecast for Azusa calls for sunny skies and a high temperature around 70 degrees both days.
Bryan Clay Invitational Preview
The Bryan Clay Invitational is named for the Azusa Pacific alum who went on to win the 2008 Olympics gold medal in the decathlon. Appropriately, the decathlon (44 competitors) and heptathlon (82 competitors) are main events of the meet.
All five Flames will be competing in the multi events for the first time during the 2022 outdoor season. Daniel Van Duren will make his decathlon debut, while Anthony Bryan will look to complete the first healthy decathlon of his collegiate career.
Each of the Flames’ entrants posted personal-best multi-event scores during the 2021-22 indoor campaign. Bryan (5,016) and Van Duren (4,750) placed second and fourth, respectively, in the ASUN heptathlon, while Zach Wendt tallied 4,946 points during the Liberty Kickoff.
Similarly, Meredith Engle racked up a personal-best 3,896 points to win her first ASUN pentathlon title. Teammate Myiah Scott followed in eighth place with a personal-best 3,376 tallies.
Engle in particular has gotten her outdoor campaign off to a hot start, setting personal bests in the 200 (25.92), 100 hurdles (14.60), long jump (18-8.5) and javelin (131-5) thus far.
Engle’s current personal best in the heptathlon is 4,928 points, putting the sophomore within striking distance of becoming the sixth 5,000-point scorer in program history. Six years ago this week, Erika Jackson became the fourth member of Liberty’s 5,000-point club with her 5,056-point effort at Azusa Pacific, during the Mt. SAC Relays Multi Events.
The top ASUN multi-event scores thus far in 2022 belong to Kennesaw State’s Jordan Fick in the decathlon (6,372) and Eastern Kentucky’s Emma Garcia Palencia in the heptathlon (5,016).
Record Setters
Liberty has been rewriting the record books during the opening month of the 2022 outdoor season.
New ASUN Records
March 25 – Men’s 4 x 100 – 39.65 by Letts, Griffin, Lyon & McClinton (Old Record: 39.68 by ETSU, 3/31/07)
April 1 – Women’s 5K – 15:54.98 by Adelyn Ackley (Old Record: 16:10.19 by Ackley, 4/16/21)
April 1 – Men’s 5K – 13:40.82 by Ryan Drew (Old Record: 13:53.30 by Drew, 5/1/21)
April 2 – Men’s Discus – 186-3 by Kevin Nedrick (Old Record: 186-3 by Kennesaw State’s Daniel Haugh, 5/11/19)
April 2 – Men’s 4 x 100 – 39.44 by Letts, Griffin, Lyon & McClinton (Old Record: 39.65 by Letts, Griffin, Lyon & McClinton, 3/25/22)
New Program Records
March 19 – Women’s 100 – 11.48 by Isis Brooks (Old Record: 11.57 by Abigail Flower, 4/19/13)
March 24 – Men’s 1,500 – 3:41.87 by Ryan Drew (Old Record: 3:43.05 by Drew, 5/5/21)
March 25 – Men’s 4 x 100 – 39.65 by Letts, Griffin, Lyon & McClinton (Old Record: 39.86 by McFadden, Swinton, McDuffie & Marriott, 5/18/96)
April 2 – Men’s 4 x 100 – 39.44 by Letts, Griffin, Lyon & McClinton (Old Record: 39.65 by Letts, Griffin, Lyon & McClinton, 3/25/22)
Among the Nation’s Elite
Liberty ranks among the top 20 nationally in the following events at this stage of the season.
Men’s Steeplechase – No. 2 – Felix Kandie – 8:37.00
Women’s 5K – No. 15 – Adelyn Ackley – 15:54.98
Men’s 5K – No. 15 – Ryan Drew – 13:40.82
ASUN Leaders
Liberty currently ranks No. 1 in the ASUN Conference in the following events:
Men’s 100 – Christian Lyon – 10.39
Men’s 200 – Diamantae Griffin – 20.63
Men’s 5K – Ryan Drew – 13:40.82
Men’s 10K – Caleb Olson – 29:14.24
Men’s 110 Hurdles – Felix Lawrence – 14.21
Men’s 400 Hurdles – Felix Lawrence – 53.58
Men’s Steeplechase – Felix Kandie – 8:37.00
Men’s 4 x 100 Relay – 39.44
Men’s Long Jump – Quinten Clay – 24-7.25
Men’s Discus – Kevin Nedrick – 186-3
Men’s Hammer – John Hicks – 214-6
Women’s 100 – Isis Brooks – 11.48
Women’s 400 – Janai Scott – 54.07
Women’s 5K – Adelyn Ackley – 15:54.98
Women’s Pole Vault – Taylen Langin – 12-11.5
Women’s Shot Put – Naomi Mojica – 51-3.5
Women’s Discus – Megan Mann – 157-4
Women’s Hammer – Grace Artis – 191-11
Women’s Javelin – Mackenzie Hainley – 151-2
Bound for Bloomington
The NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet is scheduled for May 25-28 in Bloomington, Ind. The following Flames are likely to qualify for the meet, based upon their marks thus far in the 2022 outdoor season.
Beau Backes – Men’s Discus
Jose Ballivian – Men’s Discus
Quinten Clay – Men’s Long Jump
Ryan Drew – Men’s 1,500, 5K
Diamantae Griffin – Men’s 200, 4 x 100 Relay
John Hicks – Men’s Hammer
Felix Kandie – Men’s Steeplechase
Brandon Letts – Men’s 4 x 100 Relay
Christian Lyon – Men’s 100, 4 x 100 Relay
Donald McClinton – Men’s 200, Men’s 4 x 100 Relay
Kyle Mitchell – Men’s Shot Put
Kevin Nedrick – Men’s Shot Put, Men’s Discus
Caleb Olson – Men’s 10K
Adelyn Ackley – Women’s 5K
Isis Brooks – Women’s 100
Mackenzie Hainley – Women’s Javelin
Up Next
The rest of the Flames will compete in the inaugural Meet of Champions, Saturday in High Point, N.C. The team-scored event will pit the Flames against Charlotte, Duke, Elon, North Carolina A&T and host High Point.