Liberty University Flames

During its final weekend of competition before the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships, Liberty will send athletes to three different meets. Most of the team will compete in the 9^th annual Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational, Friday and Saturday at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. Meanwhile, Calli Doan will race at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston and nine Flames will head to Albuquerque for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational.

Televised on ESPN+ for the first time, the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational will begin Friday at 2 p.m. with the men’s weight throw, women’s long jump, open women’s pole vault and men’s 60 prelims. Saturday’s schedule of events will commence at 10:30 a.m. with the women’s high jump, women’s shot put, women’s triple jump and open men’s pole vault.

A total of 29 colleges and universities have entered athletes in the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational, including Georgetown, Maryland, Penn, Virginia, Wake Forest and many others.

Doan will race the women’s mile Friday afternoon at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center in an effort to break the program record and post an NCAA-qualifying time.

Meanwhile, the Flames and Lady Flames bound for New Mexico on Friday and Saturday include Elonzo Burroughs, Quinten Clay, Felix Lawrence, Omari Lewis, Donald McClinton, Kennedy Sauder, Indea Cartwright, Makenzy Mizera and Jasmine Williams. The meet will take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center, site of next month’s NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships.

How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames

Admission is free of charge at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational.

Live video streaming coverage will be available for all three of Liberty’s meets this weekend. The Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational will air on ESPN+ from 5:30-9 p.m. Friday and noon-4 p.m. Saturday. FloTrack will broadcast both the David Hemery Valentine Invitational and Don Kirby Elite Invitational.

Live results will also be provided for all three competitions.

Remembering Darius

Darius Dixon, a promising freshman sprinter from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, Va., opened his Liberty track & field career by competing in the 200 and 400-meter dash events at the Liberty Kickoff on Dec. 5, 2013. Two days later, he was tragically killed in a car accident at the age of 18.

In his memory, Liberty will hold a Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational meet for the ninth straight year. The inaugural Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational was contested on Dec. 3-4, 2014 at the Tolsma Indoor Track Center.

About the Facility

The 169,000-square-foot Liberty Indoor Track Complex is highlighted by a six-lane, 200-meter, hydraulically banked oval which is now named for legendary Flames head coach Brant Tolsma. The facility, which includes permanent seating for approximately 1,500 spectators, also boasts ample space for athletes. Competitors are availed a sizeable mezzanine area which sits above an eight-lane, 100-meter warm-up straightaway.

The Liberty Indoor Track Complex opened in January 2017 and has seen records broken ever since. The Liberty Kickoff (Dec. 1 & 2) opened the seventh year of competition at the facility.

The Flames will host five college meets this season, with the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships (Feb. 24-25) still to come later this month.

6 to See

The following are anticipated to be among the must-see events of the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational, organized chronologically.

Friday, 5:30 p.m. – Elite Women’s Pole Vault – Liberty’s Taylen Langin pole vaulted a personal-best 13-5.25 at last year’s Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational. She is back this year as part of a high-quality field. Last year’s USATF runner-up, Alina McDonald, will attempt to repeat as champion. She owns the meet and facility records at 15-1. The field also includes three of the NCAA’s top 20 women’s vaulters this year, including High Point’s Sydney Horn (No. 3, 14-7.25) and Mackenzie Horn (No. 13, 13-11.25) and Charlotte’s Sarah Brown (No. 17, 13-10.5).

Friday, 6 p.m. – Women’s 3K – Sisters Anna and Marie Hostetler headline Liberty’s entries in a loaded event. Anna’s personal best of 9:33.61, which ranks No. 3 in program history, was achieved at the 2021 Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational. Marie will look to improve her best of 9:41.80 after setting PRs of 2:12.76 (800) and 4:53.53 (mile) two weeks ago at Clemson. Liberty’s 3K record holder (Adelyn Ackley-Fairley, 9:24.96) will race unattached. Charlotte’s Louise Lounes, an NCAA national qualifier in the 10K last season, also figured to contend. Allie Zealand, a high school junior who is the daughter of Liberty women’s distance coach Heather Zealand, is entered, one week before she heads to Australia for the World U20 Cross Country Championships.

Saturday, 10:30 a.m. – Women’s High Jump – The best high jump clearances of Meredith Engle’s career have come at her home facility, including her 5-8.5 clearance during the Liberty Kickoff pentathlon back in December. She is entered in Saturday morning’s competition along with defending champion Emma Soderstrom of Wake Forest, an NCAA national qualifier outdoors a year ago. Sydney Koker broke the High Point high jump record with a 5-8 effort last week.

Saturday, 12:30 p.m. – Men’s 60 Hurdles Final – Two of the athletes who helped Liberty break the shuttle hurdles relay school record at last week’s Liberty Open (Cole Peterlin and Luke Anderson) are entered, along with Prosper Ekporere, who hopes to make his anticipated Flames debut after winning last Saturday’s 60 hurdles title. Charlotte All-American Justin Leaston headlines the entries, as he currently ranks No. 16 nationally with a season-best time of 7.72. The facility record of 7.71 certainly bears watching.

Saturday, 1 p.m. – Men’s Shot Put – Liberty’s Warren Barrett has enjoyed a phenomenal year in the shot put ring, breaking the program record twice. He currently ranks No. 14 nationally at 64-1.25, just one centimeter off the ASUN all-time record. Flames All-American Kevin Nedrick won the Liberty Open shot put title last Saturday with a mark of 61-9 which puts him at No. 25 in the NCAA. Wake Forest’s Thomas Kitchell was the ACC indoor and outdoor runner-up last year. Last year’s Darius Dixon champion, Chris Van Niekerk of High Point, is also expected to compete as he battles back from injury.

Saturday, 2:45 p.m. – Men’s Mile – The men’s mile was arguably the headline attraction at last year’s Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational and it did not disappoint. Virginia Tech’s Antonio Lopez Segura raced to a facility-record time of 3:56.79, leading four men under 4:00. Liberty alum Ryan Drew posted his personal best (4:01.27) that day and is seeking another fast time Saturday. The Flames’ trio of Tristian Merchant (4:08.72), Kyle Harkabus (4:10.79) and Brendan Pitcher (4:11.99) has all run well in the mile this season and will look for one final good effort prior to the ASUN meet.

All About Albuquerque

Liberty’s nine athletes heading to the Don Kirby Elite Invitational will look to take advantage of Albuquerque’s high altitude in an effort to return there for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Two-time high jump All-American Kennedy Sauder will compete in his specialty event, two weeks after winning the Bob Pollock Invitational with a season-best 7-1.75 clearance. That mark currently ranks No. 12 nationally, so Sauder will look to firm up his position within the NCAA’s top 16.

Indea Cartwright, the program record holder and ASUN leader in the women’s 60 hurdles (8.23), will attempt to climb the NCAA performance list, where she ranks No. 30 heading into the weekend. She will also compete in the open 60 dash for the first time as a Lady Flame.

Entered in the long jump and triple jump this weekend, Makenzy Mizera competed in both events at the 2020 USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships in Albuquerque. She reached a then school-record 41-10.75 for seventh place in the triple jump at the event.

Doan Getting it Done

All-American Calli Doan will be part of a talented field of college and professional women’s milers at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational. The first heat is slated for Friday at 4 p.m. at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center, which has yielded many of the NCAA’s leading times this season (and Tristian Merchant’s ASUN-record 14:00.86 5K effort in December).

Doan has been in impressive form in recent weeks. After running a personal-best 4:39.91 at the Bob Pollock Invitational on Jan. 27, she lowered her 800 best to 2:07.08 at the Liberty Open and also clocked an impressive 57.86 split in the 4 x 400 relay.

This week, Doan will take aim at one of the most notable marks on Liberty’s school record board, the 4:38.52 which her coach (Heather (Sagan) Zealand) clocked to win the 2002 NCAA national title. The ASUN all-time record is almost the same (4:38.64 by Kennesaw State’s Caroline Timm two weeks ago).

Doan raced at this facility as a freshman during the 2019 ECAC Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. She clocked a season-best mile time of 4:54.38 and anchored the distance medley relay squad to a third-place finish, helping the Lady Flames capture the team championship.

Atop the ASUN

With the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships rapidly approaching, Liberty ranks No. 1 in the ASUN Conference in the following events:

Women’s 60 Hurdles – Indea Cartwright – 8.23

Women’s Triple Jump – Makenzy Mizera – 41-3.75

Women’s Shot Put – Megan Mann – 46-8

Women’s Weight Throw – Paola Bueno – 65-2.75

Pentathlon – Meredith Engle – 3,960

Men’s 60 – Omari Lewis – 6.74

Men’s 200 – Donald McClinton – 21.49

Men’s 800 – Ally Kipchirchir – 1:49.18

Men’s 5K – Tristian Merchant – 14:00.86

Men’s 60 Hurdles – Felix Lawrence – 8.09

Men’s High Jump – Kennedy Sauder – 7-1.75

Men’s Shot Put – Warren Barrett – 64-1.25

Heptathlon – Anthony Bryan – 5,334

Among the Nation’s Elite

At season’s end, the nation’s top 16 performers in each event will qualify to the 2023 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. The meet is scheduled for March 10-11 in Albuquerque, N.M.

The following Flames currently rank among the top 16 in their respective events:

No. 12 – Kennedy Sauder – High Jump – 7-1.75

No. 14 – Warren Barrett – Men’s Shot Put – 64-1.25

Up Next

Liberty will now prepare to host the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships, Feb. 24-25 at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. Both Liberty squads will look to defend their titles from 2022. The men’s team has won 25 straight indoor track & field conference championships dating back to 1998, including 21 in the Big South and four in the ASUN.

Featured in Main Photo: Darius Dixon

Schedule

9th Annual Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational Headlines Trio of Meets