Running his first race in nearly six months, Liberty sophomore Will Jefferson was the Flames’ top performer on the opening day of the Raleigh Relays. He clocked a team-best 1,500 time of 3:47.36 at N.C. State’s Paul Derr Track Facility on Thursday.

Jefferson, who set the Liberty freshman record in the men’s 1,500 (3:45.28) and placed third in the ASUN final a year ago, had not competed since the Sept. 30 Joe Piane Invitational due to injury. On Thursday, his 3:47.36 effort paced the Flames and placed 42^nd of 196 competitors across 15 sections of the “metric mile.”

Teammate Kyle Harkabus finished just behind Jefferson in 3:47.92, while Liberty’s Tristian Merchant (3:50.71) and Isaiah Schulties (3:51.05) each recorded new personal-best times in their heats.

Closing out Liberty’s day of competition, Nicholas Kiprotich (14:24.96) and Caleb Olson (14:31.92) notched solid 5K times.

Up Next
Liberty’s lone Friday event in Raleigh will be the women’s 1,500, with six Lady Flames set to compete beginning at 4:20 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Flames will get started at the Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational at the University of Lynchburg on Friday, beginning at 2 p.m. with the men’s javelin.

Featured in Main Photo: Will Jefferson