Liberty Sweeps ASUN Track Weekly Awards

On the eve of the 2022 ASUN Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Liberty has swept the season’s final set of ASUN Conference weekly awards. The Flames’ honorees include Adelyn Ackley (Women’s Track Athlete of the Week), Ayanna Johnson (Women’s Field Athlete of the Week), Mia Bowers (Women’s Freshman of the Week), Christian Lyon (Men’s Track Athlete of the Week), Quinten Clay (Men’s Field Athlete of the Week) and Will Jefferson (Men’s Freshman of the Week).

A native of Mears, Mich., Ackley is now a three-time ASUN Women’s Track Athlete of the Week for her career. She clocked a personal-best time of 4:23.78 to place third in the women’s 1,500 at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier. The effort ranks No. 4 in program history.

A New Oxford, Pa., native, Johnson earns her second ASUN Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honor after a record-breaking performance at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier. She won the women’s long jump with a mark of 20-8 that shattered both the school record that had stood since 1984 and the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex record. Johnson currently ranks No. 1 in the ASUN and No. 28 nationally.

A native of Woodridge, Ill., Bowers becomes a two-time ASUN Women’s Freshman of the Week. She tied for sixth in the women’s pole vault’s A section at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier with a career-best 12-9.5 clearance. Bowers climbed to No. 4 in program history as a result.

A native of Fayetteville, N.C., Lyon picks up his first ASUN Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honor this season and the fourth of his career. He won the Liberty Twilight Qualifier men’s 100 in a season-best time of 10.20. Lyon ranks No. 1 in the ASUN and No. 40 nationally this season, while moving into a tie for second on Liberty’s all-time list.

A Portsmouth, Va., native, Clay claims his second ASUN Men’s Field Athlete of the Week plaudit. He won the Liberty Twilight Qualifier men’s long jump with a personal-best leap of 25-3.5 into a headwind. Clay ranks No. 1 in the ASUN this season and No. 34 nationally with the longest jump by a Flame in 18 years.

A native of Whiteland, Ind., Jefferson is now a three-time ASUN Men’s Freshman of the Week. He came in sixth in the Liberty Twilight Qualifier men’s 1,500 in a personal-best and Liberty freshman-record 3:45.28. That performance ranks No. 6 in program history.

Liberty enters the 2022 ASUN Outdoor Track & Field Championships as the defending men’s and women’s team champion. The meet will take place Thursday through Saturday at Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.