Liberty Women's XC Preparing for 1st-Ever NCAA Championships Appearance
3/12/2021 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Live Video (ESPNU)
Live Results
Course Information
Stillwater Weather
On Monday, the Liberty women's cross country team will make history as the first squad in program history (men's or women's) to compete at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. The meet will take place at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla., with the women's 6K set for a 12:50 p.m. Eastern start.
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Monday's race will be televised commercial-free on ESPNU, with the broadcast beginning at 12:30 p.m. Eastern.
Live results, featuring in-progress splits and team scores, will be provided by Prime Time Timing.
Weather Report
Monday's weather forecast for Stillwater calls for a high in the low 60s with a mixture of sun and clouds and a 15-25 MPH breeze.
What's at Stake?
The top 40 individual finishers in Monday's race will earn All-America recognition.
Ednah Kurgat is Liberty's only NCAA Division I women's cross country All-American to date. She placed 12th at the 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Championship with a 6K program-record time of 20:06.7.
None of the Lady Flames who will be competing in Stillwater on Monday have earned All-America honors thus far in their collegiate careers.
This will be Liberty's first team competition at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. The Lady Flames' top team finish at an NCAA Division I championship event on the track was an outright 15th-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships.
How They Got Here
Liberty was selected for its NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships debut on the basis of its performances in three meets this season.
CSU Buccaneer Invitational (Jan. 23 – Charleston, S.C.) – Despite competing without stalwarts Adelyn Ackley and Noel Palmer, Liberty won the four-team CSU Buccaneer Invitational with a perfect score of 15. Calli Doan, Priscillah Kiplagat, Grace Dwyer, Anna Hostetler and Marie Hostetler placed 1-2-3-4-5, with all five clocking 5K times of 17:47 or faster.
FSU Winter Cross Country Classic (Feb. 5 – Tallahassee, Fla.) – Top-25 individual finishes by Calli Doan (13th place, 6K personal-best 20:38.9) and Adelyn Ackley (23rd place, 20:47.2) led the Lady Flames to a seventh-place team finish at the FSU Winter Cross Country Classic. The only six teams to defeat Liberty that day (Colorado, Stanford, Duke, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and West Virginia) also qualified for the NCAA national meet.
ASUN Cross Country Championships (March 5 – Macon, Ga.) – After finishing second to Lipscomb in 2018 and 2019, Liberty captured its first ASUN women's cross country team title in dominating fashion with a winning score of 19 that tied the lowest score in the meet's 36-year history. For the second year in a row, Adelyn Ackley and Calli Doan finished as ASUN individual champion and runner-up, respectively. This year, they were followed closely by a slew of teammates, including Grace Dwyer (third), Priscillah Kiplagat (sixth), Noel Palmer (seventh), Marie Hostetler (eighth), Emma Bower (11th) and Anna Hostetler (14th).
Lady Flames at a Glance
Adelyn Ackley (Sophomore from Mears, Mich.)
Cross Country 6K PR: 20:33.3
Top Track Times: 5K – 16:25.24
Notable: Ackley arrived as Liberty as the women's cross country team's most highly-touted recruit in program history. She was a two-time Foot Locker national qualifier during her time at Hart High School, placing 10th in 2017 and 16th in 2018. Ackley clocked a 3,200 time of 10:13.37 in high school. She was captured back-to-back individual titles at the ASUN Cross Country Championships to begin her collegiate career. However, an injury prevented Ackley from finishing at the 2019 NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships and kept her from competing at all during the 2020 indoor track & field season. As a result, she has only competed in two races on the track thus far at Liberty. Most recently, Ackley won the women's 5K title on her home track at the 2021 ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 27, clocking a meet-record and Liberty freshman-record time of 16:25.24.
Emma Bower (Junior from Powell, Ohio)
Cross Country 6K PR: 21:55.2
Top Track Times: 3K – 9:54.59, 5K – 17:11.20
Notable: Bower posted some lofty state finishes early in her time at Olentangy Liberty High School, near Columbus, Ohio. She was the Ohio Division I 3,200 state runner-up as a freshman and placed third at the Ohio Division I state cross country meet as a sophomore. She arrived at Liberty with a 3,200 PR of 10:47.17. Bower has been a steady and consistent cross country performer for the Lady Flames, placing 18th, 10th and 11th in her three appearances at the ASUN Cross Country Championships. Her most impressive track performance to date was a personal-best 17:11.20 5K for third place at the 2020 ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships. At this year's ASUN indoor meet (Feb. 27), Bower clocked 17:12.24 for sixth place in the women's 5K final.
Calli Doan (Junior from Apex, N.C.)
Cross Country 6K PR: 20:38.9
Top Track Times: Mile – 4:45.84, 3K – 9:54.46
Notable: Doan blossomed as a senior at Apex High School, headlined by her individual qualification to the 2017 Nike Cross Nationals. She also posted times of 5:02.61 (1,600) and 10:57.23 (3,200) on the track. At Liberty, Doan has been an exceptional championship performer. She placed fifth at the 2018 ASUN Cross Country Championships, earning ASUN Freshman of the Year honors. The last two years, Doan came in a close second to teammate Ackley at the ASUN Cross Country Championships. At the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships, Doan came in 41st (eighth among freshmen) in 2018 and 26th in 2019. On the track, Doan has collected six ASUN gold medals. Most recently, she was victorious in both the distance medley relay (for the third straight year) and mile at the 2021 ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships. In the DMR, Doan received the baton more than eight seconds behind Kennesaw State but came back to win the race with a 4:47.06 1,600 split. The following day, Doan dominated the women's mile field with a personal-best time of 4:45.84 which ranks No. 2 in program history to 2002 NCAA Division I national champion Heather Sagan. Doan's maiden name is Parlier. She was married to former Liberty men's distance runner Nick Doan in 2020.
Grace Dwyer (Redshirt Senior from Mercerville, N.J. by way of Furman)
Cross Country 6K PR: 20:55.5
Top Track Times: 3K – 9:52.28, 5K – 16:53.74
Notable: Dwyer qualified for the 2013 Nike Cross Nationals as an individual at Hamilton North-Nottingham High School. As a junior, she clocked a personal-best 3,200 time of 10:21.46 to win the New Jersey Meet of Champions 3,200 title. Dwyer started her collegiate career with four successful years at Furman (2016-20). Monday will be her third visit to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, as Dwyer previously helped the Paladins place seventh as a team in 2017 and ninth in 2019. Her top individual finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships is 125th in 2017, when she clocked a 6K personal-best time of 20:55.5 in Louisville, Ky. Dwyer was a three-time SoCon all-conference cross country runner for Furman and was the 2019 SoCon 10K champion on the track. She has made an immediate impact during her first year as a graduate transfer at Liberty, headlined by her third-place showing at the ASUN Cross Country Championships. Dwyer also recently broke the 17:00 barrier for the first time with a 16:53.74 5K at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational.
Anna Hostetler (Junior from Parnell, Iowa by way of Iowa)
Cross Country 6K PR: 21:25.9
Top Track Times: 3K – 9:33.61, 5K – 16:47.05
Notable: Hostetler was home schooled but competed for Mid-Prairie High School. She was an eight-time Iowa state champion between the 800, 1,500, 3K, distance medley relay and cross country. Hostetler's high school 3K PR was 9:47.52. She spent the first year and a half of college at Iowa. She placed 54th at the 2018 NCAA Division I Midwest Region Championships and clocked a 16:47.05 5K while competing for the Hawkeyes. Hostetler transferred to Liberty in January 2020, so this is her first cross country season with the Lady Flames. She earned her first All-ASUN medal with a 14th-place finish at the ASUN Cross Country Championships. Hostetler also raced to a 3K PR of 9:33.61 indoors on Feb. 13, just missing Ednah Kurgat's program record.
Marie Hostetler (Freshman from Parnell, Iowa)
Cross Country 6K PR: 21:48.3
Top Track Times: 3K – 9:41.80, 5K – 16:53.80
Notable: The younger sister of Anna, Marie Hostetler is the lone freshman on this year's cross country roster. She captured three straight Iowa state cross country titles after finishing second to Anna as a freshman. Hostetler also qualified for Nike Cross Nationals as a senior. Her high school 3K PR was 9:52.50. She came in eighth at the ASUN Cross Country Championships, earning All-ASUN and All-Freshman Team honors. One week earlier, Hostetler had recorded a third-place 3K finish at the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships in a personal-best 9:41.80.
Priscillah Kiplagat (Sophomore from Eldoret, Kenya)
Cross Country 6K PR: 21:34.1
Top Track Times: 3K – 9:40.42, 5K – 17:05.30
Notable: Kiplagat made an immediate impact a year ago as a freshman, making the All-ASUN and All-Freshman teams with a 12th-place showing at the 2019 ASUN Cross Country Championships. She also came in 69th at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships. Kiplagat has kept busy in recent weeks, with impressive results. The only Lady Flame to race the 3K/5K double at the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships, Kiplagat was the 3K runner-up (personal-best 9:40.42) and placed third in the 5K (personal-best 17:05.30). Less than a week later, Kiplagat came in sixth at the ASUN Cross Country Championships, serving as the Lady Flames' No. 4 runner that day.
Noel Palmer (Redshirt Junior from Forest, Va.)
Cross Country 6K PR: 20:27.0
Top Track Times: 3K – 9:50.37, 5K – 16:28.13, 10K – 33:56.67
Notable: Palmer is the only local product among the Lady Flames' top eight runners this season, graduating from Liberty Christian Academy, located adjacent to the Liberty University campus. She won a Virginia state cross country title as a senior and ran a 10:52.57 two mile on the track. Palmer and Lauren Hirneisen are the longest-tenured members of the current team, both arriving on campus in the fall of 2017. Palmer's top cross country season to date was the 2018 campaign, when she was the ASUN runner-up (to 2020 NCAA individual qualifier Courtney Brenner of Lipscomb) and placed 18th at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships with a personal-best 20:27.0 6K effort. After missing the 2019 season due to injury, Palmer has returned to action this season. She rounded out the Lady Flames' five scorers with a seventh-place finish at the recent ASUN Cross Country Championships. On the track, Palmer is a two-time NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round qualifier in the 10K (2018 and 2019). She raced to a program-record 10K time of 33:56.67 at the 2019 Raleigh Relays. This year, Palmer was the fifth-place 5K runner at the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships after posting a 16:54.96 earlier in the season.
Coach Rachel Johnson
Johnson, who joined the Liberty coaching staff during the summer of 2019, was named ASUN Women's Coach of the Year at the recent ASUN Cross Country Championships after coaching the Lady Flames to their first conference title. A six-time All-American at Baylor, Johnson made two NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships appearances as a student-athlete. She placed 107th individually at the 2013 meet before returning with the Baylor team in 2014. That season, Johnson placed fifth overall and Baylor came in 19th as a team. She is still competing at a high level herself, hoping to make her second U.S. Olympic Trials appearance this summer. Johnson is the only runner to defeat Adelyn Ackley in a 5K on the track or cross country course in 2021. She was the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational 5K champion in 16:04.99 on Feb. 12.
Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lance Bingham
Bingham is in his first season as Liberty's Director of Track & Field and Cross Country after serving as an assistant for 18 seasons during two previous stints (1995-2001 and 2004-16). Most recently, Bingham served as the head track & field and cross country coach at Abilene Christian for four years (2016-20). In 2017, Abilene Christian captured the Southland Conference women's cross country team title and sent a pair of runners to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Bingham also oversaw successful distance runners during three years (2001-04) as head coach at South Plains Junior College. His 2002 women's marathon squad won the NJCAA national title.
Steps to Stillwater
Liberty University is one of the youngest NCAA Division I institutions, as the school was founded in 1971 as Liberty Baptist College.
In 1977, Jake Matthes started the women's track & field and cross country programs. Shortly thereafter, Ron Hopkins became the first women's head coach.
One year before moving up to the NCAA Division I ranks, the Lady Flames placed fourth as a team at the 1987 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in Evansville, Ind. The team was paced by Liberty Athletics Hall of Famer Annie Hunt Fairchild (10th place) and Lori Lingenfelter (27th place).
Just prior to the start of the 1990 cross country season, Hopkins tragically died while out on a routine run.
Brant Tolsma took over as the Lady Flames' track & field and cross country coach as the team joined the Big South Conference in 1991. The Lady Flames won the first two Big South Cross Country Championships they competed in (1991 and 1992) and went on to win nine conference titles overall (also 2000, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2016).
The Lady Flames' best-ever finish at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships was seventh place in 2007.
The Lady Flames have been represented at four previous editions of the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Heather Sagan placed 59th in 2000 and 74th in 2001. Jennifer Klugh came in 93rd in 2012, while Ednah Kurgat took 12th place in 2015.
Sagan is the program's most accomplished women's distance runner on the track. She was the surprise winner of the women's mile at the 2002 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships as a senior. Later that year, she came in second in the 1,500 at the 2002 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.