Liberty University Flames

The Liberty men’s and women’s cross country teams will be split up between two different meets on Friday. The team’s top seven men’s and women’s runners will compete in the 35^th Roy Griak Invitational at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis, Minn. A separate group of Liberty runners will race in the Queen City Invite at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, N.C.

The Roy Griak Invitational will begin with the men’s 8K at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. The women’s 6K will follow at 12:15 p.m. Eastern.

At the Queen City Invite, the women’s 5K will get started at 4:15 p.m. and the men’s 8K will follow at 5 p.m.

How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames

Live results will be available at the Roy Griak Invitational, courtesy of Prime Time Timing.

Weather Report

Friday’s weather in Minneapolis calls for a mixture of clouds and sun with a high in the low 60s.

In Charlotte, sunny skies and a high in the mid 70s are expected on Friday.

Checking Out the Course

Liberty will race at the Les Bolstad Golf Course for the first time in 15 years. On Sept. 23, 2006, the Flames competed at the Roy Griak Invitational, and Josh McDougal held off Northern Arizona’s Lopez Lomong to claim the men’s 8K individual title.

It has only been two years since Liberty competed at McAlpine Creek Park, when a group of Lady Flames took part in the 2019 Queen City Invite. Five current Lady Flames’ cross country 5K personal-best times were achieved at the flat, fast course in 2018.

Noel Palmer clocked a then school-record time of 17:09 at the 2018 Queen City Invite. That year, Kyley Sorg (18:14), Sophia Jantomaso (18:32), Jessica Rogers (18:57) and Rebekah Leone (19:20) also posted their fastest cross country 5Ks as a Lady Flame on the same course.

Scouting the Competition

Liberty will square off against a trio of nationally ranked opponents in both races in Minnesota. The Roy Griak men’s race features No. 3 BYU, No. 10 Iowa State and No. 26 Michigan State.

Currently receiving votes in the national poll, the Lady Flames will match up against No. 6 Michigan State, No. 10 Minnesota and No. 30 Iowa State.

The field at the Queen City Invite will primarily consist of non-Division I teams. However, Liberty will race against new ASUN member Jacksonville State for the first time this season along with Southeast Region foe Charlotte.

Off to a Fast Start

The Liberty women’s cross country team enjoyed an historic spring 2021 season. The Lady Flames captured their first ASUN Conference team title and qualified to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships as a team for the first time, placing 26^th.

The Lady Flames opened the fall 2021 campaign with a team title at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational, Sept. 10 in Blacksburg, Va. Led by a 1-2 individual finish from Adelyn Ackley and Calli Doan, Liberty outdistanced host Virginia Tech by a score of 18-37 atop the six-team field.

Ackley and Doan were followed closely by teammates Noel Palmer (fourth), Grace Dwyer (fifth) and Anna Hostetler (sixth).

Liberty is currently ranked No. 6 in the Southeast Region, just one spot off its highest-ever regional ranking. The Lady Flames have also received votes in the national Top 30 poll each week this season.

Amazing Adelyn

Adelyn Ackley’s women’s 6K individual title at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational was her fifth victory in 10 career college cross country races.

On Sept. 14, Ackley was named ASUN Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week for the fifth time in her career. The junior from Mears, Mich., is just the fourth athlete in conference history ever to claim five or more ASUN Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week honors.

Fresh Faces

Freshman Jack Cottrell is slated to make his Liberty cross country debut at the Roy Griak Invitational on Friday.

Meanwhile, six Lady Flames are expected to make their Liberty debuts during the Queen City Invite. These include a pair of transfers (Catherine Farrell: Manhattan and Madison Hemenway: Hardin-Simmons) and four freshmen (Hope Carr, Rebekah Simmons, Samantha Troup and Sofia Van Arsdale).

Up Next

Liberty will again divide its team between two different meets on Oct. 15, including the FSU XC Invite/Pre-Nationals (Tallahassee, Fla.) and the VertCross Invitational (Kernersville, N.C.)

Schedule

Liberty XC Prepared for Friday Meets in Minnesota, NC