Congratulations to these student-athletes who brought home championship trophies and represented Liberty well on and off the field.
Field Hockey
Liberty (17-2) earned its third BIG EAST title in program history after besting Connecticut 2-1 in the championship game on Nov. 9 (pictured above). The victory marked the team’s fifth conference title in 15 years of the program (2021, 2022, and 2025 in the BIG EAST and 2013 and 2014 in the NorPac).
Sophomore Dara Semmartin was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, and freshman Diane Saint Martin earned BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year honors. After an unbeaten (7-0) regular season in BIG EAST play, Liberty’s coaches were also tabbed BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
With an automatic berth to the 2025 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship in Princeton, N.J., the Lady Flames fell 3-2 (4-2 in penalty shootouts) to No. 10 Syracuse (13-6) in the Sweet 16.
Women’s Cross Country
The Lady Flames won their second consecutive CUSA Cross Country title on Nov. 1, recording the second-largest margin of victory in meet history, 64 points for a 40-point finish, trailing only their own 66-point margin triumph from 2024.
Head Coach Heather Zealand repeated as CUSA Women’s Coach of the Year, and her daughter, Allie Zealand, was voted CUSA Women’s Athlete of the Year.
Allie Zealand finished first in the women’s 6K and became an All-American for the first time, thanks to her 21st-place individual finish at the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
Women’s Soccer
No. 2 seed Liberty secured its second Conference USA Women’s Soccer Championship title in three seasons, topping No. 8 seed Missouri State 3-0 at home on Nov. 7.
After receiving the automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship, Liberty faced No. 8 Clemson and lost a close 2-1 contest to the Tigers. Liberty finished the year 14-4-4 with a stellar 6-0-2 conference record.
Forward Ivy Garner was named CUSA Player of the Year, Lauren Littleton earned Defensive Player of the Year, and Peyton Huber was named Goalkeeper of the Year. Midfielder Briana Myers earned a spot on the CUSA First-Team All-Conference.
Men’s Swimming
The Flames Men’s Swimming team, a Club Sports program, won nine of 10 events in the first day of finals en route to clinching its sixth Eastern Regional Championship title in a row, convincingly beating out over 17 other College Club Swimming programs on Nov. 15-16 at the Liberty Natatorium.
The Flames, who have finished runner-up to Purdue in the past three national championship meets, racked up 1,455.5 points, surpassing the totals of the next three programs combined — University of Virginia (706.5), Penn State University (391.5), and George Mason University (305.5).
Several Liberty swimmers earned qualifying times for the CCS National Championships, which will be held in the Greensboro (N.C.) Aquatic Center April 10-12. (Follow the swimmers’ progress at Liberty.edu/ClubSports).
In the Record Book
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Allie Zealand
- Allie Zealand’s 8:44.71 3K at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston on Dec. 6 ranked No. 10 in NCAA history and was the fastest time ever run by a U.S. athlete under the age of 20. Zealand also ran a winning 4:28.89 mile in January at the Brant Tolsma Elite Invitational, breaking school, facility, and meet records.
- Elijah Sherard broke the program record with a 33.60 300-meter sprint on Jan. 16 at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
- Kellen Kimes broke the Flames’ weight throw record with his 70-8.5 effort at the Virginia Tech Challenge on Feb. 21.
- Mahogany Mobley broke the women’s 300 program record twice this school year, lowering it to the current record of 38.67 at the Virginia Tech Invitational on Jan. 16.
- Gilles Ouedraogo, a native of Burkina Faso, West Africa, broke his own record multiple times this season; the latest was his 53-1 triple jump at the CUSA Championships on Feb. 28.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
- Aly Bozzuto broke her own program record in the 200 breaststroke (2:09.47), and Kamryn Cannings broke her own program record in the 100 freestyle (48.40) at the 2026 Aemrican Conference Championship.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Zach Cleveland
- A buzzer beater by Zach Cleveland at New Mexico State on Feb. 11 lifted the Flames to a program-record-setting 15th straight victory, topping the 2019-20 team. The Flames won 17 games in a row and started 15-0 in CUSA play before their streak (the second longest in the nation at the time) was halted. Liberty went 73 days between losses during the historic run.
FOOTBALL
- Punter Max Morgan finished his five-year career with the Flames (2021-25) as Liberty’s all-time leader with a career average of 42.1 yards per punt, surpassing the previous record held by Trey Turner (40.9 yards per punt/2014-17).
