Equestrian Center upgrades enhance recreation offerings
The expansion of Liberty University’s Equestrian Center was completed this spring, providing more recreational opportunities for students and elevating the fourth-year competitive equestrian program to regional prominence.
Additions to the 380-acre facility include a new outdoor ring and a new indoor arena. A new barn features 24 stalls (bringing the center’s total to 60) as well as a team room and a locker room for the 33 members of the Club Sports Equestrian program.
Starting last fall, the center offered classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced riding and horsemanship through Liberty’s kinesiology department. In May, the center debuted its therapeutic program as a method of providing stress relief for students, giving them the chance to care for the animals in a peaceful retreat setting.
Liberty’s Hunt Seat and Western teams enjoyed exceptional seasons. Rising junior Hunt Seat rider Kendall Burdette, competing in the intermediate flat division, won the prestigious Tournament of Champions High Medal award, leading Liberty to a seventh-place team showing in its first season of the national-level series. Captain Elizabeth Chenelle, who graduated in May, received the Cacchione Cup trophy as the Region 4 high-points champion, leading the Lady Flames to the regular-season title in their first year competing in that region. She was Liberty’s first participant in the 50th annual IHSA Collegiate National Championships in Lexington, Ky., in May, placing 10th out of 41 open riders.
Sophomore Western rider Leah Ofalt was Liberty’s first Southeastern semifinals qualifier and advanced to the finals before placing eighth overall.
Besides attracting prospective riders, the enhanced facilities have helped draw high-level shows. Liberty will host the equestrian events of this summer’s Virginia Commonwealth Games for a second time in late July as well as a variety of Virginia Horse Show Association shows. It has landed two IHSA Hunt Seat shows next February — a regular-season event and the IHSA Region 4 Championships on Feb. 24.
Commonwealth Games come to campus for second year
Liberty University will greet thousands of athletes over the summer as the campus hosts the Virginia Commonwealth Games at Liberty University for the second year.
Liberty is the title sponsor of the annual amateur sports festival, which will see approximately 10,000 athletes of all ages flock to the Lynchburg area to compete in more than 50 sports. A large crowd is expected for Main Games Weekend on July 21-23, when about 30 sporting events will take place. The weekend will kick off on Friday afternoon with festivities in the Olympic Village on campus, followed by a tailgate party in the new football indoor practice facility and a parade of athletes at the opening ceremony in the Vines Center. Vernell “Bimbo” Coles, who won bronze for basketball in the 1988 Olympics and is a retired NBA player, will be the featured speaker. The newly crowned Miss Virginia is also scheduled to attend.
Reports indicated a $1.6 million economic impact on the City of Lynchburg from the 2016 games and over $2.2 million on the state as a whole.
Liberty is already making preparations to host The State Games of America in 2019. The four-day, biannual competition is open to medal winners from State Games around the United States and is projected to have a $5 million economic impact on the Lynchburg area.
To register for the Commonwealth Games, visit CommonwealthGames.org.
Track teams capture conference crowns
Denzell Pratt
Tanner Ealum
For the third consecutive season, Liberty University’s outdoor track teams swept the men’s and women’s titles at the Big South Conference (BSC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The event was held on May 12 at Bagwell-Settle Track in Charleston, S.C.
It was the 11th straight crown and 22nd overall for the Flames’ men’s squad and the 16th title for the Lady Flames.
The men’s team racked up 279 points, far outdistancing runner-up Campbell (130 points) for the Flames’ largest margin of victory at this meet since 2001. Liberty senior Stephen Racanelli had a hand in three victories (men’s 200- and 400- meter dashes and the 1,600 relay), earning BSC Men’s Outstanding Track Performer honors. Sophomore teammate Denzel Pratt shared the BSC Men’s Outstanding Field Performer award after winning the men’s javelin with a Bahamian national record throw of 232 feet.
The Lady Flames defeated runner-up Campbell by a score of 253-162. Freshman Tanner Ealum won the 400 in 54.65 seconds to complete a sweep of the BSC indoor and outdoor 400 titles before Mary Witmer lowered her own program record in the women’s 400 hurdles to 59.84.
Liberty Head Coach Brant Tolsma was named the BSC Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year. He has now guided the men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field and cross country teams to 94 Big South team championships in his 31 years with the program.
National wrestling tourney highlighted by two champions, one proposal
Josh Ferenczy
Cendell Manley
Liberty University’s wrestling program produced two individual champions — one men’s and its first women’s — at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) Grand National Championships in Allen, Texas, March 9-11.
Recent graduate Josh Ferenczy, the 174-pound men’s team captain, earned the national crown with a 6-2 decision over Penn State-Monto Alto’s Clay Kocsis. Immediately after his national championship triumph, Ferenczy got down on the mat again — this time with a ring in hand — to propose to graduate student and second-year team manager Riana Turner in front of the crowd.
“That was the first time in 34 years of coaching that I’ve seen that happen at a wrestling match,” Liberty Head Coach Jesse Castro said.
Liberty (155.5 points) placed second as a team to defending champion Emmanuel (Ga.) College (233.5) on the strength of its seven All-Americans.
The unprecedented night at nationals also featured Lady Flames freshman Cendall Manley capturing the 170-pound crown in the female division, becoming Liberty’s first NCWA women’s national tournament champion. She defeated Richland College’s Alexus Sauceda by fall in 6 minutes, 16 seconds in the championship bout.
The former Hawaii high school girls’ state champion is the daughter of former Flames wrestler Randy Manley (’87), who competed for Liberty in the mid-1980s. He is now a missionary on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.
Cendall Manley will be a key member of the Lady Flames next year, as women’s wrestling officially becomes a part of Liberty’s Club Sports program.
