Club Sports inducts three new Hall of Fame members

Liberty University’s Club Sports department enshrined its 12th Hall of Fame class on Wednesday night in the School of Music’s Center for Music and the Worship Arts, Concert Hall. The inductees’ acceptance speeches were staggered throughout the department’s end-of-year Choice Awards, honoring its best academic and athletic performances, coaches, and student-athletes.

The new Hall of Fame members are: triathlete Megan Merryman, who graduated with her B.S. in Exercise Science in 2017; four-time NCWA Grand National championship women’s wrestler Cendall (Manley) Murphy, who completed her B.S. in Psychology: Counseling in 2020 and her M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2023; and men’s volleyball setter Kaden Knepper, who earned his B.S. in Sport Psychology in 2019 and his M.S. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology in 2021.

Flames Central co-anchors Rett McGibbon and Matt Warner emceed the festive, semi-formal gala for the 10th time.

“Even though (triathlon) pushed my limits like no other sport had before, I loved the challenge and the reward of going farther than I thought possible,” Merryman said. “The Lord has gifted us as athletes with unique abilities and passions for our sports, first and foremost for His glory, but also for our enjoyment and benefit.”

She placed sixth at the NCAA Division I Women’s Triathlon National Championships in New Orleans as a senior in early November 2016, earning her pro card before also qualifying for the Draft-Legal Duathlon World Championships.

“I am incredibly grateful for my time at Liberty and the opportunity I had to be a part of the triathlon team, for the friendships I made and the life lessons I learned,” Merryman said, addressing the hundreds of Club Sports student-athletes in attendance. “I want to congratulate all of the athletes here on their hard work and dedication to their sports and also for their accomplishments athletically and academically. May the Lord bless you all as you pursue Him and the athletic talents and abilities He has given you.”

Knepper was an All-National Collegiate Volleyball Federation First Team honoree after leading the Flames to a best-ever third-place showing at the NCVF National Championships in Denver his senior season. He was also recognized as the East Coast Championships Most Valuable Player after guiding Liberty to its first tournament title.

He later served as an assistant coach on the Lady Flames’ beach volleyball and NCAA Division I indoor volleyball teams before playing an instrumental role in coaching MSU-Denver to a 32-3 season and first-ever NCAA Division II national championship in his fourth season as assistant coach this past fall. This spring, he has started in the same position at NCAA DI American University in Washington, D.C.

At the end of his acceptance speech, Knepper led the crowd in the worship song, “You’re Worthy of It All.”

Murphy thanked her father, Randy Manley (’87); Head Coach Jesse Castro (’81, ’85, ‘15), Liberty’s first four-time NCCAA national champion in 1981; older sister Charisse (Manley) McIlhenny (’21), who won an NCWA Grand National title in 2019 and became head coach of the women’s wrestling program this season after serving as assistant to Castro since 2020; and her husband, three-time NCWA Grand National champion Josiah Murphy (’22, ‘24).

“Dad, you were my first coach and you didn’t just teach me how to wrestle, you taught me how to live,” she said. “You showed me what it means to live for Christ when no one else is watching. Coach Castro, you caught a vision for what women’s wrestling at Liberty could become … and you refined my wrestling, but more importantly, you refined my character. ‘Risse, my sister, my friend, you made me better in ways that no one else could, sharpening me as iron sharpens iron. Josiah, thank you for being my consistent, God-given anchor.”

>> Read the full story detailing the Choice Awards winners on the Club Sports webpage.