Six Liberty Track & Field athletes prepare for NCAA Outdoor Championships in Oregon
June 8, 2026 : By Liberty Athletics
Liberty will send one of its largest groups in program history to compete in the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Wednesday through Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The Flames’ six entries include two men’s throwers: Christian Hicks, discus, and Ben Shughart, javelin; two men’s horizontal jumpers, Gilles Ouedraogo, triple jump, and Markus White, long jump; and two women’s distance runners Katrina Schlenker, steeplechase, and Allie Zealand, 1,500.
Six student-athletes matches the 2007 and 2024 seasons for the second most entries Liberty has ever qualified to this meet. The Flames earned a program-record seven entries to the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, a year Liberty sent a team-high nine athletes to the meet (including a relay squad).
This is the 11th consecutive season Liberty has been represented at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the eighth straight season a Flames thrower has qualified.
Liberty’s Competition Schedule
Wednesday, June 10
9:15 p.m. EST – Men’s Javelin (Ben Shughart) – ESPN+ (Note: Shughart is in Flight 2 and will not begin competing until after 10 p.m. Eastern)
9:40 p.m. EST – Men’s Long Jump (Markus White) – ESPN+
Thursday, June 11
8:21 p.m. EST – Women’s 1,500 Semifinals (Allie Zealand) – ESPN2
8:38 p.m. EST – Women’s Steeplechase Semifinals (Katrina Schlenker) – ESPN2
Friday, June 12
5:15 p.m. EST – Men’s Discus (Christian Hicks) – ESPN+
8:10 p.m. EST – Men’s Triple Jump (Gilles Ouedraogo) – ESPN+
Saturday, June 13
8:12 p.m. EST – Women’s 1,500 Final (Allie Zealand) – ESPN2
8:24 p.m. EST – Women’s Steeplechase Final (Katrina Schlenker) – ESPN2
>> Read the complete report and follow the Liberty Track & Field team on LibertyFlames.com.
