Lady Flames triathlete places in top 25 of two national races

Megan Merryman runs barefoot between the swim and cycling stages of Friday’s Draft-Legal Challenge.

Liberty University women’s triathlete Megan Merryman capped a phenomenal junior season with two top-25 finishes at the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships, which featured a record 1,350 participants Friday and Saturday at Clemson University.

She was the Lady Flames’ top competitor for the second year in a row, placing 21st out of more than 500 female triathletes in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 52.46 seconds. She saved her best performance for last, completing the 10-kilometer run in 44:14, the ninth-fastest time in the field.

“It was definitely a huge jump,” Liberty Head Coach Parker Spencer said after Merryman recovered from her 88th-place showing in the 1,500-meter swim in 23:55 and 56th-best 40K time in the cycling stage in 1:16.13. “She came off the bike in 49th place and passed enough girls to get 21st.”

In the men’s race, Liberty graduate Joseph Anderson battled dehydration after losing a water bottle early in the cycling stage but still finished first among the five Flames and 83rd overall out of 773 finishers in 2:12:30.32.

On Friday, Merryman finished 23rd place out of 42 starters in Draft Legal Challenge after passing 17 triathletes on her fourth-best 5K run (19:23) for a total time of 1:07:22.47.

With a strong showing at the Oct. 15 Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, hosted by Liberty at Smith Mountain Lake, Merryman — who is planning to turn pro this summer — could earn one of 75 bids to compete in the NCAA Division I Draft Legal Women’s National Championships in November.

• Read the full story on Liberty’s Club Sports website.