MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Liberty Flames’ men’s and women’s squads were crowned Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Champions following three days of action-packed competition in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
 
A strong day three pushed the Lady Flames to the top of the leaderboard. They were able to defend their outdoor title, collecting 161 points to secure the victory. Liberty led runners-up, Kennesaw State, who finished with 121 points.
 
It was a landslide victory for the Flames on the men’s side. The team tallied 244 points, placing them ahead of runners-up, Kennesaw State (147). Their 97-point advantage marked the largest margin of victory for a men’s program in conference history.
 
The men’s javelin throw was the first event to take off on championship morning. Liberty’s Ben Shughart ran away with gold, hitting 73.85 meters on his fifth attempt. Joining him on the podium were FIU’s Blake Orr (66.64m) and Kennesaw State’s Aidan Boyd (64.93m).
 
For the women’s javelin, FIU controlled the leaderboard, placing four in the top eight. Gold and silver went to the Pather squad, with Isabell-Mary Luik winning on a throw of 50.81 meters and Arndis Oskarsdottir taking second on a throw of 50.24 meters. Finishing third was Liberty’s Isabella Frattura with a throw of 49.75 meters.
 
Discus was the next to finish, posting another Liberty podium sweep. Christian Hicks took gold with a 57.15-meter toss, Beau Backes took silver with a personal best mark of 55.48 meters and Trevor Veenstra took bronze with a mark of 54.22 meters. The Flames’ dominance in the discus marks the first time a program has swept the championship podium in league history.
 
Delaware’s Olamide Ayeni controlled the women’s discus, winning the event on a personal-best first attempt of 55.10 meters. She led LA Tech’s Kaitlyn Washington (54.33m) who finished second, and NM State’s Alesha Lane (52.35m) in third.
 
In the men’s triple jump, Liberty’s Gilles Ouedraogo took gold on a 15.96-meter attempt. Kennesaw State’s Chinedum Ike (15.69m) finished second, followed by Joel Iheakolam (15.52m) who finished third. All three marks are ranked top 100 in the NCAA.  
 
The women’s triple jump was the final field event of the championship. It came down to an exciting finish, as the freshman from Kennesaw State Jermiya Winston secured the victory on a final-attempt huge personal best mark of 13.03 meters. Her efforts beat FIU’s second-place finisher Danielle Mcgonigle (12.89m) and Missouri State’s bronze medalist Shiloh Cross (12.77m).
 
Winston added a total of 15 points for the Owls, earning her the title of Women’s Freshman of the Meet.
 
The track finals offered plenty of exciting finishes in front of a packed crowd at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium. Starting with the 4x100-meter relays, the men’s top three was determined by just tenths of a second. The team from LA Tech was able to come out on top with a season-best performance of 39.26. Finishing just behind them was MTSU (39.72) and WKU (39.75) to round out the podium.
 
It was a close battle for the women’s title as well, with Kennesaw State coming out on top from a season best time of 44.47. Finishing second and also recording a season best was the team from LA Tech with a time of 44.98. Jax State finished third with a time of 45.06.
 
In the men’s 1,500-meter run, WKU’s Trevor Hudnall took the title in a time of 3:53.23. He led UTEP’s Juan Leal (3:54.00) and Liberty’s Ethan Stansbury (3:55.07) for the top spot on the podium.
 
The women’s 1,500-meter top three were a little more spread out, led by Liberty’s Allie Zealand who crossed first in 4:14.63. MTSU’s Privillege Chikara finished next in 4:17.63,  followed by NM State’s Amanda Radava who ran a personal best 4:21.01 for third.
 
Liberty came out on top in both the 100 and 110-meter hurdle races. On the men’s side, Tahj Brown ran a personal best 13.58 to sneak past LA Tech’s Oscar Smith (13.60) for first. Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Alivia Rivera-Norman also put up a personal best performance time for the win, finishing in 13.32 ahead of Kennesaw State’s Tickia Sutton (13.64). The Owls’ Cameron Guadiano (13.95) finished third for the men, and MTSU’s Tamia Waters (13.69) was third for the women.
 
The men’s 400-meter dash was WKU’s race, with two Hilltoppers leading the charge. Brunel Desinor finished first in a time of 46.14, followed by teammate Leland Taylor who’s 46.47 run was good for second. They were joined on the podium by Sam Houston’s Joshua Sims-Waddy (46.66).
 
Having added 11 points in the competition, Taylor was named the Men’s Freshman of the Meet.
 
The women’s race offered a dominant performance from LA Tech’s winner Jamara Patterson who claimed a personal best and new meet record after finishing in a time of 51.43. Her efforts moved her up to No. 23 in the NCAA. Also running a personal best was MTSU’s Agu Chidinma who finished second with a time of 51.88. Taking third was Mahogany Mobley of Liberty.
 
One of the most exciting races of the weekend came in the men’s 100-meter dash. In front of his home crowd, MTSU’s Mustapha Bokpin recorded an impressive 9.94, marking a personal best, setting a new meet record and moving him to fifth in the NCAA this season. Also running personal best times were WKU’s Kameron Horton (10.11) who took second, and LA Tech’s Lukundo Kapambalala (10.21) who took third.
 
The women’s 100-meter dash was also an incredible display of strength as all three podium finishers recorded personal best performances, ranking each of them in the NCAA top 100. Leading the pack by a hair was NM State’s Marlee Cavitt (11.375), followed by Kennesaw State’s Kenadie Singleton (11.378) and Missouri State’s Olivia Rogers (11.39).
 
The 800-meter races were largely led by the Liberty Flames. Michael Long (1:47.88) and Brendan Pitcher (1:48.75) finished first and second in the men’s race. They were joined by Sam Houston Bearkat Caleb Anthony (1:48.91). In the women’s race, a huge surge from Allie Zealand 2:05.26) in the final stretch earned her the gold ahead of MTSU’s Privillege Chikara (2:05.53). Finishing third in that race was Delaware’s Kadence Dumas (2:06.29).
 
In the men’s 400-meter hurdle race, Kennesaw State’s Marion Clark won with a personal best time of 51.49. Liberty’s Josh Blalock (52.12) finished second and LA Tech’s Cullen Hronek (52.82) took third.
 
Delaware’s Lauren Leath won the women’s hurdles with a personal best time of 59.63. Also running a personal best was UTEP’s Samahri Foster who finished second with a time of 1:00.56. Missouri State’s Breana Garrett was third with a time of 1:00.64.
 
Not long after Bokpin put on a show in the 100, he returned to do the same in the 200-meter dash. The sophomore won with a personal best time of 20.26. His performance throughout the weekend earned him the title of Men’s High Point Scorer of the week. WKU’s Kameron Horton (20.29) and Sam Houston’s Omarion Ferguson (20.62) also recorded personal bests, finishing second and third respectively.
 
NM State’s standout sprinter, Cavitt, swept the short sprints with another win in the women’s 200-meter. She finished with a time of 23.40, ahead of Iyana Sherard (23.50) from Liberty and Jaitlyn Ware (23.52) from LA Tech. With her 20.75 points, Cavitt was named the Women’s High Point Scorer of the Meet.
 
MTSU’s Moses Lekokei took gold in the men’s 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:22.41. Shadrack Kipkurgat (14:27.22) was second and Kennesaw State’s Brian Limo (14:27.32) was third.
 
It was a shoulder-to-shoulder battle for gold in the women’s 5k. Liberty’s Ava Gordon (16:28.52) was able to surpass MTSU’s Faith Nyathi (16:28.57) for first. The Hilltopper’s Kinley Kunkel (16:32.55) rounded out the podium in third.
 
After a long weekend of close competition, the championships wrapped up on the track with the men’s and women’s 4x400-meter relays. On the men’s side, Sam Houston’s team of sprinters put up a season best time of 3:06.33 to win and rank them No. 39 in the NCAA. LA Tech finished second (3:06.71) and WKU finished third (3:09.32).
 
The Bulldogs’ 4x4 team was victorious on the women’s side, recording a time of 3:34.62. Liberty finished second in a time of 3:37.60 and Missouri State completed the podium after finishing in 3:39.02.
 
The NCAA Regional Rounds will be held May 27-30 at Lexington, Kentucky (NCAA East) and Fayetteville, Arkansas (NCAA West).
 
Men’s Final Awards
Team Champions: Liberty
Runners Up: Kennesaw State
High Point Scorer of the Meet: Mustapha Bokpin, MTSU
Freshman of the Meet: Leland Taylor, WKU
 
Women’s Final Awards
Team Champions: Liberty
Runners Up: Kennesaw State
High Point Scorer of the Meet: Marlee Cavitt, NM State
Freshman of the Meet: Jermiya Winston, KSU