Lynchburg, VA - The Southern Virginia University men's and women's track and field teams traveled south to Lynchburg for the Liberty Open, a meet featuring over thirty teams across the region. Teams from all levels, including several Division l and Division ll programs, made the trip for the two-day meet.
Day One
While most of Southern Virginia's squad would rest on Friday in preparation for the second day of festivities, there were several notable performances to highlight. Freshman Surraiya Mahmud continued a historic start to her first collegiate campaign, collecting a first-place finish in the women's pole vault and breaking the program record for the second time in a month.
Her clearance of 3.55 meters (11' 7.75") demolished her previous best of 3.35 meters, also the former program record. She actually eclipsed her personal best on a prior clearance but managed to go above and beyond to improve her all-time mark further.
Emmalee Gabrylczyk and Hazel Allen performed well in their events, posting marks that place top ten all-time in program history in the women's 1,000 meters and weight-throw, respectively. On the men's side, Jalen Williams ran a personal best of 7.15 in the 60m dash, a top-five time in the conference this season He was followed by Isaac Armstrong (LJ - 6.20m / 20' 4") and Kenyon Kemp (5K - 16:19.49) who earned personal bests in their events as well.Â
Day Two
A busy Saturday saw even more personal bests broken. Heidi Barton led the charge in the distance events with her performance in the mile, finishing in a time of 5:23.59. While it wasn't a personal best for Barton, she carefully moved up the field to finish amongst the leaders in her heat. The reigning conference champion in the women's outdoor 1,500m has quietly improved each week and will look to wreak havoc in the postseason in just two weeks.
Ezekiel Newman, another freshman who's enjoyed tremendous success through his first three weeks of competition, ran his best 400 meters of the season. His time of 49.94 is far and away the fastest time amongst USA South competitors. With the long jump, Newman now owns the top mark for two events in the conference.
In the field events, the Knights continued to impress and are putting the conference on notice. While they own several top marks, their depth is what stands out. Alex Silvester and Jak Martin formed a strong duo in the men's pole vault, an event that could potentially give Southern Virginia national recognition down the road. Marin Simons and Mikki Prows finished right with each other in the women's high jump again, with Simons clearance on her first attempt at 1.57 meters (5' 1.75")Â marking a personal best.Â
Kedryn Chandler and Joseph Hughes turned in solid runs in the 3,000 meters, finishing in under nine minutes. Chandler's time of 8:59.80 marks the first time he's broken the nine-minute barrier, an impressive feat for the decorated senior.Â
Amongst all the strong performances on Saturday, Bayleigh Redd and Elizabeth Dalebout stole the show in the women's 3,000 meters. Both ran personal bests and now claim two of the top three spots in the conference. Redd's time of 10:26.39 also smashed the program record by over four seconds.Â
The road to the USA South Indoor Championship is becoming short, but the Knights will continue working toward top marks each weekend until then. Next week, they'll visit Roanoke College for the second time this season at the Joe LaRocco Invitational. All events occur on Saturday, February 15th, starting at 11:00 AM. For the most up-to-date information and details on the team, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knightxctf on Instagram.
Men's Top Ten Finishers - Liberty Open
Men's Indoor Top Ten Program Marks
Women's Top Ten Finishers - Liberty Open
Women's Indoor Top Ten Program Marks
